ITINERARY
Living on an island immersed in nature makes one grateful for its bounty.
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Amami Gunto National Park is located midway between Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures. Its islands are home to diverse and flourishing ecosystems, with landscapes and natural features shaped by the interaction of people and nature. They have a unique subtropical rainforest environment, inhabited by a wide range of plant and animal life. As you experience them, you will also encounter a way of life rooted in nature worship, where people still to offer prayers before entering the mountains or sea, as these, and even habu viper are considered divine. The spirit of awe and respect that has been passed down in this abundant environment might remind you of what we tend to forget in our technology-driven society.
Itinerary Highlights
- Tour the hamlets and rainforest of Amami and meet its people up close
- Take a night tour to observe oriental river prawns
- Join a Shirahama sea kayaking tour
E-bike ride and Mount Yuwandake hike
You arrive on Amami Oshima the day before the tour. First, you go to Uken Village Hall where you can view habu viper, considered the guardian spirits of the island. From there, you get on an e-bike and start exploring the village. Through interacting with the locals, you will learn about a way of life rooted in nature. Lunch is at a café in a traditional Japanese house and features lots of local ingredients. From there you join a hiking tour of sacred Mount Yuwandake. At 694 meters, it is the island’s highest peak. Designated a National Park Special Protection Area, the mountain has many rare plants such as Japanese wild ginger (Asarum nipponicum). Your non-Japanese guide will tell you about the unique draws of Uken Village from the perspective of a visitor from overseas. You spend the night in Yuwan, Uken Village.
Explore uninhabited islands and try catching oriental river prawns to learn about life with the sea
After checkout, you take a stroll through the hamlets of Yuwan and Uken. After lunch, you explore the beautiful uninhabited island of Edatekujima, just off the coast from Uken Village. You will learn here how the island came to be uninhabited and catch a glimpse of the ways of life of the local people who have long used it for fishing. After returning to your lodging in Uken Village and having dinner, you head out at night to catch oriental river prawns using a traditional method with a net. Actually trying some will give you a greater appreciation of nature’s bounty.
Go sea kayaking for fun on the water
After checkout, you travel by car to Shirahama Beach in Setouchi Town. There you paddle out onto the beautiful ocean for a sea kayaking tour, enjoying the wonders of nature in a unique way, from the surface of the water, without the noise of engines. Once you reach a beach that can only be accessed from the sea by kayak, you can go snorkeling. In the afternoon, you drive out to climb Mount Yui to conclude the trip. There is a view of the beautiful ria coast of the Oshima Strait and the village beside the sea.