UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
IRIOMOTE ISLAND / OKINAWA
From the sea that rings the island, up the rivers, through the mangrove roots and into the forest. Knowing Iriomote as one continuous water.
Touch the water to send out ripples
AN ISLAND OF CONNECTED LIFE
Subtropical forest, rivers large and small, brackish reaches spread with mangrove, tidal flats, beaches, coral reefs. This page traces the shifting, varied environments of Iriomote along the flow of its water.
That its endemic life can keep on living here, and that people come to visit — the journey begins by holding both in mind.
2021 / WORLD NATURAL HERITAGEIRIOMOTE CAT / ONLY ON THIS ISLAND
01 / FOLLOW THE WATER
At the river mouth, salt water and fresh water mingle, and the tide rises and falls among the mangrove roots. The farther upstream you go, the more the density of the forest changes. The path of water is the doorway to the island’s depth.
02 / EVOLVE APART
On islands separated by the sea, living things adapted each to their own environment. The four-island region that includes Iriomote is inscribed as World Natural Heritage for its endemism and biodiversity.
See the UNESCO inscription ↗03 / NOTICE, NOT CHASE
The Iriomote cat lives only on this island, using wetlands, riversides, and mangrove forest. Do not make a sighting the promise of your journey; even in the hours when nothing shows itself, turn your imagination toward its habitat.
Read the Ministry of the Environment’s note ↗04 / VISIT WITH CARE
Before forest and river are a stage for experiences, they are habitat; and the island is a place where people live. Check the field rules, slow down on the roads. Small choices are what join travel to conservation.If you stay overnight, that choice begins with how you stay.
Read the guidance for visitors ↗BEFORE YOU GO
Boats, fields, roads. On Iriomote, knowing the day’s conditions and the rules to keep is what opens the island’s depth to you.
Boats cross from Ishigaki to Uehara Port and Ohara Port. Service and times change; check the operators’ official information on the day.
Connections and the night before, on Ishigaki — the gateway → Access guide by the Taketomi Town Tourist Association ↗The nature-experience fields have rules of use; some require advance procedures or a registered accompanying guide. Check the latest system.
How field use works ↗Wildlife road accidents can happen day or night. On the island’s roads, slow down and drive ready for an animal to dart out.
Guidance for visitors ↗STAY ON IRIOMOTE
“An Inn of Forest and Sea” enters from the shore and moves toward river and forest. An unofficial concept for seeing how a stay could express the island, once you know it.
See the stay concept → Another stay proposal — An Inn of the River Sound Find other journeys on UMI YAIMA COMPASSThis page is an unofficial, independent work. World Natural Heritage, wildlife, and visitor rules refer to public and official sources. Ferry service, weather, entry systems, and guide requirements change; check official information at the time of travel.