4.1 / Introducing Ishigakijima

All the world is beautiful, everywhere you go, but some places are even more for many reasons,

- a question of spots and

- a question of environmental balance,

Okinawa, Yaeyama and in particular Ishigakijima deserve it on my perception.

An inscription proudly written on the bell of the Shuri castle in 1458 says that "The Kingdom of Ryûkyû is a splendid place in the South Seas, with close intimate relations with the Three Nations of The Great Ming, Korea, and Japan, between which it is located, and which express much admiration for these islands. Journeying to various countries by ship, the Kingdom forms a bridge between all the nations, filling its land with the precious goods and products of foreign lands; in addition, the hearts of its people emulate the virtuous civilization of Japan and China"



The full text of the bell's inscription, in the original ''[[kanbun]]'' and having been converted to Japanese.  (Archaeology of the Ryukyu islands / Richard J. Person)



I don´t want to substitute wikitravel, any encyclopedia or any specialized touristic guide, I will report some features that I have considered interesting while reading over a few books in the helpful library of Ishigaki mixed with the most important topics and showing my pictures. It is not an exhaustive work just a fast look.

On my first trip to Okinawa in the sad February of 2011 I reported  what I read then about these subtropical islands of Micronesia, 160 of whom 47 uninhabited.

Now I read about five groups of principal islands and some subgroupes, totalizing 105  and only 24 uninhabited.

Probably 160 or more, and some of them considered inhabited due to an small population. Maybe in near future according with information on the newspapers all of them will be inhabited, some way at least, by army officials or guardcoast patrols. The interested pressure of Chinese government due to some natural resources on this islands oblige the japanese goverment to move its forces towards this area and show a bit of muscle.

Anyway if we consider the population of 2.400 inhabitants for the second largest -289,3 km. sq.- in all the Okinawa prefecture, Iriomote -to me is Jurassic park but dinosaurs- or the one from westernmost japanese point, only 111 kilometers far from Taiwan, Yonaguni with 1.684 inhabitants we can have an idea of distribition of population, highly concentrated in main Okinawa island.






Let´s talk now about Yaeyama islands one of this subgroups of islands, becoming part of Sakishima islands sharing this denomination with Miyako archipelage -I visited and reported on 2013- , both in Okinawa prefecture, then Japan.

And  as it has been my base during one month around here let´s see some pictures from Ishigaki, the official head of Yaeyama islands.

"20 years old celebration"

NEXT : Kabira Bay