Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
advise on the ferry schedules. You can also rent a car and they'll help you with a hotel book-
ing if you don't already have one.
Before we leave the harbor, we'll mention the first islet, adjacent to Ishigaki Port.
This stone marker, the 730 Crossing Monument in downtown Ishigaki, commemorates July 30th, 1978, the
date Okinawa Prefecture reverted back from driving on the right-hand side of the road to the left-hand
side, the norm for Japan.
YASHIMAJINKŌSHIMA
(
八島人工島
;
Y
ashima jinkō-shima; lit. “Eight Island Man-made Is-
land”). The section of town where the port is located is called Yashima. Some years back,
an artificial island was created from dredging the harbor and it was named after this part of
town. It's connected to the Ishigaki mainland by the Southern Gate Bridge (
サザンゲートブ
リッジ
; Sazangēto-burijji). Unfortunately, there's not much actually on the island. You'll get a
nice view from the bridge back over the harbor, but the island itself is somewhat of a would-
be industrial storage lot and wasteland. It's easy to imagine that there were big plans for this
place when it was constructed, but it's easy to see that those ambitions have not yet been ful-
filled.
