Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
vacation. No one from back home or your office will bother you here because they won't be
able to find you.
9
IRIOMOTEJIMA
西表島
With an area of 112 square miles (289 square kilometers) and a coastline circumference of
80 miles (128 kilometers), Iriomotejima (
西 表島
; Iriomoté-jima) is the largest island of the
Yaeyamas and the second largest island in Okinawa Prefecture (after Okinawa itself). It is
roughly square in shape although tilted on an axis and possessing a broken-off southwestern
end. It measures approximately 9 miles (14 kilometers) from north to south and 11 miles (18
kilometers) from east to west. Although a relatively large island for the Ryukyus, it is one of
the least densely populated with fewer than 2,300 residents. Essentially, Iriomote is Japan's
jungle. Ninety percent of it is covered in mountains, dense tropical vegetation or mangrove
swamps, and almost the entire island is either locally protected or part of Iriomote National
Park. Iriomote's highest peak is Mt Komi (
古見岳
; Komi-daké) at 1,540 feet (469.5 meters).
The island is home to a number of unique species, including the Yama-neko, the Iriomote
wild cat, a small rare species of lynx. They are nocturnal and rarely seen by visitors.
There is no airport or airstrip on Iriomote and the only way on to the island is by public
ferry from Ishigaki or private watercraft. As the crow flies, it's 15 miles (24 kilometers) from
Ishigaki Port to Iriomote's east coast. Of course, the ferry distance is somewhat longer. There
are several ports on Iriomote but the two most commonly used by the commercial ferry ser-
vices are Ohara Port (
大原港
; Ōhara-kō) at Iriomote's southeastern end, and Uehara Port (
上
原港
; Uéharakō), almost at the northernmost tip of the island.
Note that Ohara Port's actual name is Nakama (
仲間港
; Nakama-kō), but it's widely
referred to as Ohara Port. Of the two ports, Ohara is Iriomote's busiest with the most
frequent service to Ishigaki. During the high season, in summer, there are more than two
dozen—closer to 30—high-speed ferries a day, with departures every 15-30 minutes. Even
during the winter there can be as many as a dozen sailings a day, about one every hour during
daylight hours. Note that in the course of a day, several of these ferries will make a stop en
