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Zamami, Okinawa
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Coral born around Kerama can drift away as larvae and help replenish reefs along the western coast of Okinawa Island.
Researchers have confirmed 248 coral species around Kerama, representing about 62 percent of Japan's reef-building coral species.
The Kerama Islands are the surviving high points of mountainous terrain partly submerged by geological change.
Zamami helped introduce modern bonito fishing to Okinawa, and its Kerama-bushi bonito flakes became renowned for their quality.
Researchers have individually identified more than 1,800 humpback whales around Kerama using the unique patterns beneath their tails.
Keramashoto National Park was designated on March 5, a date associated in Japan with Coral Day through the pronunciation of the numbers three and five.
Roughly 96 percent of the national park's combined published land and marine area is ocean.
A humpback named Swan was first recorded around Kerama as a calf and later returned with a calf of her own.
One identified humpback has been documented across waters associated with Russia, the Philippines, Zamami and Ogasawara.
A male dog named Shiro became famous for swimming between islands to visit a female dog named Marilyn.
Shiro and Marilyn's story inspired a Japanese movie, and statues commemorating the dogs stand on different islands.
Humpback whales return to the waters around Kerama during winter and spring for breeding and raising calves.
Green sea turtles and hawksbill turtles feed around Kerama's coral reefs.
Sea turtles also come ashore on Kerama's beaches to lay eggs.
Parts of Kerama's coral reefs received international protection as a Ramsar Wetland years before the national park was established.
Kerama deer form Japan's southernmost wild deer population.
Kerama deer have smaller bodies, heads and antlers than related deer living farther north in Japan.
Kerama has lent its name to several forms of wildlife, including a gecko, freshwater crab and colorful reef fish.
Some of Kerama's outer sea cliffs rise roughly 100 to 200 meters above the water.
More than 620 native plant species have been recorded on the islands.
Strong winter monsoon winds help shape Kerama's low, windswept forests and coastal vegetation.
Kerama's islands once formed part of maritime routes connecting the Ryukyu Kingdom with China.
A nineteenth-century sea captain's home on Geruma Island still preserves traditional Okinawan red-tile and coral-stone architecture.
Yakabi and Kuba islands once supported copper mining communities before World War II.
U.S. forces landed in the Kerama Islands on March 26, 1945, before the main landings on Okinawa Island.
Kerama-bushi is dried bonito from Zamami's historic fishing industry, associated with Japan's savory dashi broth.
Bonito flakes are an important ingredient in dashi, the broth behind many Japanese soups and noodle dishes.
Fresh local fish is part of the food culture of Kerama's inhabited island villages.
Okinawa soba uses wheat noodles rather than the buckwheat typically associated with mainland soba.
Awamori is Okinawa's traditional distilled rice spirit, with roots in Ryukyu-era trade.
The Kerama Islands were part of maritime routes linking the Ryukyu Kingdom and China.
Ferries connect inhabited Kerama islands with Okinawa's main island and support everyday island life.
Local food stops offer a way to meet island communities beyond Kerama's famous beaches and reefs.
