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Iriomote Ishigaki NP, Okinawa
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Iriomote’s Taiwan toad lilies survive only in the spray of a few shaded waterfalls. Genetic research found their lineage came from Taiwan separately from the population that reached Okinawa—two independent island-hopping journeys.
For a short spell from March to mid-April, Yaeyama-hime fireflies light up Iriomote’s forest after dark. The Forestry Agency highlights this seasonal glow as one of the island’s special forest sights.
Late-autumn acorns from Okinawa urajirogashi are the largest among Japan’s beech-family trees—and a favorite of Iriomote’s wild boar. Hunters read the trees at a trap site to anticipate the meat’s flavor; winter-caught kamai is an island treat.
Along Iriomote’s rushing streams, Nagaba-inamori (ナガバイナモリ) and Ryukyu-tsuwabuki (リュウキュウツワブキ) have unusually narrow leaves. Their shape reduces water resistance, helping them withstand rainy-season torrents.
Iriomote’s forest and Okinawa Island’s Yanbaru forest are about 500 km apart, but their plant life differs: researchers describe Iriomote’s as more tropical and Yanbaru’s as more temperate.
Iriomote’s canopy includes familiar evergreen broadleaf trees, but the forest has a distinctly tropical look: tree-clinging ferns and orchids, plus abundant climbing plants such as tsuru-adan, weave through the woods.
Okinawa urajirogashi, a tree of Iriomote’s evergreen forest, has a surprising city connection: its dense, hard timber was used in making Shureimon Gate in Naha.
A 2020–2023 botanical project surveyed 208 sites across Iriomote and assembled 31,966 plant specimens. Its maps identified especially diverse areas in the island’s northeast and south-central interior.
Iriomote’s hane-wana spring trap is said to have arrived from Taiwan around 1935–1940. Hunters adapted it to the island: its compact parts use local wood and bamboo, with wire for the snare.
Iriomote’s 22,366-hectare forest ecosystem reserve was established in 1991. Its core is generally left to natural processes, while its buffer zone allows activities such as local boar hunting and gathering wild vegetables.
