Yubu-jima

Yubu formed from sand washed out of the Yonara River, and yubu is the local word for a sandbar, which gave the island its name. People settled here after 1947. They farmed fields across the shallows on Iriomote and kept water buffalo until Typhoon Elsie flooded the whole island in September 1969; most families moved across to found Mihara in 1971. The botanical garden opened in 1981 and now fills the island with palms and flowers.

The trip is the crossing: a buffalo cart walks you through the shallows for about ten minutes, and the carts leave every 15 minutes from Tabibito no Eki. On the island you have the garden, a butterfly house, a restaurant and Yubujima Chaya for gelato. You can also wade across on foot for a lower entry fee.