*This article confirmed the information in March 2023.
Contents
♦ Welcome to Iriomote Island
♦ How to get to Iriomote Island
♦ Rental cars are convenient
♦ Tourist Attractions on Iriomote
♦ There are no convenience store
♦ Restaurant information
♦ There are even resort hotels
♦ Iriomote Island ATM information
♦ Emergency medical care
♦ There are no trash cans
♦ Free Wi-Fi
♦ Iriomote Island Climate
Welcome to Iriomote Island
Iriomote Island is located about 50-minute by ferry from Ishigaki Island. Iriomote Island is a larger than Ishigaki Island, and about 90% of it is covered by subtropical forests. Therefore, only a part of the island can be reached by car, and many other places covered by forests can only be reached by boat or on foot. Iriomote Island is an island with such rich nature, and rare animals and plants such as Iriomote cats inhabit it.
The city center of Iriomote Island is around Uehara Port and Ohara Port where ferries from Ishigaki Island come. Around these ports, there are facilities necessary for your stay, such as restaurants, supermarkets and Koban.
Even if you rent a car to visit the tourist attractions on Iriomote Island, it will take a day. In addition, if you want to enjoy activities such as snorkeling and kayaking, you need to stay overnight.
How to get to Iriomote Island
・It takes about 50 minutes by ferry from Ishigaki Island.
The only way to get to the island is by ferry from Ishigaki Island. Therefore, you need to fly to Ishigaki Island first and then transfer to the ferry.
It takes about 30, 40 minutes by bus or taxi from Ishigaki Airport to the ferry terminal (Ishigaki Port Ferry Terminal). The ferry terminal is far from the airport, so plan your trip considering the travel time.
How to get from Ishigaki Airport to Ishigaki Port is summarized on another page.
The gateways to Iriomote Island
・Uehara Port in the northern part of the island.
・Ohara Port in the southern part of the island.
There are daily ferries from Ishigaki Island to both ports. Uehara Port and Ohara Port take about 40 minutes by car, so you should choose the port according to your destination. However, ferries going to Uehara Port are often canceled due to bad weather. Especially in winter, it will be canceled at a rate of about 50%.
More information about the ferry, such as how to take the ferry and discount tickets, is summarized in “How to take a ferry from Ishigakijima to other islands“.
How to get to Iriomote Island
1. Ishigaki Airport (Ishigaki Island)
2. Ishigaki Airport (about 30,40 minutes) Ishigaki Port (Ferry terminal for Iriomote Island)
3. Ishigaki Port (about 50 minutes) Iriomote Island
Ishigaki Port Iriomote Port Ferry schedule
Ferries to Iriomote Island are operated by two companies. It is Anei Kanko Ferry and Yaeyama Kanko Ferry. Please check the schedule of each company.
Anei Kanko Ferry : schedule, ferry operation status
Yaeyama Kanko Ferry : schedule, ferry operation status
Riding Time
Ishigaki port Uehara port (Iriomote) : 45 – 60 minutes
Ishigaki port Ohara port (Iriomote) : 40 – 55 minutes
Ishigaki Port Ohara Port Fare
The ferry to Ohara Port is operated by two companies, but the fare is the same.
The fare changes according to the fuel price. Please check the fare of each company.
Anei Kanko Ferry : fare
Yaeyama Kanko Ferry : fare
Adult fare
one way : 1,830yen～／round trip : 3,500yen～
Child fare (Elementary school students)
one way : 930yen～／round trip : 1,780yen～
Ishigaki Port Uehara Port Fare
The ferry to Uehara Port is operated by two companies, but the fare is the same.
The fare changes according to the fuel price. Please check the fare of each company.
Anei Kanko Ferry : fare
Yaeyama Kanko Ferry : fare
Adult fare
one way : 2,390yen～／round trip : 4,570yen～
Child fare (Elementary school students)
one way : 1,200yen～／round trip : 2,300yen～
*If you make a reservation from each company’s website, you will get a 5% discount on the fare.
Anei Kanko Ferry reservation (Anei Kanko Ferry website)
Yaeyama Kanko Ferry reservation (Yaeyama Kanko Ferry website)
The ferry shakes
The ferry that goes from Ishigaki Island to Iriomote Island is a medium-sized ferry (pictured above), but it shakes.
The boarding time is about 50 minutes, so if you get seasick easily, we recommend that you take motion sickness medicine. In addition, you should sit in the backseat of the ferry, which has relatively little shaking. The ferry is a non-reserved seat, so you should go early to the boarding gate to wait for the ferry and sit in the back seat.
There are seats outside the ferry behind the ferry, but please be sure to sit inside the ferry. The seats outside the ferry are noisy with engine noise and splashed with waves.
Motion sickness medicine is sold at the shop inside Ishigaki Port Ferry Terminal.
Rental cars are convenient
Transportation on Iriomote Island is bus, rental car or taxi.
Iriomote Island is an island with a population of about 2,500 and is visited by 290,000 tourist annually. Especially during the busy summer season, it is recommended to book transportation on the island in advance.
Bus
There is a route bus service on Iriomote Island, and you can also take a route bus to major tourist attractions. However, the number of buses operating is quite small.
“How to get on the bus on Iriomotejima (schedule, route, bus pass)” is summarized on another page.
Rental car
Many people rent a car and there are several car rental companies on Iriomote Island. However, there are not many rental car, so it is better to make a reservation before going to the island.
In addition, you cannot bring a rental car from Ishigaki Island. You need to rent a car at a car rental company on Iriomote Island.
Taxi
There are two taxi companies on Iriomote Island. However, the number of taxis is small, so you can not get on without making a reservation by phone. There is no taxi stand on the island.
Taxi reservation
Yamaneko Taxi (Map No. 3 )
0980–85–5303 (Business hours 8:30am to 5:00pm)
Iriomote Kanko Taxi (Map No. 4 )
0980–85–5333 (Business hours 8:00am to 5:00pm)
Tourist Attractions on Iriomote
More photos : Instagram
The best attraction of Iriomote Island is the rich nature. You can enjoy kayaking, snorkeling, diving and hiking. Some tourist attractions, such as Yubu Island or Urauchi River pleasure boat, can be reached without a reservation.
If you can, it is recommended to stay overnight and participate in activity tours such as kayaking.
The map below shows the major tourist attractions on Iriomote Island.
In addition, “must-see tourist attractions” is summarized on another page.
You can enjoy the rich nature of the island with activities such as kayaking and diving. Advance reservations are required to participate in these activity tours. In addition, there are places where you need to take a guided tour when entering the island forest, such as to see a waterfall. There are few hiking trail signs and some places are off-limits, so it’s difficult to go by yourself.
Tour reservation
Tour companies in the Ishigaki Port Ferry Terminal are convenient.
These tour companies offer a variety of tours. It is also convenient because you can make a reservation from the website below.
In addition, there are various activity tour shops on Iriomote Island, including specialized diving shops. Among them, only the shops that can book tours from the English website are listed below.
Tour company in the Ishigaki Port Ferry Terminal
HIRATA Tourism
Yaeyama Kanko Ferry
Anei Kanko Ferry
Ishigaki Dream Tours
Activity tour shops on Iriomote Island
Smile Fish Iriomotejima (diving, snorkeling)
Blue Season Iriomote (diving, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking)
There are no convenience store
Iriomote Island has no convenience store or drugstore. There are several small supermarkets on the island, but the items you can buy there are limited.
The location of the supermarkets is shown on the map above.
There are vending machines in the village for drinks. However, once you pass through the village, there may be no shops or vending machines. Iriomote Island is large, so you may want to buy it early when you find it.
Restaurant information
More restaurant photos : Instagram
Restaurants are located in each area. Most restaurants are small individual stores, not many have websites, and it is difficult to get information about business hours.
There are many restaurants around the ports (Ohara Port or Uehara Port).
There are even resort hotels
Iriomote Island is so large that it takes a day for you to visit the tourist attractions scattered around the island. Furthermore, tours such as snorkeling and kayaking where you can feel the rich nature of Iriomote Island are also attractive. Therefore, we recommend you to stay overnight.
There are more guesthouses than hotels on Iriomote Island, but there are also resort hotels such as Hoshino Resorts. When you book accommodation, we recommend a stay plan with dinner. It may be hard to get information on restaurants where you can eat dinner on Iriomote Island.
In addition, there are no convenience stores. Therefore, if you have what you need for your stay, you should buy it on Ishigaki Island before going to Iriomote Island.
Iriomote Island ATM information
There is no bank on Iriomote Island and there is no place to exchange foreign currency. But you can withdraw money with the credit card or cash card issued by overseas financial institutions in post office ATM.
There are ATMs in the Japanese post office, and there are also two post offices on Iriomote Island.
Many hotels on Iriomote Island accept credit cards, but taxis only accept cash payments, and many restaurants only accept cash too. Please prepare cash on Ishigaki Island and go to Iriomote Island, or use the post office below.
Iriomotejima Ohara Post Office (Near Ohara port)
| Business Hours | 8:45am to 6:00pm (weekday) 9:00am to 5:00pm (the others) |
|---|---|
| Closed | No Closing days |
| Address | 201-117,Haimi,Yaeyama-gun Taketomi-cho,Okinawa |
 MAPCODE |
806 075 148*56 |
| Map No. | 1 |
| Web | Post office Website |
Iriomotejima Post Office (Western part of the island)
| Business Hours | 8:45am to 7:00pm (weekday) 9:00am to 5:00pm (the others) |
|---|---|
| Closed | No Closing days |
| Address | 628,Iriomote,Yaeyama-gun Taketomi-cho,Okinawa |
| MAPCODE |
1 047 809 235*23 |
| Map No. | 2 |
| Web | Post office Website |
Emergency medical care
There are only two clinics on Iriomote Island. It is not a 24-hour medical examination system.You will call the clinic directly during the office hours and the Ambulance Service (119) during the non-office hours.
Ohara Clinic (Near Ohara port)
| Office Hours | Weekday : 8:30am to 11:30am、1:30pm to 4:30pm (Wednesday PM closed) |
|---|---|
| Closed | Sat., Sun., Holiday |
| Address | 201-131,Haimi,Yaeyama-gun Taketomi-cho,Okinawa |
| MAPCODE |
806 045 744*45 |
| Map No. | 1 |
| Phone Number | 0980-85-5516 |
| Web | Ohara Clinic Website |
Iriomote Seibu Clinic (Western part of the island)
| Office Hours | Weekday : 8:30am to 11:30am、1:30pm to 4:30pm (Tuesday and Thursday PM closed) |
|---|---|
| Closed | Sat., Sun., Holiday |
| Address | 694,Iriomote,Yaeyama-gun Taketomi-cho,Okinawa |
| MAPCODE |
1 047 779 867*08 |
| Map No. | 2 |
| Phone Number | 0980-85-6268 |
| Web | Iriomote Seibu Clinic Website |
There are no trash cans
There are no trash cans on Iriomote Island. You will need to bring back any garbage you bring in.
You should take a garbage bag to this island and bring your trash back to Ishigaki Island to keep this beautiful landscape.
Free Wi-Fi
Iriomote Island belongs to Taketomi Town. Therefore, you can use the free public Wi-Fi provided by Taketomi Town on Iriomote Island. However, the spot where it can be used is so limit that it cannot be expected.
Wi-Fi spots : Yubu Island Suigyusha Stand, Shirahama Port, Uehara Port, Ohara Port, Funauki Port
Taketomi Town Free Wi-Fi ID ： Taketomi-Free-Wi-Fi
PASSWORD : No password
If you need help, please visit this web site.
VISIT OKINAWA JAPAN – Okinawa Multilingual Contact Center
You can make a phone call from the web site and the staff will support you in multiple languages. This is a service provided by Okinawa Japan. This service is free.
Iriomote Island Climate
The climate on Iriomote Island is almost the same as Ishigaki Island.
Please see the “Climate of Ishigaki Island” for more information.
Ferries to Iriomote Island will be canceled when the waves are high, so be careful with the weather.
