Iriomote Island Beaches

 

As of this posting, we are "enjoying" an unusually early cold and snowy spell, so these images are for the rest of you in the northern hemisphere right now.

Iriomote is a fairly large island in the Ishigaki Islands, not far from the coast of Taiwan. In fact it is the second largest island in all of the Okinawas.

Most of the island is fairly dense jungle and mangrove swamp and is home to the Iriomote Wild Cat.

The island is sparsely populated and lives along the single coastal road that covers about 2/3 of the coastline.

Iriomote has a lot of fine beaches and coastline suitable for snorkelling.

It also has a fair amount of coastal mangrove groves.

The most famous beach is called Starsand Beach because among the sand you can find tiny star-shaped grains.

These pics were taken in April, well outside the tourist season and so mostly deserted.

The previous post was on the water buffalo carts of Yubu Island.

Yubu Island Water Buffalo Carts

 

Yubu is a tine island 400 meters off the coast or Iriomote Island that has no ferries or bridge.

Transport to and from the island is by carts pulled by water buffalo, or by walking.

The island was formed by  deposits from the Yonara River and so is only just 1 meter above sea level. At high tide the channel is only 1 meter at the deepest point, and at lower tides is much shallower.

A line of utility poles marke the route for pedestrians and carts.

Very much a touristy thing, the drivers typically play sanshin and sing Okinawan folk songs.

Most of the island is a botanical garden. The island was settled after WWII but most left after a devastating typhoon of 1969.

The previous post was Iriomote Island Snapshots. An earlier post on Taketomi Island Water Buffalo Carts.

Iriomote Island Snapshots

 

Iriomote Island, 90 percent covered in fairly impenetrable jungle and mangrove swamps has a thriving pineapple industry and has recently started a pineapple beer festival.

I will post more on Iriomote beaches later, but here are a couple of shots of singular objects embedded in the sand.

Not much text today, just photos to enjoy...

An almost circular hole in a tidal rock is filled with bits of coral

Of course a wide variety of flowers can be found.....

A couple of coastal settlements have small areas of rice paddies.

Compared to mainland Japan, the coastline of Iriomote has relatively little in the way of tetrapods and other concrete fortifications.

A rare sight anywhere in Japan, a free-grazing cow at pasture.

The previous post in this Okinawa series was on the Urauchi River and Mariudo Falls.

Urauchi River & Mariudo Falls

 

The Urauchi River is the longest river in Okinawa Prefecture, and it is found on Iriomote Island, the largest of the Yaeyama Islands.

As Okinawa consists of many small islands, its perhaps not surprising that the longest river is only just over 18km in length.

the river source is in the middle of the mostly uninhabited island at 311 meters elevation and reaches the sea at the NW of the island.

Boat trips go upriver about 10 kilometers and from where they stop a trail runs another kilometer or so to Mariudo Falls.

A three stage falls of just 16 meters, Mariudo Falls is not the tallest on Iriomote, but possibly the most visited. It is possible to hike further upstream to another waterfall, and several smaller falls are passed on the way to Mariudo.

Many sources use the word "jungle" to describe Iriomote, but while it is certainly different from mainland Japan, I would use "sub-tropical" forest.

What Iriomote does have is plenty of mangroves, trees that grow in the salty water of intertidal zones in tropical and sub-tropical environments.

The guide on the boat was very excited to point out this bird which, I believe, was a Crested Sea Eagle.

Its also possible to cruise the river in guided kayak tours.

The previous post on Okinawa was on Mount Nosokodake on neighboring Ishigaki Island.

Mount Nosokodake Ishigaki

Mount Nosokodake Ishigaki

This is the view, looking north, from Mount Nosoko, sometimes referred to as Nosokodake, and also known as Nosoko Mape, on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa.

It is somewhat unusually shaped with a very steep peak.

Topped with a rocky outcropping, there are fantastic 360 degree views .

At 282 meters, it is not very high, but is still the second highest mountain on Ishigaki, after Mount Omoto, which at 525 meters in height is also the highest mountain in all of Okinawa.

A road goes up to about 200 meters altitude and from there, a sometimes steep trail takes you up to the apex.

The name Nosoko Mape comes from a local folk tale and song about a girl called Mape from nearby Kuroshima Island and her forced separation from her fiancee when half of the islanders were forced to move to the area around Nosodake in 1732 in order to "develop" the land to raise enough tax revenue to pay the Japanese Satsuma Clan who invaded Okinawa in the early 17th century.

The previous post in this series on Okinawa was on some of Ishigaki's lovely beaches.

Buy Ishigaki Bath Salts from Okinawa

Some Beaches of Ishigaki Island

Ishigaki 石垣島

Ishigaki Island is officially part of Okinawa, though it lies closer to Taiwan than to the main island of Okinawa.

It is one of the Yaeyama Islands, in fact, the second largest, though it is the most populated and the most important nearby Iriomote Island is larger, but is mostly uninhabited 

.

Other than Taketomi island with its traditional village and water buffalo cart rides, the main attraction of the Yaeyama islands are the beaches and the related activities of swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, etc

When we visited it was in April, out of season, with overcast skies, so the beaches were deserted.

While this means the beaches were not as colorful, they were in fact quite beautiful.

The previous post in this series was the evocative Tojin Memorial.

Buy Ishigaki Salt from Japan