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Aragusuku Island (Uechi) |
Street in Aragusu Island |
This is a manned island
located at the southeast of Iriomote,
being almost flat and made of elevated corals.
The island consists of two islands
of Uechi and Shimoji. Originally this
was a single island and it was separated
into two islands by a great tsunami occurred
in the Edo period (around 17th century).
Aragusuku Island is usually called
"Panari" in Iriomote, "Panari"
means "away", that is, the island
is away from Iriomote. Although once
many people used to live there, recently
underpopulation is advancing, at this moment
there are only two people who have certificates
of residences at the island. In the
island, there is a mermaid shrine in which
a dugong that was a model of a mermaid legend
is deified, and the street shows a simple
appearance to make us feel the original Yaeyama.
How to access to Aragusuku Island, you can utilize
a tour boat from Ohara by Marine Kaiyu, and a sea kayak tour by Haimi Papillon.