Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In this aerial view of Kohama Island from the north, Manta Way and Iriomote are to the right, Kuro Island
is to the rear (south), and tiny Kayama is just barely visible in the lower left-hand corner.
In the north central part of the island you'll come to its highest point, Mt Ufu (
大岳
; Ufu-
daké; also pronounced Ō-také), which, including the observatory at its top is about 330 feet
(100 meters) tall. That's pretty high for a “flat” island and you'll get a great view from up there.
Kohama features two deluxe resorts: the Villa Hapira Pana (
ヴィラハピラパナ
; Vira-
hapira-pana) and the Haimuru Mirage Resort Hotel (
はいむるぶし
; Haimurubushi), both of
which occupy the island's southeast end and cape, and completely cover it with 18 holes of
golf.
The seaside setting and hundreds of acres of golf greens make this a particularly beautiful
place. Japanese tourists and golfers fly here from Tokyo and other places in mainland Japan
usually on a one-week package. Booking either hotel on your own would set you back any-
where from $300 to $500 a night depending on your choice of room. All accommodations
include meals—they have to, there's almost nowhere else to eat on this island other than at
minshuku
. The best beach on Kohama is also found here, Haimurubushi Beach (
はいむるぶ
しビー チ
; Haimuru-bushi bīchi), and although it appears that it is controlled by the hotel,
it is technically open to the public. The island's other best-known beach is even larger though
it is not maintained as at the resort. It's Tōmaru Beach (
唐丸ビーチ
; Tōmaru bīchi) and it is
close to the ferry port.
Kohama is most famous, both in Japan and internationally, for Manta Way (
ヨナラ 水道
;
Yonara Suidō). That's the 3-mile (5- kilometer)-long by 1.25-mile (2-kilometer)-wide strait
running between Kohama and Iriomote. Each year, between April and June, and then again
from August to October, divers from around the world come to Hosozaki, the Strait and all
the way up to Ishigaki's northwestern end to swim with manta rays. The enormous gentle
creatures feed on plankton which is abundant in these waters. The experience is known
among Japanese divers as the “Manta Scramble” (
マンタスクランブル
; Manta-sukuranburu).
6
KUROSHIMA
黒島
The next destination in our westward and southward expanding sequence of islands visited
from Ishigaki is Kuro. The name means “black,” a reference to the island's dark-colored soil.
Kuroshima (
黒島
; Kuroshima) is located a bit less than 11.75 miles (19 kilometers) southw-
est of Ishigaki Port. Several ferry companies ply the route, which takes 30 minutes one way.
