During June of this year I got the chance to visit Japan again after being away since 2010. Part of my trip consisted of time in Tokyo which was an enjoyable time largely due to the strong familiarity being there and a feeling of “home” that I always feel in Japan. The other part of this trip was a bit of (an attempted) adventure to the island of Iriomote-jima, which one of the more southwest islands of the nation.
Location: (roughly) 24.348666, 123.865524
Now when I originally planned this trip, I thought it would be great to go to the island (Iriomote) and go camping since it’s a registered dark sky preserve similar to that of the BWCA in Northern Minnesota. As easily predicated it didn’t turn out as planned, but was nonetheless a wonderful trip.
Firstly weather was not in my favor, actually quite the opposite. I really don’t like heat and humidity and I went at the best time to experience the most humidity and heat that the island gets in a year… good job me. As a consequence of the weather, it was very obvious there was no chance of me seeing a starry sky. Secondly, camping in Japan (Iriomote especially) takes a lot more planning, reservations, etc than just hitting up the boundary waters in Northern MN. For example on Iriomote there’s only a handful of campsites that you have to reserve somewhat in advance and it is difficult to do without knowing Japanese or being there in person. You can’t open camp on the island due to its protected status for environmental reason. It is a beautiful place though so I’m quite happy for the restrictions despite them making it more difficult for me.
I did end up going to Iriomote (via the ferry from Ishigaki) and rented a car and drove around and got to see some of the island. Short, brief trip however I’m very grateful. A couple things I learned below that I can recommend if you want to visit these islands with at least more success than I had:
- Make reservations for the local things (camping, etc) as early as possible. Sometimes this is difficult though due to language barrier.
- Check the weather – in my opnion based on what I could find, November to February probably has more mild temperatures and clearer skies.
- Bring an international drivers license (AAA if in the US) – you will need this to get around Iriomote and it’s unavoidable.
So in short, the trip absolutely didn’t turn out as planned but I still had a great time. It’s an absolutely incredible experience and I’ve learned a lot from it.
Shoutout to the owner of Taro Izakaya located between Ebisu and Naka-Meguro station in Tokyo. It was a little walk to get there but the owner was so nice and it was such a comfortable place. Please stop by if you’re in the area!
Check the youtube playlist below for a couple videos from Iriomote Island
