Iriomote coast road from Uehara to Ohara

Iriomote has a single through road. Prefectural Route 215 runs 54 km from Shirahama in the west, round the north and east coasts, to Haemida in the south, and nothing crosses the jungle interior, so the obvious ride takes a boat to one port and another boat home from the other. Pottering Okinawa calls this the island's half circuit and suggests pairing it with a lap of Ishigaki the day before.

From Uehara the road crosses the Funaura causeway with Pinaisara Falls on the hill behind, then climbs and dips through forest past Komi and down the east coast to the Yubu crossing and Ohara. By our route data it's 34.1 km with 378 m of climbing, the longest rise gaining 53 m. Painusima reckons the east-west drive at about an hour, and the island's buses run only four times a day.

The prefecture began building wildlife underpasses along Route 215 in 1996 and had more than 130 of them by the end of 2014, because the Iriomote cat moves between the hills and the shore along stream beds and crosses the road to do it. Rental companies ask everyone on the road to keep to 40 km/h, or 30 km/h in villages. Ride at that pace and look into the verges, especially near dusk.

Boats to Uehara cross open sea north of the island and cancel often in a winter north wind. Check the morning sailing status and keep the out-and-back from Ohara as your fallback.