I guess we start with my leaving Naha on an overnight ferry bound for Ishigaki, 14 long hours south. Ferry journeys are unbelievably dull, and the bunks aren't the most comfortable so you're not going to get a great deal of sleep either. However, the journey out there was made much easier by the interesting people aboard the ship.
Sunset aboard the Arimura Line ferry bound for Ishigaki
First I went outside to the back of the ship to get some air, and was quickly invited over by 3 Japanese friends (work colleagues, actually). We talked for hours in a wonderful mix of broken English and broken Japanese over vending machine beers and cup noodles and parted ways about midnight. Still not content with going to sleep I headed back outside and found a guy sitting playing the guitar. I spent another 45 mins or so out here, talking with him about music (and scotch whiskey, bizarrely) and he played some Beatles hits and attempted Stairway To Heaven for his one-man audience.
After a couple of hours of bad sleep, the ferry deposited us at Ishigaki at about 5:30am, at which point everything is closed and it's still dark. Great. I followed a school party, hoping they'd lead me to something, and they actually brought me to the smaller local port. Here I bought a ticket for the first boat at 7am to Iriomote-jima, my intended destination, and off I went once again.
Sunrise aboard the small local boat bound for Iriomote-jima
After some confusion about the location of camp sites on Iriomote-jima (note to Lonely Planet: next time a camp site is 4km from the nearest bus stop, please put this in the book) I pitched my Tarptent and set off down to the beach for a look around. This campsite was precisely one minute's walk from said beach. Check this out.
Tarptent and Kifaru EMR pack at Hoshisuna campsite
Hoshisuna-no-Hama beach, one minute from my campsite
Clownfish in a sea anemone on the coral reef surrounding Hoshisuna beach
This place is beautiful and teeming with various forms of live so I'll just let the above pictures give a very rough idea (I have lots more). Another oddity of Hoshisuna-no-Hama beach is in the name - 'Hoshisuna' means 'star sand', and that's exactly what washes up here and almost nowhere else. I couldn't get a photo (it's much too small) but areas of the beach are covered in sand which is actually the remains of tiny sea creatures, and so has a 4 or 5-pointed star shape. I believe about the only other place this occurs is on Taketomi-jima (see later).
The following day I took a bus further along the north coast to take a boat up the Urauchi-gawa river - the longest in all Okinawa. Often described as being like a short stretch of the Amazon, it's lined with mangroves and further upstream lie numerous waterfalls and the start trailhead of the 18km cross-island trail.
A stretch of the Urauchi-gawa river, lined with mangroves
More of the river, with flowers in among the mangroves
One of the waterfalls (MariyudĊ-no-taki) a short walk upstream of where the river boat docks
...and another one further on (no idea of the name), in the jungle itself
The walk to the waterfalls is pretty pleasant, if a little sticky. If it's like this in March/April, I would hate to be here in August. I'd imagine you'd drown in your own sweat.
That night I wandered down to the beach again, this time in the dark. The animal life there at this time is totally different. As well as being teeming with crabs (which scatter as you walk near them), there are bizarre fish which appear to fly out of the water for quite long distances (no idea what they are), but the most impressive thing I saw (and I wish I could have taken a photo of) was a pair of sea snakes in the shallow water. Sea snakes are the most venomous in the world and since I like snakes I've always wanted to see one - now I've seen two!
The next day I took a bus south to the Iriomote Wildlife Centre to find out more information on the island's wildlife, and in particular to see the Iriomote Yamaneko, or Iriomote Wildcat. Very rare (estimates stand at 80-100 in total, and they are only found here) and hardly ever seen, the IWC deals with the rehabilitation of cats hit by traffic, etc, and so offers an opportunity to actually see one. Being a 'cat person' this was something I couldn't pass up. In size and shape they are rather underwhelming, but I was fortunate enough to see one catch and eat a snake in the rehabilitation area - much more impressive!
Iriomote Yamaneko (not live, obviously) - about the size of a domestic cat
The area around the IWC. If this isn't like something out of Jurassic Park, I don't know what is...
That night the weather closed right in and I was subjected to a torrential downpour and strong winds. When I got out of my tent in the morning (after praying it'd survive the night, which it did!) there was a river running through the field. Impressive.
The poor guy camped next to me needed a few lessons in how to pitch a tent. This is what happens when you pitch it badly, the wind hits it head-on, and your tarp is in the wrong place...
There is more I wanted to do on Iriomote-jima, particularly the kayak/walk to the Pinaisara-no-taki waterfall, but they require more than one person, and your own transport (buses are very infrequent here). I'll be back.
Anyway, the next day I packed up my stuff (after trying to dry it off, to little avail) and headed back to Ishigaki.
A visit to the tiny and very traditional island of Taketomi-jima was then on the agenda. Moments away from being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site (or so I hear - they just need to lose the overhead power lines), Taketomi-jima has tried to keep the traditional look and feel of an old Ryukyu village, and has largely succeeded. It makes a nice place to wander about, and is a nice break from the usual concrete jungles of Japanese urban developments. All houses have the old red roofs, all walls are made of natural materials and all the roads are paved with crushed coral instead of tarmac.
A stray cat in front of a house on Taketomi-jima
Another thing this island is notable for is the number of stray cats. Apparently, 1/3 of Taketomi's population is over 70 years old. I guess the other 2/3 must be cats. As a cat lover, this is a major problem, since you quickly acquire new friends...
These two guys followed me halfway across the island, frequently making me trip over one or both of them
This one seemed to want the ice cream I was eating at the time, but settled for having his belly rubbed instead
No description neccessary...
For my last full day in Ishigaki I headed out to climb Nosoko-dake - the core of an eroded volcano. The Lonely Planet guide describes it as 'steep', but this is not an adequate description. Its peak is only 282m, but look at the photo below and you'll see this is not a gentle walk.
Nosoko-dake from the closest bus stop, 15 mins from the proper trailhead
It's hard to convey what it's like spending about an hour climbing a constant 45 degree slope of slippery mud, twisted tree roots and large rocks in a subtropical jungle with absolutely no breeze and in 100% humidity, but the words 'sticky' and 'knackering' would be a good start. Being under constant assault by mosquitos and ENORMOUS wasps (I'm not kidding here, these things were almost an inch long) just makes it all more exciting, I guess.
The steep, overgrown path up Nosoko-dake. Photos can't really show how steep this really is.
Amid the lush jungle, if you can spare the time, there is a huger variety of wildlife to be found, most of which appear to be lizards.
Some kind of gecko, I think
Another lizard of some type
The climb is a nightmare, but the views from the top are well worth it. I suspect they're better on a clear day, but even on a cloudy day (it started raining after I got down) they're still not bad.
The trek down is almost as bad as the trek up. If going up is hard on your calves, going back down is hard on your knees - you certainly feel it when you reach the bottom! The ropes they provide at certain points to pull yourself up are arguably more useful here, to stop yourself sliding head-first down the mountain.
Somehow making it down without a broken neck, I got the last bus back to Ishigaki (there are 3 buses a day so I had to wait nearly 2 hours for it) and got ready for the long 14 hour return ferry to Naha, spying some more curious 'Engrish' along the way.
I assume this is meant to be a 'Darts Bar', but I have no clue what 'A GOO' is meant to be...
And so today brought on a mind-numbingly boring ferry journey, which, due to a restaurant timetable which could at best be described as 'a litle weird', was survived entirely on cup noodles and Doritos. I must confess that after getting off the ferry at 9pm and booking into a business hotel I plucked at random from Lonely Planet, I headed to McDonalds. I might be in Japan, but I guess there are some hungers that only a Big Mac can cure. A day of only noodles is one of them.
So here I am, back in Naha. I'm going to go back to my hotel and sleep, and figure out what I'm doing tomorrow - my last day in Okinawa. After that I head back to Osaka on mainland Japan, and from there, who knows. Obviously, blog updates will continue (and hopefully more than once a week again), so keep checking back.
Take care everyone,
James
