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Yambaru NP, Okinawa
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Gesashi Bay’s forest covers more than 10 hectares and holds 3 of the 4 mangrove types found on Okinawa’s main island. Yaeyama-hirugi reaches its natural northern range limit here.
Residents remember catching shrimp by moonlight on Gesashi River and floating cut banana trunks after harvest. Long-arm shrimp (tanagā) were also a familiar Yambaru food, often deep-fried.
When the tide falls, fiddler crabs and mudskippers become visible on the flats, alongside shorebirds. Yambaru National Park’s plan specifically names these tidal-flat residents as wildlife to protect here.
Look at the mangroves’ “feet”: Yaeyama-hirugi has arching stilt roots, O-hirugi sends up knee-shaped breathing roots, and Me-hirugi has board-like roots. All 3 grow by the park’s boardwalk.
Silt can clog mangrove channels and gradually turn wetlands into dry land. Restoration work at Gesashi removes accumulated sediment and invasive casuarina so water can flow and native hirugi can thrive.
The Ryukyu Government designated the forest a natural monument on December 16, 1959; Japan’s national designation followed on May 15, 1972. Fureai Hirugi Park itself was completed in 2000.
Higashi’s eco-tourism began in the early 2000s to create jobs for young residents. A recent national-park storybook reports that nearly half of about 30 mangrove-kayak guides are from the village.
