Iriomote Island

Also known as Iriomotejima

island in Okinawa, Japan

Key facts

Location: Bordering the Pacific Ocean and East China Sea , southwest of mainland Japan and east of Taiwan
Archipelago: Yaeyama Islands
Area: 289.27 km (111.69 sq mi)
Coastline: 130.0 km (80.78 mi)
Highest elevation: 469.5 m (1540.4 ft)
Highest point: Mt. Komi ( 古見岳 , Komi-dake )
Prefecture: Okinawa Prefecture
Town: Taketomi, Okinawa
Population: 2,347 (2005)
Ethnic groups: Ryukyuan , Japanese
Part of: Amami-Ōshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island
Criteria: Natural: x

Article

Iriomote Island (西表島, Iriomote-jima; Yaeyama: Irïmutii; Iriomote: Irimutii; Okinawan: Iriumuti) is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself.

The island has an area of 289.27 km (111.69 sq mi) and a 2005 population of 2,347. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors—over 390,000 in 2006—arrive from Ishigaki by ferry, a 31.4 km (19.5 mi) ride to Uehara Port (上原港) on Iriomote's northeast coast or Ōhara Port (大原港) on the southeast coast. Administratively, the island belongs to Taketomi Town, Okinawa Prefecture. Its infrastructure is limited to a single coastal road connecting the hamlets on the northern and eastern shores.