Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Tarama passenger and vehicle ferry makes two trips to Miyako every day except Sundays.
Other than by private ship, there are two ways to reach Tarama. There is an almost daily
ferry and there is a small airport (
多良 間空港
; Tarama Kūkō). The airport is on the far west-
ern side of the island and is served by daily flights from Miyako on RAC Airlines commuter
planes. A one-way flight takes about 25 minutes. There are no flights from Ishigaki. If you fly
over the south central section of Tarama, you may see the remnants of the old airstrip. It was
abandoned when the new airport was opened in 2003.
In addition to flying, there is a passenger and vehicle ferry from Miyako every day except
Sundays. It departs Hirara Port at 9:00
AM
, and arrives at Tarama's Maedomari Port two hours
later. It remains in port until 2:00
PM
when it departs for the return journey to Miyako. It ar-
rives at 4:00
PM
.
The sailing distance, port to port, is 40 miles (64 kilometers). Formerly, the ferry con-
tinued to Ishigaki, spent the night, then made the return trip the next day. That service was
discontinued in 2008. The sailing distance from Tarama to Ishigaki City is about 60 miles (96
kilometers), but that's moot. It wasn't economically viable and commercial services between
Okinawa and the Miyakos and the Miyakos and Yaeyamas have been abandoned.
Tarama's biggest (at least its highest) sightseeing attraction is Yaeyama Tōmidai (
八重 山
遠見台
; Yaé-yama Tōmi-dai). Because the island is so flat, its highest point is not geological,
a hill or a mountain. Rather, it's a 108-foot (33-meter)-high tower on a small hill. The name
literally means “Yaeyama Distant One,” a reference to the fact that you can see the northern
end of Ishigaki Island from this viewpoint. Naturally, you'll get a great view of all Tarama plus
Minna 5 miles (8 kilometers) away.
Most of Tarama Island is ringed by good sandy beaches. There are few or no public facil-
ities at them, but you can be fairly certain that they won't be too crowded.
5
MINNAJIMA
水納島
This tiny islet is 5 miles (8 kilometers) due north of Tarama. As close as that may be, unfor-
tunately Minnajima (
水納島
; Minnajima) is an island with no scheduled ferry service and no
airport. You'll have to charter a boat out of Tarama to reach it. That should not be too dif-
