Amami-Oshima Island

Let’s first set some things straight about this WHS. I propose a name change: “Subtropical Rainforests of the Ryukyu Archipelago” would cover it much better than the enumeration of the names of 4 islands as cumbersome as Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek. And: Iriomote Island actually is the main component. It’s the largest, the least developed and the most ‘different’ as it lies in a different biogeographic realm from the rest: the Indomalayan instead of the Palearctic.

Still, even Iriomote is no Ogasawara. It can easily be reached by ferry from neighbouring Ishigaki, a tacky holiday island that has a busy airport. Iriomote sees a whopping 352,000 tourists a year according to IUCN in its evaluation (I don’t think they’re back to those numbers yet after Covid, there were only about 30 passengers on my ferry). The core zone of the WHS comprises about 90% of the island, it includes everywhere where there are no roads. 

I hadn’t booked anything in advance, but right off the ferry, I could join a ‘Mangrove Cruise’ that departed from a neighbouring pier. It may be the most touristy thing to do on the island, but it will get you definitely into the core zone and you will be surrounded by its OUV – so what more could I want? We were only 8 persons on a boat that could hold 60, so there was ample room to move between the left and right sides in …

Yamburu National Park resides in the northern part of Okinawa Island and a part of this whs. Our visit was late June.

By rental car the toll road highway took us from Naha Airport to the site. Arriving in the evening we took only a quick drive through the core of the park on narrow, overgrown roads and made plans for the next day.

After a night at the Ada Garden Hotel (remember to book half board) on the eastern side we re-entered the park, that is after we could watch the endemic Okinawa rail bird just outside the hotel. Another hotel guest told us she’d been here 8 years, but never seen it until now. Driving into the park we also spotted the tiny wild boar along the road.

We had decided for two hikes in the park, the first one to the peak of the National Park, Mount Yohana (no entrance fee). From the starting point we loaded up with insect spray, water and wandered off.

It’s a 2-hour hike return trip with only 200 m of elevation. The dense vegetation makes it hard to get an overview, so we focused on plants and hope to see some animals. The latter were sparse. There were insects and we could hear a lot of birds but saw only a few. The path was rocky, muddy, flat to steep (so bring good shoes). It was early morning so not so hot, but very humid.

The …

This TWHS had quite positive recommendations from IUCN in 2018. After deferral, I believe that the modified nomination that followed all the recommendations has high chance to be inscribed in 2020. It consists of 4 islands (Amami-Oshima, Tokunoshima, Northern Okinawa, and Iriomote) covered by subtropical forest southwest from Japan mainland. In original nomination, it was proposed for criterions (ix) ecological processes and (x) biodiversity and endemic species. New nomination for 2020 focuses only on the criterion (x), since the islands represent biodiversity hotspot of isolated islands in Pacific Ocean with numerous endemic and endangered species such as Amami rabbit, Okinawa rail, Okinawa woodpecker, Amami woodcock, Iriomote cat, and several kinds of endemic rats, turtles, lizards, newts and frogs among others. It is clear that animal species are not very spectacular, thus I do not expect that this site will be overwhelmed by tourist industry even after the inscription.

I visited only Okinawa component (partly in March 2016 – see my “un-official” review below, and more thoroughly in November 2019), but I would like to visit more islands in the future. Actually, Northern parts of Okinawa Island is the most problematic component because of the issue with the US military training areas. Some areas were returned to Japan very recently and joint to Yanbaru National Park as well as to the core zone of the nomination, but it is still a controversial point.

In November 2019, I spent 2 days/3 nights in Yanbaru National Park in the area of …

Iriomote is usually a day trip from Ishigaki by ferry. Whereas it is possible to stay longer it is not easy to figure out accomodation. Best and easiest way to see the forest is the boat tiur to the waterfalls. Along the way is a Japanese guide and you can try to follow with English notes but most people got lost really quickly. It is still beautiful on the way. Once you arrive the tour continues as a hike for about 2h which is rather muddy and steep at points. That is why you got boots at the start of the tour. You will be rewarded with great views at the lookout points where you can have a rest. Some people only walked to the first stop and back. The time is a little tight to see both anyway. The guides also did not accompany you as they go back and forth with other guests.

The most sought after sight on the island are the endemic Iriomote cats, a subspecies of leopards only found here. They say the chance to see one is really low. They are protected and the numbers have plummeted before protection but they are still really shy animals.

Highly recommend.

I visited Okinawa island in March last year. According the locals, March-April would be the best time to visit and explore the island in order to avoid winter cold, summer hot&humidity, monzoon of May, and typhoons of fall.

The Yanbaru forest is located in the norden part of the island, and Nago is the best place to stay&go further to north. This part of the island is quite remote, and due to the infrequent public transport - which I used to visit Hiji falls protected area, renting a car would be better and more efficient alternative.

It was a bit rainy day, however for visiting of subtropical rain forest it was an appropriate choice...

I like very much such areas, and I can compare my experience to Laurisilva of Madeira, or in a certain extent also to beech forests of Slovakia (both are WHS). So, I enjoyed my visit a lot, but I have to admit that no everyone would enjoy seemingly boring densely forested areas with a minimum of viewpoints or spectacular flora and fauna.

In the summary, I strongly support the inscription to protect the forested area inhabited by numerous endemic species that might be endangered mainly by military preasures in the area.