Yaeyama Revisited - 八重山 ２００９

Map of our 2009 excursion around the Yaeyama Islands. This time, the weather permitted carrying out our itinerary more or less as planned, and with no close calls.
今年の5月の連休八重山諸島に行きました。今回天気も良くて安全で予定通りに計画を実行しました。


The coral reefs of Ishigaki Island greet us shortly before touchdown at Ishigaki Airport.　
飛行機から見た石垣島の周りの珊瑚礁。


Clear water and clean air atop the largest reef/lagoon system in Japan.
水と空気が綺麗。


The reef at Kuroshima, low tide. We camped just a little higher on the beach, ever wary of the rising waters in the darkness.
干潮での黒島のリーフ。

At low water, a walk along the reefs is very scenic and enjoyable. One can see many creatures who, intentionally or otherwise, have become temporarily stranded in the shallow tidal pools. Crabs such as this one are common, as are moray eels who are able to crawl snakelike from pool to pool, making quick work of many small fish trapped therein.


A giant clam's shell on display on the Kuroshima coastline.
黒島の海岸にあったしゃこ貝の貝殻。


Low tide on our second day caught us upon the reefs of Aragusuku Island. Here and elsewhere, mushroom like rock formations dot the landscape. The mushrooms are created over the eons by the action of storm waves on the very resistant limestone rocks. Eventually the stem wears through and the rocks become large loose boulders such as the ones also visible here.
新城島で暗礁に乗り上げてしまいました。キノコのような岩層があちこち見えます。


Haemida Beach on Iriomote Island, reached on schedule by the evening of our second day. This is the last beach on the south coast accessible by road; from here westward lies the trackless wilderness for which Iriomote is fast becoming famous among would-be adventurers, and which attracted us here on our first and seminal kayak journey in January 2005
二日目の夜、西表島の舗装路の最南端にある南風見田浜でキャンプしました。ここから西へ行きたいなら大冒険になるでしょう。


Most of Iriomote's south coast is rough and backed by tall cliffs; it is usually unapproachable either by sea or land. An exception is Kanogawa beach, a gem of a place the likes of which are few in Japan.
西表の南海岸は高い岸壁が多いので上陸は非常に難しい。唯一の砂浜は美しい鹿川湾。


Nohama beach, located just around Cape Paimi, the westernmost and wildest point of Iriomote, is itself not far behind in scenic value. Getting around the cape can be infamously difficult due to reefs upon which strong currents and waves meet with destructive force. We had good luck again as we rounded the cape, finding calm conditions in spite of the rough sea we left behind us. Here we spent the third night of our trip.
西表の南西のパイミ崎を回るとすぐ綺麗な白い砂浜の野浜が現れました。悪名高いパイミ崎を回る時岩礁が多くて流れも速いので危険な所です。今日は運がよく、岬を回ると西海岸は凪でした。ここで三日目の夜を過ごしました。


At the reef just out from Nohama we discovered what is probably the best snorkeling point at Iriomote. Exposed as it is to the open sea, yet somewhat protected from the annihilating effects of typhoons, it showcases a large variety and abundance of creatures in crystal clear water.
野浜の礁の外側は多分西表島の一番良いスノーケリングポイント。外海に囲まれても台風の波浪の影響の少ないポイントなので目を見張るほどの美しいサンゴの群落と海生動物の多様な種を見ることができます。


These fish have a fluorescent yellow spot whose evolutionary purpose becomes clear as one watches them swim in a school. As one's eyes become irresistably drawn towards these moving points of color, it becomes hard to keep track of each fish's individual movements. This evidently makes is easier for the fish to evade predators.
蛍光イエロー点がある魚は何のためにそのように進化しましたか。魚の群れを見るとすぐ分かる。
天敵の捕食から免れるために進化されましたでしょう。

Other fish such as these have found an equally amazing way to protect themselves. Somehow, their skin is immune to the nasty sting of the sea-anemone. Retreating into its mass of soft, poisonous tentacles, the fish can feel completely safe.


For those lucky enough to be at the top of the food chain, size is often the reason for their dominance, like this GT which was not too much smaller than myself. Feeling just slightly uncomfortable in the presence of humans, it ambled slowly away from the reef channel into even deeper water, an unfortunately we were unable to capture a picture with one of us in it for scale.




Next day it was time to head northeast. The coast here is complex, cut into many narrow bays, promontories, and outlying islands. Rivers with mangrove swamps and waterfalls upstream are to be found in each of the bays; we'd already visited most of these during past trips when bad weather precluded us from being out on the reefs. Today, a rare one of windless, sunny skies, we floated on calm crystal waters over the colorful reefs.


Muddy water from the swampy estuaries clouds the sea here and there, and mangrove seeds can frequently be seen floating on the sea. As they become waterlogged, these seeds orient themselves vertically. With luck, they get stuck that way in the mud at low tide and in no time at all roots and leaves sprout - a new tree is born.
この辺、川口の沼地から出る水は海のあちこちを汚してくる。そこでマングローブの種は表面に浮かんでいる姿が良く見かけます。その種が水をたっぷり吸ったら垂直に位置を確定する。運がよければ干潮の時あの種は泥に埋めて来て、いつの間にか根と葉っぱが出て、新しい木が生まれ変わってきます。

The Adan is also typical of Okinawa's coastal vegetation, a scrubby palm forming low thickets along the beaches. The springy branches are well adapted to weathering typhoons, and indeed such thickets provide ideal cover for taking shelter from high winds, as there is no worry about getting hit by a falling tree or flying branch. The pineapple-like fruit of the Adan is dry inside and not easily edible.


Kilometers of picturesque beaches and a less exposed, more accessible location (as compared to the rugged south coast) makes this northwest coast of Iriomote relatively popular. We even saw, for the first time ever, several kayakers and hikers. Surely this is a side effect of nearby Ishigaki's sudden increase in popularity as a tourist destination. Nevertheless, a few people here and there is a far cry from how this place would be were it not located in a country where creative travel is still a rarity.


Leanne tries out a problem at a newly discovered, quality boulder area. Our bodies felt heavy and clumsy on the overhanging rock. Was it the heat and humidty, or our recent climbing hiatus?


Back in civilization, we took a stroll around the quaint village of Sonai, near the end of the road on this side of the island. As elsewhere in Yaeyama, most houses are surrounded by stone walls to protect them from flying objects during typhoons. The entrances also have an offset wall for protection; the owner of this one got creative with some roof tiles.
祖内集落では八重山のほかの町と同じのように台風や季節風から家を守り続けている高い石垣が並ぶ景観は独特です。


A pilgrimage to Barasu-jima, a tiny bar of coral gravel several kilometers off Iriomte's north coast, has become par for the course on our visits here. The weather seems to turn inclement every time we land here and this day was no exception.


Barasu-jima's very existence is a bit of a mystery, but wave action from different directions has certainly got something to do with it. Perhaps Hatoma-jima, a small island some kilometers to the north, acts as a lens focusing the waves here from both sides. In any case, Barasu-jima, a heap of coral fragments lying upon a flat reef about 10m deep, evidently moves as storm patterns change from year to year. This map records such movements; the individual outlines were recorded by walking with the GPS along the islet's perimeter during each of our visits. A gradual shifting to the north-west seems to be occurring.


On our return to Ishigaki, we again crossed the enormous reef system between Iriomote and Ishigaki islands. Shallow turquoise waters stretched nearly as far as the eye could see. We climbed a large rock perched on the reef to get a better view on this windy day.


We had a final free day before our flights home, and we decided to spend the morning riding the slow boat back to Iriomote. Among the high-speed ferries that do brisk business shuttling tourists to and fro, we had seen the 'Kariyushi', a slow, rusty tub put-putting along among the reefs. We decided it would be fun to ride it. Today there were no passengers or cars, just some containers of necessities for the 3,000 or so inhabitants of Iriomote. The two hour tour was delightful and interesting, the ship dodging nasty-looking reefs most of the way across the lagoon. Of the four-member crew, one deck hand was sleeping and two more were trawling for fish off the stern, leaving the captain to steer her by himself.


Merely steering the ship, however, was too mundane of the captain who, like all others we have met so far, was a real character. He spent most of the way playing his sanshin and singing Okinawan songs, giving the wheel an occasional whirl when needed. Leanne took the opportunity to pick up a few pointers (about the music), and the captain was, not surprisingly, a strict and demanding teacher. As we disembarked, he categorically refused our request to record a song or two in the quiet harbor. Not long after we spotted him sitting on the pier, still singing and playing. Here was an Okinawan as real as they come. Regretfully, the Kariyushi would not be sailing back that day, giving us no choice bu to take a quick ride back to Ishigaki in the tourist speedboat.


By mid-afternoon, we were back in the city. Renting a moped, we were soon scooting through Ishigaki's rural countryside. Pineapples, one of the island's main products, were just ripening in the fields and one could sample their delicious juice (albeit at inflated tourist prices) at numerous stands along the road.


On this, our fourth visit to Yaeyama, the weather had again been less than perfect, but there were a few sunny days and the sea did allow us to round Cape Paimi, so we couldn't complain. This is one of our favorite places in our corner of the world and we will keep coming back.

Cape Sata ・佐多岬

Cape Sata is well known to the Japanese because it is the southernmost point of Kyushu and therefore of the entire Japanese 'mainland'. For this reason alone quite a few tourists make the long journey here. Sata is actually the end of the large, remote, and mountainous Osumi Peninsula, previously one of the most wayward domains of the Japanese Empire, and now a (still wayward) part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Due to its southern location (Cape Sata just punches through the 31st parallel of latitude) and the influence of the ever-warm waters of the Kuroshio current, the area is one of the few places in Kyushu that enjoys a truly subtropical climate. Plants typically to be found on the islands towards Okinawa can also be seen happily growing here. Relatively untouched by human interference, the wild coasts of the peninsula will impress any nature enthusiast willing to do a bit more than just drive the tourist road to the cape and back.


Cape Sata and environs, showing our kayak courses (red) and bike/walk courses (green). The short trip is 16km on the water, and 3km walking, and can be done easily in less than a day. The long trip is good for a weekend; 68km on the water and 46km by bicycle, with one monster hill. Both trips offer excellent scenery and great value per effort expended. Symbols on map show beaches, caves, rock gardens, and villages. 佐多岬の周辺の地図。シンボルは砂浜、ロックガーデン、洞窟、集落などを表す。

日本本土の最南端としてよく知られている佐多岬は、この理由だけで多くの人々は訪れる。佐多岬は、大隈半島と言う人工密度の非常に低くて山と大自然が広がる半島の端になる。岬の突端は、北緯３１度にジャスト達しし、周りの海は黒潮の影響で暖かいから、他に南西諸島で見える亜熱帯植物が自生している。人工の手の被害も少なく、探検好きなネイチャーの愛好者の天国です。


At Kagoshima Port ・　鹿児島港にて。

Sata is a bit far from Amakusa, so we've only been there twice so far. This time around, a convenient chance to go offered itself because we had to pick up our kayaks at Kagoshima port. The kayaks and gear were delivered by ship from the Yaeyama Islands of Okinawa, where we spent our spring vacation.


Steep mountains and cliffs along the bicycle route. 自転車から見た大隈の険しい山々。

天草よりちょっと遠いだけど、先週末八重山から鹿児島まで届けたカヤックを取りに行ったので、佐多岬を訪れる機会になった。これは、私たちの二回目の訪れ。一回目は、自転車を使ってもうちょっと長い二日間の旅をした（カヤック、岩の海岸の屈曲を含めて６８ｋｍで、自転車の坂のかなりあった４６ｋｍのコース）。今回は、日帰りで１６ｋｍのコースで岬の突端だけを回って、３ｋｍの道路沿いやさしい歩きで車まで戻った。どちらでも一流のツアーになります。


The scenic beauty of the coast culminates in the complex cliffs, rocks, islets, and reefs of the cape itself. Here, the East China Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. A lighthouse marks this navigationally crucial point of land. 美しい佐多岬の複雑な地形。大輪島と言う岬自体の南にある小島に、灯台がある。


The cape stands at the entrance of Kagoshima Bay at the head of which is Kagoshima City, the largest population center and most important port of the south half of Kyushu. The mouth of the bay is always busy with shipping traffic; virtually all passengers and cargo vessels to and from the Nansei Islands pass through here.　鹿児島湾口を入ったり出てりする船舶。南西諸島の各島と本土を結ぶ便はほとんど皆ここを通る。


Cycad palms grow in abundance on the steep slopes of the cape. Nearby Biro-jima island is covered in fan palm trees. Both are subtropical species and cannot be found growing wild north of here. 岬の急海岸にソテルが茂っている。近くの枇榔島はビロウのやしの木に覆われている。本当に亜熱帯だ。


A collection of large dead beetles under the Cape Sata Lighthouse. The bright beam attracts these nocturnal fliers here from afar, to an untimely death by light addiction. 佐多岬灯台の土台で、死んだ甲虫のコレクション。


Leanne weaves her way through the cape's rock gardens. 里杏は岬のロックガーデンを通る。


Where two oceans meet, strong currents usually flow, and Sata is no exception. We spent a half-hour playing in the rough water off the tip of the southernmost rock. The water moved with the speed of a swift river, and it was just possible to surf the waves generated by rocks below. 二つの海がつないでいる場所では、普段に海流がある。佐多岬もそうだ。ここで、最南端の岩の沖、東シナ海から太平洋へ強い流れがあって、３０分ほど遊んだ。


Enjoyable scenery along the walk back to our car. 車までの歩き途中。素晴らしい名前も無い山が後ろにそびえている。新夏の緑の中で、ハイビスカスなどが咲いていた。楽しい散歩でした。


Flowers in a small village along the Osumi coast. 小さな集落の花畑にて。


This vigorous 25m waterfall is one of the highlights of the long circuit. Passing through in the heat of the summer washes off sweat, salt and fatigue. 海に直接落ちているこの２５メートルの滝は、二日間の旅のハイライトの一つだった。冷たい水で夏の暑さをいやした。


Snorkeling along the Osumi coast one sees the typical inhabitants of a subtropical rocky seascape. Here, rock shrimp sit motionless amid sea urchins in a dark crack of an undersea boulder. 海が落ちづいているなら、素潜りも楽しい。典型的な岩の海岸の生き物たちが見える。



Wow! This kind of wild, beautiful beach can't be found in too many places on mainland Japan anymore. It's a bit too far from civilization, so no tetrapods or concrete here. The full fury of Pacific storms is nevertheless held in check by a massive bar of clean, granitic sand. The two-day tour ends here at the village of Hetsuka which is so tiny as to be entirely lost in the thick foliage just inland of the beach. こんな素晴らしい、自然の砂浜もう日本では珍しいものになっているでしょう。テトラポッドやコンクリートも全くない。 それなのに、砂が台風の太平洋にも耐える。ここ辺塚と言う小さな集落もあるけど、茂っている木に完全に覆われている。二日間の旅の終点はここでした。


Leanne enters the quiet estuary of a clear river - a sudden change of atmosphere from the noise and waves of the Pacific. 清水の川に入った里杏。太平洋の波を後ろに残して、突然の静かな景色。


At dusk, the Fuji-like Mt. Kaimon dominates the opposite shore of Kagoshima Bay. 明け方、鹿児島湾の向こう側に「薩摩富士」の開門岳が見える。