Yonaguni

fauna

The island's unique fauna are also of interest.

Yonaguni horse

ヨナグニウマ yonaguni-uma. Bred in isolation on Yonaguni over hundreds of years, the Yonaguni horse is a very small breed, only about 10 hands high 100 centimeters/3.5 feet. Nowadays, most are wild, in two free-ranging herds about 108 horses total. They're generally very tame and gentle, thanks in large part to the kind treatment they receive from the islanders. You'll probably see at least one if you're on the island for very long.

Atlas moth

ヨナグニサン yonaguni-san. The largest known species of moth in the world. Although it can be found in other parts of Asia mostly in Taiwan, India, and Malaysia, the first specimen was collected in Yonaguni and they are abundant. The Atlas Moth Museum アヤミハビル館 ayamihabiru-kan southeast of Sonai tel 0980-87-2440 has live caterpillars in season as well as various displays of local insects and other critters. You won't be able to see the adult moths, though, as the cocoons are returned to the forests.

Anbonia

アンボイナ amboina. A very beautiful — but also very poisonous — seashell. See here for more information on how to watch out for them.

Yonaguni Ethnographic Museum

与那国民族資料館 Yonaguni Minzoku Shiryōkan, literally "Yonaguni Ethnicity Information-center". This museum, at No. 49 in the Sonai area, is run by 87-year-old "island auntie", Ikema Nae. There's a lot of information about the island's history, culture, and even language. If you want information about the island's indigenous writing system, kaida-dii, this is probably the place to go. Their informational pamphlets can also be very enlightening, but they are only occasionally offered in English. The museum also sells the Dictionary of the Yonaguni Tongue 与那国語辞典 Yonaguni kotoba jiten, the only available dictionary of the local language to and from Standard Japanese, also with a little bit of information about the native writing system. Incidentally, the dictionary is written by Ms Nae, and the entire museum is mostly the result of her work. If you have any questions, she's usually there and is very knowledgable about the history, culture, language, and traditions of Yonaguni.