Kohama Island

Kohama Island (小浜島, Kohama-jima) (Yaeyama: Kumoo, Okinawan: Kubama) is an island in the Yaeyama Islands group at the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands chain, and part of Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The island has an area of 7.84 km2 (3.03 sq mi), with a surrounding area of 16.6 km2 (6.4 sq mi). The island is located about 25 minutes by ferry from Ishigaki Island, which is the transportation and business center of the Yaeyama Islands.

Kohama is located between Iriomote and Ishigaki Islands.
The Yaeyama Islands are located at the southwest point of Okinawa Prefecture.

The 2001 NHK drama series Churasan was set on the island. Shinobu Miyara, former member of Da Pump, is from Kohama-jima. The octogenarian "idol" group, KBG84, has given Kohama much media coverage.[1]

Access

Kohamajima is accessible via several ferries from Ishigaki Marina, Taketomi Island, and Iriomote Island.

Yaeyama Kankō Ferry
Ishigaki Island Port (Ritō Terminal): About 25 minutes one way, 11 ferries daily from morning until evening. A "car ferry" runs about 3 times weekly.
Taketomi Island: About 20 minutes one way, once daily
Iriomote Island Ōhara Port: About 30 minutes one way, once daily
An'ei Kankō
Ishigaki Island Port (Ritō Terminal): About 25 minutes one way, 10 ferries daily from morning until evening. A "car ferry" runs about 3 times weekly.
Ishigaki Island Dream Kankō
Ishigaki Island Port (Ritō Terminal): About 25 minutes one way, 6 ferries daily from morning until evening. One trip daily stops at Ōhara Port mid-trip.
Taketomi Island: About 30 minutes one way, once daily, with a stop at Ishigaki Island Port

Sights

As the TV drama Churasan was very popular all over Japan, Kohamajima is visited by comparatively many tourists. Kohaguraso, a historic house in Kohama, the only village on the island, is one of the most important tourist attractions, as the drama was set here.[2] The house, which is built in the traditional style with a hip roof and a veranda, is surrounded by a wall made of coral stones. Another tourist attraction is a road in the eastern part of the island where sugarcane is grown. The road which got the nickname Sugar Road can be seen in the TV drama as well.

Mount Ufudaki is the highest spot of the island. Its height is 99 m.[3] The viewpoint on its top offers a scenic view of the whole island and of Iriomote, the neighbouring island.

The small museum in the village of Kohama is worth a visit as well. On the eastern beach of Kohamajima there is a white gate. An old staircase with white lilies on both sides leads to a small sacred stone which is on a small hill under an old tree.

Infrastructure

There are some small shops, restaurants and guesthouses on the island. The village has a modern school and an administration building. Outside the village there is a large hotel resort.

Impressions from Kohamajima
  • View to Mount Ufudaki
  • Mount Ufudaki
  • Traditional architecture: Kohaguraso
  • High Street of Kohama Village
  • School in Kohama Village
  • Museum
  • Sugar Road
  • Tori on the beach in the east of Kohama-jima

References
  1. Henry Johnson (2020) Beyond the Mainland: Okinawa, Palimpsestic Geography and Octogenarian Island Idols, Popular Music and Society, DOI: 10.1080/03007766.2020.1730653
  2. Yamakei: Ryukyu Nansei Shoto, p.111. Tokio 2003. ISBN 4-635-01718-4
  3. Chris Taylor: Japan, p. 721. Stefan Loose Publishers, Berlin 1998

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