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18-408: Hatoma is located just north of Iriomote . It is a tiny island, with an area of just 0.96 km (0.37 sq mi), a circumference of 3.9 km (2.4 mi), and a population of about 48. Hatoma has been continuously inhabited for at least several centuries, if not longer. Excavations on the island have shown that until recent times, Hatoma residents subsisted largely on shellfish gathered in

36-422: 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 Uwahara 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

54-412: A U.S. made "SCORPIO" ROV in 1995, a group of divers encountered a sonar contact with what appeared to be a metal structure, about 6.1 m (20 ft) in diameter and about 35 m (115 ft) in length (exposed) at an angle of roughly 20-30 degrees. The SONAR image of a large unexpected obstruction to the operations prompted the divers to command evasive maneuvers and avoid the area for the safety of

72-521: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Iriomote Island 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

90-492: Is an active undersea volcano which last erupted in 1924; the summit is 200 m (660 ft) below sea level. The island is surrounded by multiple smaller islands, including Yubu Island approximately 0.5 km to the east and Ballast Island approximately 2.5 km off the northeastern coast. The island's Urauchi River is the largest river in Okinawa Prefecture, and the smaller Nakama and Nakara rivers also flow within

108-522: The Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education . Satakentia Gulubia liukiuensis Hatus. Satakentia liukiuensis ( satake palm , yaeyama-yashi [Japanese ヤエヤマヤシ ], satakentia palm , yaeyama palm ), is a species of palm tree . They are endemic to Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands , the south-westernmost of the Ryukyu Islands , Japan. It is

126-446: The ROV. The divers, thinking they would have another opportunity to work in the area at a later date, left the area and never returned to that site. Their ROV was lost in 1997 off Yonaguni Island , the last island belonging to Okinawa off the east coast of Taiwan. They were fairly certain that the object was a submarine, and quite possibly the  USS Snook . No further dives in

144-468: The area have yet been attempted. A large volcanic eruption took place at a submarine volcano north of the island in 1924. It had an estimated volcanic explosivity index of 5. The island's coast was covered in large quantities of pumice and pumice was also found as far as Hokkaido. Apart from tourism, the island economy is sustained by agricultural production, primarily of pineapple , sugarcane , mango , culture pearl growing and fishing . 90% of

162-512: The hamlets on the northern and eastern shores. The island is famed for the Iriomote cat , a Critically Endangered wild cat found only on Iriomote. As of 2007 , the population size is estimated to be 100–109 individuals. The island has a venomous snake, Protobothrops elegans or "elegant pit viper ", known locally as the habu , a species whose bite has a fatality rate of 3% and a permanent disability rate of 6–8%. Satakentia liukiuensis ,

180-514: The island is covered by dense jungle and mangrove swamps. 80% of the island is protected state land, and 34.3% of the island forms the Iriomote National Park . The highest point on the island is Mt. Komi (古見岳 Komidake ) at 469.5 m (1,540 ft). Around 21 km (13 mi) northwest ( 24°33′29″N 124°00′00″E  /  24.558°N 124.000°E  / 24.558; 124.000  ( Iriomotejima ) ) of Iriomote

198-795: The island. Iriomote is also home to Pinaisara Falls, the largest waterfall in Okinawa Prefecture. Iriomote has a tropical rainforest climate ( Köppen climate classification Af ). The average yearly temperature is 23.9 °C (75.0 °F), and the average monthly temperature ranges from 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) in January to 28.9 °C (84.0 °F) in July. Iriomote has a typhoon season that, on average, runs from June to September. Schools on Iriomote Island are operated by Taketomi Town . Combined elementary and junior high schools include: Junior high schools include: Elementary schools include: For public senior high school students may attend schools of

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216-726: The only species in the genus Satakentia , is a palm tree that is endemic to the two islands of Ishigaki and Iriomote in the Yaeyama Islands . The Iriomote dialect of the Yaeyama language is spoken by some people on the island. The island had few settlements of fishermen and rice growers on the coastal areas, but it never had a large population until the Iriomote Coal Mine operated between 1889 and 1959. During World War II some residents of Ishigaki were forcibly made to take refuge in Iriomote, many of whom contracted malaria. After

234-542: The only species in the genus Satakentia . The genus and the species were both circumscribed by Harold 'Hal' Emery Moore in Principes vol.13 on page 5 in 1969. The genus name of Satakentia is in honour of Toshihiko Satake (1910–1998), who was a Japanese factory owner (the 2nd President of Satake Corporation ), producer of rice-processing equipment and also an expert in Arecaceae. This palm -related article

252-461: The school open, and succeeded by using an innovative program: households take in the children from mainland Japan who, for reasons of stress or mental difficulties, could not attend a local school, and send them to the school on Hatoma. This program, called Kaihin Ryūgaku (海浜留学) (foster homes), still survives to this day, and the school's doors remain open. Being a small, outlying island, infrastructure

270-429: The surrounding shallow waters, and vegetables. Unlike nearby Iriomote , Hatoma was not infested by malaria ; hence its long-term settlement. In the early 1900s, Hatoma flourished as a skipjack tuna fishing port. At that time, the population of the island numbered in the hundreds. In 1968, because of the declining economic viability of skipjack tuna fishing (partly due to decreased consumption of katsuobushi due to

288-478: The use of MSG in its stead), katsuobushi (dried and smoked skipjack tuna) processing facilities on the island were shut down, but the demographic decline started well before this. With the decline of its only industry, the population of Hatoma rapidly shrank. When the population of its only school fell to just a handful, the Taketomi authorities attempted to shut it down. The island residents, however, fought to keep

306-573: The war, the US Forces in Japan eradicated malaria from the island, and the island has been malaria-free since then. The island, together with the rest of Okinawa Prefecture, remained a US-controlled territory until 1972. Iriomote was returned to Japan on June 17, 1972. The possibility exists that a World War II-era U.S. submarine lies in about 350 m (1,150 ft) of water off the coast of Iriomote Island. During operations with an Okinawan company using

324-625: Was slow to come to Hatoma; the island did not receive electricity until the 1960s. The Taketomi town authorities maintain a single combined elementary and junior high school on the island: Hatoma Elementary and Junior High School (竹富町立鳩間小中学校). For public senior high school students may attend schools of the Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education . Featured in the 2005 Japanese television drama Ruri no Shima (Ruri's Island), by Nippon TV . 24°28′20″N 123°49′12″E  /  24.47222°N 123.82000°E  / 24.47222; 123.82000 This Okinawa Prefecture location article

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