Japan's Southernmost Point

Yaeyama Islands


Cycling along roads criss-crossing fields of sugar cane and tracing kilometres of unspoiled coastline – the southernmost point of Japan's southernmost inhabited island, feels appropriately far-flung once you've arrived. There's also a monument marking the spot, a popular locale for photo ops.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Yaeyama Islands attractions

1. Takanazaki

0.68 MILES

At the southeast corner of the island is this impressive 1km-long cliff of Ryūkyū limestone, pounded by the Pacific Ocean. There's a small observatory…

2. Nishihama

2.49 MILES

Just to the west of the port is this perfect beach of snow-white sand with some good coral offshore. Here you will find free public showers, toilets and a…

3. Ida-no-hama

20.69 MILES

From Shirahama, at the western end of the north coast road, there are four daily boats (¥500) to the isolated settlement of Funauki. Once there, it's a…

4. Iriomote Wildlife Conservation Center

20.87 MILES

If you are at all intrigued by the yamaneko (Iriomote's endemic wildcat), whose critically endangered population hovers around 100, it's worth stopping by…

5. Kanpire-no-taki

21.27 MILES

Kanpire-no-taki, a low-scale series of waterfalls, is the turnaround point for hikers who have travelled up the Urauchi-gawa.

6. Mariyudō-no-taki

21.41 MILES

A trek upriver through the damp Iriomote forest leads to the lovely Mariyudō-no-taki, a series of low waterfalls.

7. Pinaisāra-no-taki

23.16 MILES

At the back of a mangrove-lined bay called Funaura-wan, a few kilometres east of Uehara, you can make out the lovely Pinaisāra-no-taki, Okinawa’s highest…

8. Kaiji-hama

25.92 MILES

This lovely stretch of beach is on the southwest coast, also happens to be the main hoshi-suna (star sand) hunting ground. If you don't arrive bearing…

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