Banna Park

Banna-dake rises just behind town, and the prefecture turned the whole hill into a forest park after it had been left uncut for more than twenty years after the war. Five zones spread across about 290 hectares. The Banna Skyline carries the Emerald Sea Observatory and a migrating-bird hide, and lower down a suspension bridge crosses the Ishigaki dam lake near a children's play area and a butterfly garden. The city's tourism site says the observatory shows the town and the islands beyond, out to Hateruma 55 km away on a clear day.

For a rider the Skyline road gives a forested climb right on the edge of town. Yaeyama hime fireflies swarm along the Hotaru Kaido path from spring into early summer, and in winter the lookouts are the reason to come. The park also serves as a tsunami evacuation ground for the town below.