Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Uninhabited, densely jungled Sotobanare (“Outside Isolated Island”) and Uchibanare (“Inside Isolated Is-
land”) lie northwest of Shirahama Port.
Uchibanare's name translates as “Inside Isolated Island.” At Uchibanare's northwestern-
most tip there is a 1,640-foot (500-meter) strait separating it from its northern neighbor, So-
tobaranare. That islet's name translates as “Outside Isolated Island” because it's a little further
away. Let's go there.
SOTOBANAREJIMA
(
外離島
; Soto-banaréjima). This islet lies 1,640 feet (500 meters) north of
the top end of Uchibanare or a little less than 1.75 miles (3 kilometers) northwest of Shira-
hama Port. It is also uninhabited and covered in dense jungle. Sotobanare has a wide crescent
shape. It is 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) long at the ends of its crescent and almost three-quarters
of a mile (1 kilometer) wide at its midsection. It's surface area is half of a square mile (1.32
square kilometers).
Although our visit to Iriomote is almost over, there is one more place to mention al-
though few people go there. About 2.25 miles (4 kilometers) southwest of Shirahama by wa-
ter, around and below Uchibanare Island and across Funauki Bay (
船浮湾
; Funauki-wan; lit.
“Floating Boat Bay”), is the truly isolated village of Funauki (
船浮
; Funauki). It's the western-
most village of Iriomote and the last survivor of a dying breed of isolated sea villages.
Funauki is located on one of the northern ends of that broken-off southwestern bit of Iri-
omote that we mentioned at the beginning of this discussion. There are no roads going there,
nor any hiking trails. It is only reachable by sea, most usually from Shirahama Port. There's a
public ferry service and it runs three or four times a day depending on the season.
