If you saw my other posts, then you might know that I’ve been hyping up Iriomote as pretty much the best destination of my trip. Finally, it’s time to talk about it!

Iriomote is the second largest island in Okinawa but despite this it is almost completely undeveloped; there are just 2000 people living in two hamlets with a single coastal road connecting them. The rest of the island is wild and dense jungle. The highlights of this remote Japanese island are therefore not temples, shrines or really anything of human creation; it’s rivers, mountains, waterfalls and the abundant nature. To access these beautiful places, we hired a car on the first day, did a kayaking/trekking tour the next and a river cruise on the final day. The incredible interior of the island is only accessible by boat – travelling upriver among the thick mangrove forests as the mountainous interior loomed over us was like something straight out of Indiana Jones or Jurassic Park. It felt like a land lost in time and I was absolutely blown away by its beauty.

I will remember the trip we took to the Pinaisara Waterfall as one of the most exceptional travel experiences of my life. We started by getting the boats onto the water and paddling through the gently meandering waterways, flanked by impenetrable mangrove forests. As the river opened up, a view of the forested mountains rose in front of us, and the 55m falls came into sight. After about 30 minutes, the river became impassable so we jumped out of the kayaks and continued on foot. First we climbed up through the jungle to the top of the waterfall, where we felt the cool water on our feet and our guide cooked hot soba noodles for us for lunch. We admired the view before trekking back down to see the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Jungle trekking is sweaty work so being able to cool off in the water afterwards was bliss! I was constantly blown away by the beautiful trees, some of which were over a hundred years old and absolutely giant (!) as well as the generally gorgeous and fecund environment. The trek had been pretty physically challenging too, having us clamber over rocks and tree roots, using ropes to pull ourselves up particularly steep sections… I felt just like Lara Croft, tank top and tiny shorts included.

The cruise we took the next day took us up Urauchi River, depositing us at the beginning of another jungle trek that would take us to two different waterfalls in the island’s interior. We walked through stunning and untouched nature, the only bad thing being the horrifyingly large spiders everywhere. We got some more exceptional views across the island and worked up a good sweat.

I want to mention the lovely bed and breakfast called Irumoteso we stayed in that I can’t recommend enough. The staff there kept us fed with delicious food and the owner of the place was so generous; when she heard that I was interested in improving my Japanese she suggested I stay there for a few months working in exchange for room and board. I was honestly tempted and I’m sure it would be an incredible experience, but I have ultimately opted to return to London. It’s where my PlayStation is after all. We admired the sunsets from the garden and stargazed on the roof at night, spotting the milky way which I haven’t seen in years. Our visit here was honestly pure magic as I’m sure you can tell from my photos. Iriomote will definitely always have a special place in my heart!