Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of nice sandy beaches. Essentially, it's one of those places that ships coming and going from
either Uehara or Funaura do their best to avoid in order to prevent running aground.
BARASUTŌ
(
バラス島
; Barasu-tō). Coincidentally enough, almost exactly another 1.25 miles
(2 kilometers) north of Hatobanare is this next little islet, this one a mere sandbar. Measured
from several other points it is 2 miles (3 kilometers) north of Funaura Port and 1.5 miles (2.5
kilometers) northeast of Uehara Port. The islet is about 500 feet (150 meters) long from north
to south and ranges from 80 to 130 feet (25 to 40 meters) across at any given points. It is en-
tirely composed of coarse sand, coral chips and broken shells.
he word
barasu
in Japanese means ballast or the debris from a construction site. The
island was formed, and is transformed every year, by typhoons. Until 1990 it was about one-
half its present size. Then, after a strong typhoon, a second islet emerged. The two
barasu
jima
then remained for eight years. In 1998 the area between them filled up, making it the
one larger islet that it is today. Naturally, it is uninhabited, although it's a popular destination
for kayak excursions from Iriomote. It is surrounded by coral reef on all sides and is a good
place to go snorkeling.
By the standard of Iriomote, Uehara is one of the two big towns, along with Ohara. The
village is spread out around the harbor and the surrounding area and includes a couple of
nice beaches. In all, there are about 20
minshuku
, several restaurants and a gas station. Al-
though many of the
minshuku
are perfectly pleasant, one stands out, the Pineapple House (
パ
イン館
; Pain-kan; lit. “Pine Hall”). It's a local institution. In the summer months, the owner
supplies as much pineapple as you can eat. Tel: 0980-85-6650; web:
www.pinekan.com
;
email:
kenbo@pinekan.com.
Many visitors make Uehara their base while on Iriomote because there is a variety of
things to do close by. In addition to the kayak trip to Pinaisara Falls south of Uehara Town,
1.25 miles quarter (2 kilometers) northwest, at Funaura Town, there's one of the nicest
beaches on Iriomote, Star Sand Beach (
星砂 の浜
; Hoshizuna-no-hama). It's just east of the
very northernmost tip of Iriomote on East Cape (
ニシ崎
or
西崎
; Nishi-zaki). The beach is
yet another one of those rare places in the Ryukyus where the sand is composed of tiny “stars”
