Amami Oshima sits between Kyushu and Okinawa, a subtropical island with UNESCO-listed forests. Mangrove kayaking, traditional mud-dyeing (dorozome), and empty beaches define the experience. The Amami black rabbit lives in these forests and nowhere else on Earth.
What Amami is known for
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Amami Ōshima
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Subtropical island south of Kagoshima with Japan's second-largest mangrove forest, pristine beaches, and rare wildlife.
Miyakozaki Cape
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Miyakozaki Cape is an elevated promontory on the western coast of Amami Oshima.
Hoshino Cave
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Explore stalactite caves on this remote coral island 400km east of Okinawa, with underground lakes and unique geology.
Sakibaru Beach
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Amami beach at Japan's first discovered meteorite crater site, prized for swimming and snorkeling in clear waters.
Amami Gunto National Park
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The national park was established in 2017 and spans the Amami island group, part of the Ryukyu Islands.
Amami-Oshima Natural World Heritage Site
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Amami-Oshima is the northernmost of the four islands in the Ryukyu chain that have been designated part of the Natural World Heritage Site.
Santaro Pass
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The winding mountain road over Santaro Pass in central Amami-Oshima was once part of the main highway that connected the northern and southern halves of the island.
Tanaka Isson Memorial Museum
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A small museum on Amami Oshima dedicated to Tanaka Isson, who left the mainland art world to paint the island's subtropical flora and fauna in vivid, obsessive detail.