Complétement à l'est

Japan

20 days of island-hopping in the southern islands of japan between beach and jungle.

Naha - Ryūkyū Islands

This is my first contact with Japan, and even if you can find traditional Japanese style buildings,

what strikes to me the most is that the city is mainly made of square concrete buildings, designed to withstand typhoons

Tsuboya Pottery District

The Shīsā, half lion, half dog, they protect the houses against the evil spirits

the pace of life is very calm here, far from the image I had of Japanese cities

We find this kind of dispensers everywhere..

Really everywhere.

Ishigaki-jima, the town of Ishigaki is not very interesting in itself, but from the port you can reach the different islands nearby

Kabira Bay

Taketomi-jima

20 minutes by boat from the port of Ishigaki is a tiny island mostly occupied by a small village,

whose houses are typical of the Kingdom of Ryūkyū and the walls which line the roads, made of coral, here there are no modern buildings

Iriomote-jima

The vast majority of the surface of this island is wild, covered with mangroves, a dense jungle and mountains so I stayed there for several days

it is possible to go up the rivers in Kayak to go explore the forests

Ida-no-hama

Being very far from Japan, and having only one road, the inhabitants worried that their children did not have the red lights reflex. To teach them, they had two red lights installed on the road, one just outside the main pier, the other near the school.

This farmer, quite surprised by my presence on his island, did not hesitate to make me taste the local sake, the Awamori ... several times

Zamami-jima

Not far from Naha, but much less developed the Kerama Islands are known for their calm beaches with very blue water

Tokashiki-jima

Really blue

Yakushima-jima

The island is covered with a very dense forest, with high mountains that catch the clouds, which gives it a mystical atmosphere

She is mainly known for having inspired the sets for the film "Princesse Mononoké"

The relief makes that we pass quickly from 0 to 1800m of altitude and when we arrive at the top, if we are lucky, the view is clear and we can see the whole island at 360 degrees

and going back down, dive into a waterfall to cool off, or go and relax in an Onsen