5 reasons to visit Iriomote: Japan’s jungle island

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IJT’s Rachel recently swapped drizzly Bristol for the beautiful, sunny climes of Iriomote Island, part of the Okinawa Archipelago. Here are her top 5 reasons to give it a go!

Japan for me has always been about the mix of rural and urban; how in just a few short hours you can go from the bright lights and hyperactivity of Tokyo to watching the snow monkeys bathe in their rural setting high up in the Japanese Alps. I love the way that one night you can find yourself in a capsule hotel in Osaka, then the next night you can be staying in a temple with Buddhist monks in Mount Koya.

On my most recent trip I wanted to see another side of Japan: tropical Japan. Well, subtropical anyway. Reachable from Tokyo in just half a day via a simple plane and boat journey combo, I decided an Okinawan island would be my destination of choice – more specifically Iriomote Island, which is well-known for its thick jungles and beautiful scenery.

Here are five reasons why you should follow in my footsteps and discover Japan’s jungle island for yourself!

1. Snorkelling, trekking and kayaking… all in one day!

Iriomote is famous for its waterfalls, and a trek through the lush green paths to Pinaisara Falls can easily be combined with a few hours of kayaking amongst mangroves and snorkelling just off the beaches.

Trekking to Pinaisara Waterfall
Trekking to Pinaisara Waterfall

2. Beautiful beaches

All over the island there are little coves and inlets with great beaches – and as you can see, they’re often completely deserted! Some of the beaches even have tiny grains of star-shaped sand, called hoshizuna in Japanese.

Deserted beaches on Iriomote
Deserted beaches on Iriomote

3. Water buffalo rides

This was one of the highlights of my time visiting Iriomote. Though it was pretty touristy it was something totally unique that I never thought I would do in Japan. I especially enjoyed sitting on the cart whilst the driver sung and played traditional music to us.

Taking a water buffalo cart ride on the beach
Taking a water buffalo cart ride on the beach

Buffalo friend

Our friendly buffalo driver
Our friendly buffalo driver

4. Island hopping to Taketomi

The small Island of Taketomi is just half an hour’s ferry ride from Iriomote. Whilst Iriomote is jungle-like with its mangroves, waterfalls and rugged coves – Taketomi is more tranquil with long white sandy beaches and buildings mainly built of coral. For me, a former resident of the Maldives myself, it was reminiscent of a small Maldives island. Beautiful!#

Lovely white sand on Taketomi
Lovely white sand on Taketomi

Taketomi

Coral walls and traditional buildings on Taketomi
Coral walls and traditional buildings on Taketomi

5. Life moves at its own pace…

As a non-driver I had no choice but to use the public buses on Iriomote. For such a remote little island, it’s hardly surprising that the buses are hard work and rather too infrequent! If you can, I do highly recommend renting a car instead. Luckily, car hire is very easy and the roads (I should say road, as there’s just one main road) are extremely quiet.

On the plus side, I did have a little chuckle on the bus when the driver announced that we would be making an impromptu stop… to allow the box turtle to safely cross the road! 10 minutes further on we had another stop so the driver could buy some fruit from the street stall. So as you can see, things move at their own pace on Iriomote. Expect the unexpected!

Turtle crossing!
Turtle crossing!

Rachel is a travel consultant in our Bristol office, and spent a year living in the chilly reaches of Hokkaido – Japan’s northernmost main island. Quite frankly worlds away from sunny Iriomote! If you have been inspired to visit the subtropical side of Japan, take a look at our Japan Island-Hopping Self-Guided Adventure for inspiration.

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