THE MIYAKO ISLANDS - Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands - page 356

There are several small beaches on Ikema, one on the southeast corner, near the bridge
and port. Another, perhaps the nicest, is at the very top northern end. It's called Ikemajima
Block Beach ( 池間島ブロックビ ーチ ; Ikéma-jima Burokku bīchi).
From 3-9.5 miles (5-15 kilometers) north of Ikema and approximately 4.5 miles (7 kilo-
meters) across is the Yabiji Reef ( 八重干 瀬 ; Yabiji) (page 214 ). This is where every spring the
seasonally lowest tides of the year expose vast sections of the reef and hordes of tourists and
local collectors march out of ships on to the reef. The exposed reef phenomenon is known as
Yaébishi ( やえびし ).
The Miyako-Irabu passenger and vehicle ferry.
ŌGAMIJIMA ( 大神島 ; Ōgami-jima). This rarely visited little islet is just over 2.5 miles (4 kilo-
meters) north of Shimajiri Port ( 島尻 港 ; Shima-jiri-kō) near the northern end of Miyako
Island. There is a local passenger-only ferry service that connects Ōgami to Miyako with four
round trips per day. The ferry only takes 15 minutes one way.
Ōgami, whose Kanji characters mean “Great God,” is oval in shape, 2,460 feet (750
meters) long from north to south and about 1,640 feet (500 meters) wide from east to west.
For the most part, the island is covered in wild vegetation. The population is reported to be
about 30. The few dwellings are scattered from the port, located at Ōgami's southern end, to
the center of the island. The island has one fairly large hill in the center. It's about 66 feet (20
meters) high. On top there's an observation platform with a view.
2 IRABUJIMA 伊良部島
The twin islands of Irabu and Shimoji are located 4 miles (6 kilometers) west of Miyako's Hir-
ara port. They nest so closely to one another that it's easy to think of them as one but they are,
in fact, separated by a narrow sea channel (crossed by six bridges), so they are two distinct is-
lands. Irabujima ( 伊良部島 ; Irabu-jima) is the larger of the two and closer to Miyako. Its main
port is Sarahama ( 佐良浜港 ; Sara-hama-kō) and it is served by commercial ferries from Hir-
ara. It's on the island's central east coast. A combination of high-speed passenger ferries and