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Iriomote Ishigaki NP, Okinawa
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Found in 1982, Nakama’s Sakishima-suo tree is estimated to be 400 years old. A 2023 survey measured it at 23.9m tall, with buttress roots rising 3.58m; it joined Japan’s “Forest Giants 100” in 2000.
Nakama holds roughly one-quarter of Iriomote’s mangrove habitat. Its estuary has 6 mangrove species, including species near their northern range limits; the river-mouth forest became a national Natural Monument in 1972.
Near the river mouth, Nakama Second Shell Mound preserves traces of people from about 3,500–4,000 years ago. At neighboring First Shell Mound, an iron boat nail was found at the base of a 72cm shell layer.
Nakama’s mangrove roots shelter Iriomote’s prized gazami, or mangrove crab, long a home-cooking favorite steamed or in miso soup. A local chef reimagined it as limited-run tomato-cream pasta.
Along the North Funatsuki tributary, mangroves meet a wetland forest of sagaribana. Its flowers open after sunset and drop by morning—a brief night-blooming show in the river’s backwaters.
People from Aragusuku (Shinjō Island) called the river Nahame-kaara and once crossed to farm rice paddies along its banks. Before World War II, sailing boats also loaded timber and firewood at the Nishifunatsuki branch.
Ōtomi was founded in 1952 by 132 people in 68 households who moved to the former Nakama village site beside the river. Its name joins Ōgimi’s “Ō” and Taketomi’s “tomi.”
At high tide, boats can reach about 8km upstream, while tidal influence extends nearly 10km inland. The ocean carries mangrove seeds far beyond the estuary, helping new trees take root on the mudflats.
Nakama’s river cruises follow a shared conservation pact: operators set speed limits and slow zones, and restrict upstream navigation at low tide to reduce disturbance in the shallow mangrove channels.
