Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
served about three or four times a week by twin-prop RAC commuter turboplanes. They hold
about 45 persons and only take 60 minutes one way. Flights return to Naha the same day. Ad-
ditionally, several of the flights each week fly from one island to the other before returning
to Naha. This is particularly important because without this connection one would have to
wait a week for the ferry to return or fly back to Naha in order to reach the other island. The
inter-island flight takes six minutes and is known as the “shortest flight in Japan.”
Although with less than 6 miles (10 kilometers) separating the two islands one might
think that there would be some local ferry service or perhaps even an enterprising fisherman,
there is not. The Daitōs are not fishing islands, again due to poor anchorage, and so there are
very few boats of any kind. For the few fishing boats that are based on the islands, there is a
small harbor on each island carved out of rock, but they are completely inadequate for a ship
the size of the Naha-Daitō ferry.
In the Daitōs, and unlike almost every other Ryukyu Island, there is not the usual col-
lection of available
minshuku
inns. Surprisingly, there are very few. However, each island has
one hotel and both are quite nice. As for dining, both islands' hotels include meals in their
daily rates. Your hotel will pick you up and return you at the ferry or airport on arrival and
departure. On Minami there is a small village with a couple of nightclubs/bars and
minshuku
.
On Kita there is a tiny village that does not appear to have any drinking establishments, al-
though there is one
minshuku
. Don't worry, both of the islands' hotels have more than ad-
equate supplies of
saké
,
awamori
and beer.
As mentioned, both Kita and Minami Daitō have rocky, inaccessible coastlines, and
therefore neither island has any beaches. People do swim, however. In the warmer summer
months there are naturally formed swimming holes carved out of the coral rocks on several
places along the shore. Although you can't swim laps, and there is no diving or snorkeling,
you can get your feet wet and cool off.
Both the Daitōs are first and foremost sugar cane growing islands and almost all the is-
lands' inhabitants are sugar cane farmers. There is very little tourism, although there are a
few things to see on each island. Minami is about twice the size of Kita and, accordingly, there
is somewhat more available on that island. Although not too many tourists visit the Daitōs,
those who take the trouble and come out always find that the people are friendly and that the
islands are an interesting, if seldom visited, corner of Japan.
1
KITA DAITŌJIMA
北大東島
