Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guided boat tours are offered along the Nakama River, leaving from Ohara Port at the river mouth.
We'll visit the island by starting at the bottom southeast corner, a little below Ohara Port,
then work our way counter-clockwise, up and around the Kaichū dōro north, then all the way
across the top, west to Uehara Port, then a short distance south along the west coast until the
road ends at Shirahama Port (
白浜港
; Shira hama-kō). In addition to the various points of
interest along the way, there are about half a dozen small islets just offshore at several places.
We'll have a look at them as we pass by.
Assuming that you have arrived at Ohara Port, drive a little less than 1.75 miles (3 kilo-
meters) southwest on Route 215 to Toyohara (
豊原
) and the La Teada Iriomote Resort (
ホ
テル ラ･ティーダ西表
; Hoteru Ra Tīda Iriomoté). It's a nice small hotel that bills itself as a
“nature resort.” The theme here is everything “green” in keeping with the island's ecology.
Summer high-season prices for a standard twin run about $250 a night, which includes din-
ner and breakfast. Larger, more deluxe rooms run about $350. Knock off around $100 from
those rates if you're staying in the winter.
The Iriomote Wild Cat
In Lain, it's the
Prionailurus iriomotensis
, in Japanese
西表山猫
or Iriomote-yama-neko, which liter-
ally is “mountain cat.” But no mater how you say it, the Yama-neko is a very rare creature indeed. The
one pictured here is at a research staion on the island. It's esimated there are perhaps 100 of these
cats in existence, but in truth it's hard to tell whether it's a rare species or just someone's house cat
got loose. The closest most Iriomote visitors will get to seeing one is on the sign above.
