What is a night tour on Iriomote Island?
Iriomote Island, covered with mangrove forests, attracts tourists yearly to enjoy the great outdoors.
Sightseeing is usually done during the daytime, but tours on Iriomote Island, filled with subtropical virgin forests, are offered even at night.
The atmosphere of the jungle at night after sunset is entirely different from that of the daytime because there is no artificial light.
You will indeed feel a sense of grand adventure when you step into the dark mangrove jungle with the light of a flashlight.
What kinds of night tours are held on Iriomote Island?
Jungle Night Tour
The Jungle Night Tour takes you into the mangrove jungle of Iriomote Island at night.
Relying on the light of your headlamp, let’s search for nocturnal creatures.
The guide will determine the course of this tour according to the weather and conditions of the day.
Anyone can enjoy it, including children and older people.
Of course, looking up at the sky, you can enjoy the star-filled atmosphere.
Star gazing tour
Iriomote Island is the first island in Japan to be designated as International Dark Sky Place.
You can enjoy the clear stars wherever you go, but the guide will carefully select a place for star gazing according to the day’s weather conditions.
On Iriomote Island, you can see the Milky Way, shooting stars, the Southern Cross, and other celebrities with the naked eye, a starry sky that you can never experience in the city.
Jungle Night Cruise
Kayaking and SUP on the mangrove river are also recommended as a night activity on Iriomote Island.
You can have unusual experiences like fish jumping and bats flying overhead.
Clothing, personal belongings, and rental equipment for Iriomotejima Night Tour
Clothing for Iriomotejima Night Tour
| Clothing | Short-sleeved T-shirt, short pants, light long sleeves, long pants, etc. |
Any clothes can be worn for the night tours in Iriomote Island, but lightweight long sleeves and long pants are recommended if you are concerned about insects.
For the night cruise, wear clothes that can get wet.
Rental Equipment for Iriomotejima Night Tour
| Rental equipment | Insect spray, flashlight, raincoat (only in case of rain) |
You can see many creatures on the jungle night tour of Iriomote Island.
The Jungle Night Tour of Iriomote Island is more than just stepping into the jungle’s depths.
You can observe night creatures that can only be seen here.
During the firefly season, you can view the unique scenery here of natural illumination, also called a carpet of light.
Besides fireflies, subtropical animals live everywhere in the jungle of Iriomote Island.
Many people may think of the Iriomote wildcat when they think of Iriomote Island, but even the guides who live in the area only see it once or twice a year, so those who encounter it during their trip must be very lucky.
Night tours offer a chance to see the endangered coconut crab.
On the night tour of Iriomote Island, you can see the coconut crab, which is designated as an endangered species.
It is so popular that some people visit Iriomote Island yearly to see this coconut crab.
Coconut crabs cannot be seen during the day because they come out of their nest holes at night to search for food.
Some giant coconut crabs can grow up to 4-5 kilograms.
