Okinawa · IriomoteNo.925★★Open in map →

Yubu Island

— A whole island run as a subtropical garden

natureOff the trail — and worth it

Off the east coast of Iriomote lies a sandbar island planted from shore to shore as a subtropical garden. You reach it by water buffalo cart, crossing a strait that stays shallow even at high tide.

FromOhara Port, Iriomote
~23 minIriomote Kotsu bus
Get off atYubu Suigyusha Noriba (Iriomote Kotsu bus)
On foot
Yubu Island

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

Nothing here is hidden; coaches and tour groups fill the carts through the middle of the day. What thins the crowd is the tide table rather than the season. High water delays the first crossing and bunches everyone into the later hours, while a low morning tide lets the earliest carts go on schedule and puts you in the garden before the day trips out of Ishigaki arrive.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Subtropical Botanical Garden, Yubu Island663highland / CC BY 2.5

The tidal crossingthe shallow strait between the two islands, taken at the animal's pace
Bougainvillea Gardenbanked colour just in from the landing, in flower through the year
Butterfly Gardenan enclosure for the ogomadara, among Japan's largest butterflies, and its gold chrysalis
Suigyu no Ikethe pond where off-duty buffalo and their calves rest
Manta Beachthe island's east shore, looking across the channel to Kohama Island

How to actually get there

Ishigaki Port Ferry Terminal → Ohara Port, Iriomote (Anei Kanko or Yaeyama Kanko Ferry).
Ohara Port → Yubu Suigyusha Noriba (Iriomote Kotsu bus, north along the east coast).
Buy the crossing ticket at Tabibito-no-Eki, beside the stop.
Cross by water buffalo cart, or on foot when the water is low.

Ferry from Ishigaki to Ohara, then the Iriomote bus: Boats to Ohara Port leave the Ishigaki Port Ferry Terminal through the day, run by two competing operators, and are cancelled in rough weather — check the day's status before committing to a plan. From Ohara the island's single bus route runs north along the east coast to the Yubu Suigyusha Noriba stop, about twenty-three minutes. Rental cars and taxis cover the same road.
Return from Yubu Suigyusha Noriba: The same route runs back to Ohara Port, but Iriomote has one bus line and few services, so read the return times off the timetable at the stop before you cross to the island. Missing the connection here means a taxi, not another bus. The last boats from Ohara to Ishigaki go earlier in the day than mainland travellers expect, so treat the ferry timetable as the hard edge of the plan.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Yubu is not a rock island. It is a bank of sand carried out of an Iriomote river and dropped in the shallows, and the local word for such a bar gives the island its name. Nothing here stands far above the water. The channel between Yubu and the Iriomote shore is about a metre deep even at high tide, which is why an animal and a cart can cross it at all. Everything above the sand line is planted — palms, bougainvillea, fruit trees — so the garden and the island have become the same thing.

How to enjoy it

Check the operator's notices before you set out: when the tide is high the first crossing is pushed back, and that shifts the whole day. Buy the cart ticket at the Tabibito-no-Eki counter on the Iriomote side, at least ten minutes before the departure you want. If the carts are queued, walking across is quick and costs less, and you can still ride back.

Background & history

People farmed and lived on Yubu for generations, and water buffalo were working animals here long before they pulled anyone across for pleasure. A typhoon in 1969 flooded the island and effectively ended the settlement; most households resettled at Mihara on Iriomote, within sight of the place they had left. One couple stayed on, hauled soil and compost over by buffalo cart, and planted the palms that became the garden. The carts that now carry visitors continue that work rather than re-enact it.

Before you go

Cash: One ticket covers the round-trip cart ride together with admission; a cheaper walk-in ticket covers admission only and assumes you cross on your own feet. Rates are posted on the operator's site and stood at 2,000 yen for an adult on the combined ticket when this was checked. Carry cash, since the shops and kitchens on the island are small.
Good to know: There is no regular closing day, but the island shuts in typhoons and strong wind, and the operator posts closures and tide-related delays as news items. High summer tides can push the first crossing well past the usual start. There is no shade at all on the crossing itself.
Another way: Walking across is the alternative to the cart, and at ordinary tides the strait is shallow enough for it — the walk-in ticket exists for exactly that. Coming from Ohara by rental car, park on the Iriomote side at the landing; no private vehicle crosses to the island.
After you get off: The bus stop sits at the landing itself. The ticket counter, the toilets and the cart queue are all within a minute of it, and the carts pull out from the ramp straight ahead.