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Iriomote Ishigaki NP, Okinawa
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From Tamatorizaki, Hirakubo Peninsula’s slim neck separates the Pacific from the East China Sea by only a few hundred metres. Fishers once carried their sabani across it, choosing the shore that suited the wind.
At nearby Funakoshi Harbor, residents and schoolchildren carried boats to the western port during the 28th Funakuyā Hari in 2026, reviving the old crossing and praying for safe voyages and good catches.
Ishigaki City’s landscape plan lists the Southern Cross among the sights visible from Tamatorizaki Observatory. From this far-southern lookout, the constellation can rise above the horizon—a rare night-sky treat for many visitors from Japan.
At the 2015 festival, guests were welcomed with free fish soup while children, teachers and elders joined boat-race activities—a lovely example of the harbor’s celebration being shared across generations.
The boat crossing even has its own song: Ishigaki’s community plan calls Funakuya-bushi Ibaruma’s only classical folk song and describes it as a song about walking while carrying a boat—local geography set to music.
A 1771 record says the Meiwa tsunami reached Tamatorizaki’s upland. The same account says 625 of Ibaruma’s 720 residents drowned; the devastated village was rebuilt with 167 people relocated from Kuroshima.
In a 1994 prefectural survey of the coast between Tomuru Cape and Tamatorizaki, living coral cover was generally under 5%, yet one central patch topped 50%—a striking reef hotspot within this broad coastal stretch.
A prefectural coastal survey identifies Ibaruma South Beach, near the observatory, as a sea-turtle nesting site. The reef-fringed shore in the panorama is wildlife habitat as well as a beautiful view.
