THE DAITO ISLANDS - Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands - page 444

Seitō kōjō), one hotel, three minshuku and several bars/nightclubs and restaurants are loc-
ated there. The town's big “sight” other than the sugar mill is the sugar cane train, preserved
and on display under a shed near the city hall.
Just outside town there is a fairly grand Shinto shrine ( 大東神社 ; Daitō jinja) and not far
from there a series of ponds which make for an excellent canoe excursion. A little further
afield, but not much, is an outstanding cave, one of the best in the Ryukyu Islands. On the
top north side of Minami there's an interesting coral wall which forms a long narrow cleft
you can enter. In the south there's an observation deck which affords a view over most of the
island. There's also a rudimentary golf course on the island and visitors are welcome.
There are three small minshuku in town, but many visitors stay in Minami Daitō's sole
hotel, the Yoshizato ( ホテルよしざと ; Hoteru Yoshizato; tel. [phone]). It's a family-
run place and the husband-wife owner-operators couldn't be nicer or more accommodating.
They both speak good English—maybe the only people on Minami Daitō who do! The Yosh-
izato has over 30 rooms and they're all clean, modern and spacious. All rooms have a private
bath, air conditioning and cable TV. Internet, however, is only available in the lobby. Meals
are included in the room rates, and the food is excellent. You'll look forward to dining here.
If, by chance, you are looking for a change of venue for a meal, there are several small res-
taurants in town, all within one or two blocks from the hotel. Finally, the hotel's owners can
arrange a car, scooter or bike rental for you if you ask. Naturally, they'll pick you up and re-
turn you to the ferry dock or airport on arrival and departure.
There are several things to see and do on Minami. Like its smaller sister island to the
north, Minami Daitō is almost completely devoted to sugar cane farming. For its own little
claim to uniqueness, the island bears the distinction of once having held the only function-
ing railroad in the Ryukyus. It was a narrow gauge train line used for hauling cut sugar cane
from the fields to the sugar mill. It's just a block from the town hall and there are two trains
on display. You still can find traces of the narrow gauge tracks on a few places on the island
( レール跡 ; Rēru ato). It was abandoned in the mid-1980s when large truck transport proved
more flexible and economical.