basic information

Iriomote Island is Okinawa's second largest island, and mostly covered by dense jungle and mangrove forests. The island is part of the Iriomote National Park, the southernmost of Japan's national parks.

Jungle boat cruises are organized on the island's two longest rivers, the Urauchigawa and Nakamagawa. The cruises on the Urauchigawa can be combined with a two hour walk through the jungle to two beautiful waterfalls. You can also rent canoes and explore the river by yourself or take part in guided canoe tours.

Iriomote offers various walking trails, the most challenging of which is a 20 kilometer path across the island, which should only be tackled by experienced and well prepared hikers.

The chances of encountering the Iriomote Yamaneko, a wild cat, which only lives on Iriomote Island, however, are low, as the house cat sized animal tends to be active during the night and has become an endangered species.

Last but not least, Iriomote has also its share of beaches and offers some excellent snorkeling and diving opportunities.

Canoeing

Hiking

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how to get there

Iriomote is connected with Ishigaki Island by high speed boats, which require about 40 minutes for the one way journey. There are boats from Ishigaki Port to Funaura and nearby Uehara in the north of Iriomote (3800 Yen round trip) and Ohara in the south of the island (2930 Yen round trip).

There is only one main road on Iriomote, running along the coast from Shirahama via Urauchigawa and Funahara to Ohara. A public bus runs between Shirahama and Funahara five times per day and between Funahara and Ohara three times per day. It takes 50 minutes and costs 670 Yen to get from Funahara to Ohara.

Besides the public buses, there are free shuttle buses, operated by the various diving and sightseeing companies on the island. Lastly, it is also possible to rent a car from one of several outlets near the boat piers.

How to get to and around the Yaeyama Islands

2nd of 3 most visited sights in Yaeyama Islands.
306th of 417 most visited sights nationwide.

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