TravelTips24 : Asia : East Asia : Japan : Okinawa : Yaeyama Islands : Iriomote
Iriomote
Iriomote (西表; [1]) is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Okinawa, Japan.
Culture and History
While the second-largest of all Okinawa islands in size, Iriomote's population is barely over 2,000 and visitors, at over 150,000 a year, outnumber residents by almost 100:1. 90% of the island is covered in dense jungles and swampy mangroves, most of which are either part of the Iriomote National Park or protected state land, and the island is unquestionably one of the few remaining great wildernesses of Japan.
Pretty much all of the island's population lives along the coast. Clockwise from the west, the major settlements are Shirahama (白浜), Uehara (上原), Funaura (船浦) and Ōhara (大原). The southern stretch between Ohara and Shirahama is effectively untouched coastline, with no roads and only a few isolated fishing villages near the western end.
Travel to Iriomote & Visa Requirements
Despite its size Iriomote does not even have a landing strip, so all visitors must arrive by boat. The nearest airport is in neighboring Ishigaki.
Three ports on the island have services from Ishigaki, operated by Anei Kankō and Yaeyama Kankō Ferry. Almost all visitors use the rapid services listed below, but dedicated penny-pinchers may opt for Yaeyama's thrice-weekly slow cargo boats to Ohara (2 hours,
Ask for advice at the Iriomote travel forum
This page was last edited at 18:38, on 16 December 2008 by Ryan Holliday. Based on work by Peter Fitzgerald, Jani Patokallio, Dan McMinn, Bill Johnson, Paul N. Richter and Niels Elgaard Larsen, Wikitravel user(s) Episteme and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.
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