Beyond Sightseeing

Seeing Yaeyama from another perspective.

Explore Yaeyama through stories, learning, issues, and conversation.

Yaeyama is more than a destination. It is a place with its own history, culture, people, landscapes, and questions.

Yaeyama Insight explores the islands beyond sightseeing.

Stories | Featured Stories

Stories
Mt. Omoto : The Mountain That Made Ishigaki Island
Mt. Omoto : The Mountain That Made Ishigaki Island

Mount Omoto is more than the highest mountain in Okinawa Prefecture. Its geology, forests, water, and cultural meaning are deeply connected to the landscape of Ishigaki. Looking toward Omoto reveals an island shaped by mountains as much as by the sea.

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How This Island Has Been Protected — And Why It Still Matters
How This Island Has Been Protected — And Why It Still Matters

The landscape of Ishigaki Island is not simply the result of nature. It reflects decades of choices, efforts, and policies to protect the island’s land, identity, and way of life.

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Why Ishigaki and Yaeyama Feels Different — Beyond the Surface
Why Ishigaki and Yaeyama Feels Different — Beyond the Surface

Ishigaki and Yaeyama are often seen through their beautiful landscapes and tourist attractions. But by looking a little deeper, another side of islands begins to emerge.

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Latest Stories

Stories
What We Truely Take Home from a Journey.
What We Truely Take Home from a Journey.

What do we really bring home from a journey? Perhaps not possessions, but experiences — conversations, encounters, unexpected moments, and memories that stay with us. Watching his son travel, the author reflects on what it means to experience life more deeply.

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What It Means to Live on an Island
What It Means to Live on an Island

Ishigaki is changing, becoming more convenient and more connected to the outside world. But beneath those changes are questions about landscape, community, tourism, and everyday life — and whether an island can continue to change without losing what makes it itself.

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There Are Places Like That on This Island.
There Are Places Like That on This Island.

Some places on Ishigaki seem to hold an atmosphere that is difficult to explain. Sacred forests, stones, coastlines, and mountains have long been approached with respect. This essay reflects on those places and what it means to understand them rather than simply consume them.

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