Understand
While the second-largest of all Okinawa islands in size, Iriomote's population is barely over 2,000 and visitors, at over 150,000 a year, outnumber residents by almost 100:1. 90% of the island is covered in dense jungles and swampy mangroves, most of which are either part of the Iriomote National Park or protected state land, and the island is unquestionably one of the few remaining great wildernesses of Japan.
Pretty much all of the island's population lives along the coast. Clockwise from the west, the major settlements are Shirahama ç½æµ, Uehara ä¸å, Funaura è¹æµ¦ and Åhara 大å. The southern stretch between Ohara and Shirahama is effectively untouched coastline, with no roads and only a few isolated fishing villages near the western end.
