Its size, however, can be more easily measured and described. At its longest, and as the crow flies, it’s about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from end to end. Its width varies from as much as 5–6 miles (8–10 kilometers) to as few as one or two in its most narrow places. Kakeromajima has been calculated to have an area of approximately 30 square miles (77 square kilometers) and due to its very irregular shape a rather long coastline of 92 miles (148 kilometers).
There is one main road and it more or less follows along the northern shoreline. From the eastern end of the island near Doren (渡 連; Doren) to the westernmost end at Saneku (実久; Sanéku), it’s a grand total of 22 miles (35 kilometers). You could drive it in less than an hour without making any stops. But it’s a lovely drive and you may wish to stop. You can do this virtually anywhere along the route and take a swim.
In addition to the main northern road, there are several minor roads covering the island’s southern end where there are tiny settlements sprinkled throughout. In fact, there are enough roads generally tracking along the southern coastline that it’s possible to drive a complete circuit of Kakeromajima, although some of the southern roads are very small indeed. If another car approaches, someone must find a spot and pull over. If you circle the island’s circumference, you’ll put about 44 miles (70 kilometers) on your odometer. It will take the better part of a day. If you find the mini-mountain roads too stressful, bear in mind that these back roads are connected to the main northern road at several points along the way and you can always bail out and reconnect. Finally, you would have to be equipped with a pretty clueless GPS to get lost on this small an island. You could, however, take some turns that would lead to a dead end.
Kakeromajima, with its convoluted coastline, is an island full of twists and turns. Here, ferry routes are shown in red, main roads in black.
There is no question about it, Kakeromajima is a perfect island on which to get away from it all. And most fortunately, some enterprising and artistic Japanese has built a lovely pension on the island where you may stay while you’re here. It’s called the Pension “Marine Blue” and it’s about as laid back and funky a place as you could find. It has have about a dozen rooms and bungalows, a full-service restaurant and all the equipment necessary for water sports. It’s right on the beach on the northeast end of the island, just past Ikenma.
Before leaving Kakeroma, let’s point out a few of its neighbors, for there are a number of lesser islands to its west and south. From Kakeromajima’s far northwesternmost point, just off Saneku, you’ll see Eniyabanarejima. It’s not much but we’ll describe it below. A bit to its south, and off the southwestern coast of Kakeroma, you’ll see two tiny islets, Yubanareshima and its larger neighbor Sukomobanarejima. And, finally, due south and visible from almost anywhere along Kakeroma’s southern shore, you’ll see two rather large islets, Ukeshima and Yoroshima. They, in turn, have several neighbors, which we’ll also describe.
Altogether, not including the few isolated rocks sprinkled about this mix, we’re looking at eight small islands, the two largest of which are inhabited. Although all of these islets are only a few miles offshore, there’s no ferry service from Kakeroma. We’ll have to drive back to either Ikenma or Seso Port and return to Koniya on the Amami-Ōshima mainland.
You’ll be passing through Koniya Ferry Terminal if you’re visiting the neighboring islands below Amami-Ōshima.
From there, ferries run to the two inhabited islands, Ukeshima and Yoroshima. If you wish to visit the others, you’ll have to arrange your own boat. There are plenty of fishermen around, so, in fact, this is not so difficult as long as your Japanese is good or you can make yourself understood. Or wave money around. I’ve found this sometimes helps.
Kakeromajima’s Pension “Marine Blue.”
A view from Kakeromajima’s far northwestern coast of Saneku Beach (left) and the uninhabited Eniyabanarejima (right).
ENIYABANAREJIMA (江仁屋離島; Eniya-banaré-jima). You’ll find this uninhabited islet, approximately 2,300 feet (700 meters) northwest off the northwestern-most point of Kakeroma Island, just beyond Saneku Beach. It’s a small island. No matter which way you measure it, Eniyabanare never gets larger than about 2,300 feet (700 meters) across in any one direction. It’s generally square-shaped with white sandy beaches on three of its four sides. As is the case with most of the Amami Islands, it’s hilly and covered in dense vegetation.
SUKOMOBANAREJIMA (須古茂離島; Sukomo-banaré-jima). About 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) due south of Eniyabanare, and around 3.5miles (5.6 kilometers) southwest of the village of Sukomo (須古茂; Sukomo), on western Kakeroma, lie the twin uninhabited islets of Sukomobanare and Yubanare. Sukomobanare Isle is the larger of the two. It’s more or less rectangular in shape, a little over a mile (2 kilometers) long and anywhere from 1,315 to 2,300 feet (400 to 700 meters) wide.
YUBANARESHIMA (夕離島; Yū-banaréshima). A little more than three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer) to the northwest of Sukomobanare is its little twin brother, Yubanare. This tiny islet is generally oval-shaped except for a minor protrusion at its northeastern end. The island is about 1,150 feet (350 meters) wide by 1,725 feet (525 meters long). Its little protruding extension adds another 500 feet (150 meters) to its northeast coast.
UKESHIMA (請島; Uké-shima). Ferry service is not frequent to Ukeshima (or its next door neighbor, Yoro), but when the ship sails, it’s the Setonami Ferry (フェリーせと なみ; Ferie-Sétonami). It begins at Koniya, the port of Setouchi town at the southern end of Amami-Ōshima. From there, it exits the Ōshima Strait east, sails around the eastern end of Kakeroma, then south and west to Ukeamuro (請阿室; Uké-amuro), some 14 miles (22 kilometers) sailing distance, and the first stop on Ukeshima. If you could fly a straight path from Koniya to Ukeamuro over Kakeroma, it would be 9 miles (15 kilometers), about due south. In any case, it takes less than an hour by ship. The ferry’s stop here is brief. Ten or fifteen minutes later, the ship sails approximately 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) in 10 minutes around a small cape to Uke Island’s second port, Ikeji (池地; Iké-ji).
Once again, the ship briefly docks, then sails a bit less than 6 miles (10 kilometers) in about 20 minutes to its final destination, Yoro Port (与路港; Yoro-kō) on Yoro Island (与路島; Yoro-shima). After a brief pause, the ferry reverses its course, returning to Uke’s twin ports, then home to Koniya port, all in one day.
It would appear that almost none of the Amami Islands are very regular in shape. All seem to have the most convoluted profiles. Very loosely, it might be said that Ukeshima has a semi-rectangular shape, although arguably it’s also a sideways figure eight, except that its bottom half (eastern side) has a couple of extra bumps. It’s probably easier, and more accurate, to look at a map. At its longest extremity, east–west, it’s almost 4 miles (6 kilometers). Measuring from north to south, it’s about 2 miles (3.5 kilometers) at its widest, and three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer) at its more narrow sections. However you measure it, it’s a small island.
Ukeshima is quite mountainous and almost all of it is uninhabited. Except for one 2.25-mile (3.6-kilometer)-long, very winding road between the two villages, there are no other main roads on the island. There are several minor roads from both villages south through the valleys behind them, where there is some agriculture, but both sets of these local routes are cul-de-sacs. There are some jeep paths to other sections of the island and there are completely isolated
