Uehara

Uehara grew around the port that now takes most of Iriomote's visitors, and the settlements on either side, Funaura to the east and Nakano and Sumiyoshi to the west, run together along Route 215 as one stretch of inns and guide shops. Taketomi Town counted 235 people in the Uehara district itself at the end of August 2026. The boats from Ishigaki come in at the Densa terminal, and Densa Shokudo serves Yaeyama soba across the road.

Most of Iriomote's best-known sights start from here. The Pinaisara and Sangara falls tours set off around Funaura Bay a few minutes east, the Urauchi River boats leave from beside the Urauchi bridge to the west, and snorkel tours to the Barasu sandbar run from this coast. Hoshizuna beach and Tsukigahama sit a short ride west past Nakano.

In winter the north wind hits this coast square on, and the Uehara boats cancel more often than the ones to Ohara. When they do, the ferry companies land you at Ohara and run a bus round the east coast, a ride of about an hour.