7.1 Iriomote jima

 

Iriomote-jima is forty minutes far from Ishigaki by boat.










When I was preparing this trip to Okinawa at home, in Madrid, Iriomote seemed to me the island of Jurassic park.
Daab san told to me that in fact the movie, or at least some parts of it, were made in Kauai island in Hawaii which many people say ressembles very much Iriomote.
Walking through Iriomote I tried to see the dinosaurs... Not dinosaurs, not even Iriomote wild cat but all others, birds, turtles, spiders, amazing ferns, tropical and subtropical plants, mangroves, rivers and waterfalls, an explosion of nature.

"Yamaneko", Iriomote wild cat (lynx) is there. Ads talk about him, but he is not so visible, he was discovered in 1965 and it is estimated they remain 100 of them, they have a huge wild land to walk through without being disturbed.

Second largest island in Okinawa, 289 km. square, 130 km. of circumference and 2.279 inhabitants according Iriomote brochure.

Also lonely beaches.
Hoshizunanohama.

I enjoyed very much.

An star sand beach.

Abstraction work ? To me it was.

Always curious cows...

and some sheep too.

Species description graffitti.

Funaura port.

Nakama estuary.

Nakama river holds the Japan´s largest mangrove forest.

NEXT :  1.2  Iriomote (Mariyudu Waterfall and Urauchi River cruise)

4.2 / Kabira Bay

Kabira bay is on the northwest coast of Ishigaki island.

A Kabira bay tourist pamphlet reminds that artist Tarou Okamoto said that “a description would be difficult for any artist, no matter what kind of poetic sentiment the artist might have”.

KABIRA BAY CLIP

Light plays with all variety of greens and blues, seven scattered islands are solid spots, closing the mouth of the bay give us the idea of a lake. Amazing coral white sandy beaches do the rest and not so far as background the highest peak, Mt. Omoto, 525 mts. height (Okinawa number two ; Mount Yonaha is Okinawa number one in main Okinawa island)

Akairome Miyatori On is in Kabira bay, there is 

another Miyatori On in Ishigaki city. Long time ago it was said there was a custom for the holy maiden of the Kabira village to report once a month to the enshrined God of Miyatory On in the city about the management situation of farm products. It seem that a separate Miyatori on was dedicated to the same God of Harvest because it was too taught to left Kabira to go Ishigaki city every month for this report.

 

The surrounding waters reach 260 coral species, the highest number found in the world.
Continues services of glass bottom boats.

Clear waters.
Beautiful sea funds.

Kabira Park small shrine with a beautiful view from the top.

I visited an awamori factory.
I drank it.
I liked it.

and I met Kazufumi Tokashiki the son of the master who begun the black Pearls cultivation, nowadays he continues the family tradition with excelent results. (Greetings to Toka　san from this page).

Next : Miyara Dönchi