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Kunigami, Okinawa
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The Okinawa rail is Japan's only flightless bird, and in the wild it lives naturally only in Yambaru.
Scientists formally described the Okinawa rail as a species only in 1981.
Northern Okinawa became part of a UNESCO World Natural Heritage property in 2021 because of its exceptional biodiversity and threatened endemic species.
Yambaru is home to Japan's largest beetle, the Yambaru long-armed scarab, which naturally occurs nowhere else in the world.
Yambaru National Park was designated on September 15, the anniversary of the discovery of its famous giant beetle.
The Okinawa woodpecker naturally occurs only in Yambaru.
The Okinawa woodpecker's name honors a person named Noguchi who is associated with its discovery.
Kunigami, Ogimi and Higashi occupy a tiny fraction of Japan while supporting an extraordinary concentration of the country's bird species.
The same small northern Okinawa region supports roughly one-quarter of Japan's native frog species.
More than eighty percent of the broader Yambaru region is covered by forest.
Yambaru receives roughly two and a half meters of rainfall in an average year.
Yambaru supports lush subtropical forest around twenty-seven degrees north latitude, where many other parts of the world have much drier landscapes.
Old hollow trees can provide habitat for endemic mammals, birds and insects at the same time.
The Ryukyu long-haired rat represents an ancient evolutionary lineage with no close living relatives.
One of Yambaru's endemic frogs is often celebrated for its spectacular green, yellow and brown coloration.
The Yambaru long-armed scarab depends heavily on mature forest with large old trees.
Old charcoal kilns remain hidden within parts of Yambaru's forest.
Remains associated with traditional indigo production can also be found in the mountains.
Timber from northern Okinawa once traveled south by sea aboard vessels associated with Yambaru's maritime trade.
A traditional Okinawan work song preserves the memory of people hauling enormous logs from the northern forest.
Traditional Yambaru communities understood mountains and sea as connected sources of nature's abundance.
Yambaru contains mountain rainforest, waterfalls, streams, mangroves and coastline within one compact region.
Because Okinawa rails spend their lives on the ground, vehicle traffic through their habitat creates an unusual conservation challenge.
The UNESCO property containing northern Okinawa protects subtropical rainforest supporting exceptionally high levels of endemic reptiles, amphibians and other wildlife.
UNESCO considers the four-island World Heritage property containing northern Okinawa globally important for biodiversity conservation.
Okinawa soba uses wheat noodles, despite its name, and is often served with pork in broth.
Goya champuru is a beloved Okinawan stir-fry featuring bitter melon, often with tofu and egg.
Awamori is Okinawa's traditional distilled rice spirit, distinct from brewed sake.
Shikuwasa is a fragrant, tart citrus associated especially with northern Okinawa.
Agu pork comes from an Okinawan heritage pig breed and is prized in local cuisine.
The sanshin is a three-stringed instrument central to Okinawan music.
Yambaru's timber was historically transported to other parts of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Shuri Castle was a royal center of the Ryukyu Kingdom, far south of Yambaru National Park.
