Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
masthead, although they won't take you there. As for the abandoned villages, essentially every
year fewer and fewer people are willing to accept the difficult and isolated life that their par-
ents lived only a generation ago. This trend can only continue. Perhaps in the next 10-20
years Funauki will cease to exist.
Our tour of Iriomote is over but our visit to the Yaeyamas is not. There are several more
islands to see, however, they are much further away. We'll have to return to Ishigaki and take
other ferries to reach them. In one case we'll fly.
10
HATERUMAJIMA
波照間島
We are now sailing to some of the most distant shores in Japan. Haterumajima (
波照間島
;
Hatéruma-jima) is one of the last Yaeyama Islands that we'll discuss, the most southern is-
land of the Ryukyus and the southernmost inhabited island in Japan. As the crow flies, it is
15 miles (24 kilometers) due south of Iriomote Island and 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest
of Ishigaki. The sailing distance from Ishigaki Port, however, is a little longer than the crow
flies. It's 35 miles (56 kilometers) and takes almost exactly one hour one way by high-speed
passenger ferry. The passenger and vehicle ferry is slower. It takes two hours. The high-speed
ferries sail twice daily year round and up to four times a day during the summer months. The
passenger and vehicle ferry runs three times a week. Ferries dock at Hateruma Port (
波照間
港
; Hatéruma-kō), located midway along the northwest shore of the island.
Sadly, at the end of 2007, flights to Hateruma were discontinued. The island has a small
airport (
波照間空港
; Hatéruma Kūkō) on its eastern coast. Previously, there were daily flights
(several per day during the summer), and although the flying time was only 15 minutes, not
enough traffic justified the route. Although for now the airport is closed to commercial ser-
vice, it is kept in good repair as it may be used for emergency medical evacuations and private
aircraft.
Haterumajima is a small island, oblong in shape. Measured along its greatest length, from
east to west, it is almost 4 miles (6 kilometers). From north to south, it is 1.75 miles (3 kilo-
meters) at its center, which is its widest. The overall area of Hateruma is 5 square miles (12.77
square kilometers) and its shoreline measures 9 miles (14 kilometers). The island is com-
pletely flat and almost entirely cultivated, generally with sugar cane.
