NATURE
Beautiful coast and bay which invite to stroll. The site is also used for events of all kinds.
The only 120-150m broad cape Higashihenna reaches about 2km out of Miyakos eastern corner into the sea. This striking beautiful place is known for its unique karst landscape made of Ryūkyū-limestone and its costal vegatation which adapted to the special environmental conditions of the cape. Furthermore it is known for a legend about a tragic loveaffair between a feudal lord from Miyako and a beautiful women.
Shimajiri- mangroves
The
Tōriike are formed by two ponds which are connected by a natural
bridge. The north-eastern pond has a diameter of approximately 55m and
a depth of 12m. The south-western pond has a diameter of 75m and a
depth of 18,5m. A tunnellike cave whit a diameter of 10m connects the two ponds to the sea. It is assumed that the Ryūkyū-limestone was washed out by the ocean and this way a dripstone cave was formed. When two cave ceilings collapsed the two ponds emerged.
According
to a legend a Mother wanted to kill her abhorred stepchild. She stayed
with her own child and the stepchild over night at the Tōriike with the
intention to drown the stepchild during the night in the pond. But in
the night the two childeren had changed places and in the darness the
mother threw her own child into the water. When she realized here
mistake she went mad and commited suicide.
The Tōriike are famous
for their beautiful landscape and there are only few places in Japan
which feature such beautiful shades of shining blue seawater and such a mysterious atmosphere.
Mangroves
are growing in tropical and subtropical climate zones in costal areas
or in the muddy water of river deltas where saltwater and sweetwater
are mixing. There are high and low growing mangrove species. In Japan
there are different species of mangroves on the Ninsei archipelago
which streches from southern Kyūshū as far as to Taiwan. The city of
Kiiri in the Prefecture of Kagoshima forms the northern geographic
extension limit. In Okinawa can be found six mangrove species from four
different families: six in Yaeyama, five in Miyako and four on the main
island of Okinawa. The mangroves of the Batarazu-bay
in Shimajiri are the biggest colony of Miyako. Here grow all five
domestic species of Miyako:
Yaeyama Hirugi, Ohirugi, Mehirugi, Hirugimodoki und Hirugidamashi.
Miyakos mangroves developed in a area without any rivers and therefore are very important to the botany sciences.
On this 120.000 squaremeters wide area are all kinds of plants cultivated and butterflys and wild birds are here at home.
Especially nice to behold is the flowering in the coral-bush-avenue
during February and March. No entrance fee is beeing charged.
