Okinawa, Japan 8: Ie-Jima
Written & Directed by James Knott

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James Knott takes a ferry to the island of Ie-Jima (AKA Peanut Island) and climbs to the top of it's highest point, Gusuku-Yama. On the way down a huge snake nearly lands on his head - is it the dreaded, poisonous habu snake?

OKINAWA, JAPAN

Okinawa is Japan's southernmost prefecture. Over 1.25 million people are scattered across nearly 150 islands.

Okinawa has a unique culture that goes back several hundred years to when it was an independent country known as the Ryukyu Kingdom. This kingdom was known to trade frequently with China and as a result adopted much more from the Chinese than the rest of Japan.

The main island, Okinawa-honto, is surrounded by vivid, bright blue ocean and coral reefs. It is densely populated and urbanized in the south, while the the mountainous northern part of the island consists of just a few fishing villages and dense forests.

The beautiful, sub-tropical setting combined with historical roots that are more intertwined with China than Japan, have created a wonderful culture that is distinctly Okinawan.

TRANSCRIPT
Okinawa, Japan 8: Ie-Jima

Before we explore the jungles of yonaha-dake, I want to tell you about my
travels to ie-jima.

Ferries leave several times a day to travel from motobu harbor to ie-jima
an island northwest of the motobu peninsula just off of okinawa¹s main
island.

the ferry speeds across the ocean for about 30 minutes. along the way we
pass sesokO-jima, the main island and a wide variety of boats. Japanese
high school students are riding along with us and get excited when they see
our destination in the distance.

IE-JIMA also known as IE ISLAND, because JIMa means islanD IN Japanese, is
easily recognized by the huge rock formation known as gusuku-yama that
stands tall in the center of the island.

I¹m traveling with my mother-n-law, satoko, and my wife¹s uncle, haru-san
and our plan is to climb to the top of GUSUKU-YAMA.

We pull into the harbor and upon arrival, the ferry unloads visitors,
residents and supplies for the 5000 plus people living on the island.

We travel to the base of gusuku-yama and begin our ascent.

a long steep staircase takes you to the top of the island. when you get
high enough you can glance out and see the Houses and farms from the path.
Farmers grow sugarcane, tobacco, pineapple and peanuts. IE-Jima is known as
peanut island not just because they grow peanuts, but also because of the
unique shape of the island.

³Okinawa Prefecture is a series of islands with Okinawa honto being the main
island. Currently I¹m on top of ie-jima. It¹s a very beautiful island with
very scenic views. The hike up is a little tiring but not too bad.²

from the top of gusuku-yama there is a 360 view of iE-jima and Okinawa HONTO

other acitivites on the island, include biking, camping, diving in colorful
coral reefs and other water sports.

There is also a monument to war correspondent Ernie Pyle, who died on the
island in the battle of okinawa.

I head back down with my mother-n-law in front of me. She constantly
reminds me that I should stay on the trail to avoid Okinawa¹s most notorious
resident the poisonous habu snake okinawans are so afraid of this snake
that they have a habu museum and you frequently see signs warning that Habu
might be living in tall grass.

I see a freshly cut trail and ignore her warnings I travel about 500 yards
down the trail and hear something fall out of the tree behind me. I turn
around to see a five foot snake land on the ground and strike a cobra-like
pose. could this be a habu? I was so startled that I nearly jumped to
tokyo. By the time I got my camera out, the snake was crawling back into
the woods.

that was enough for me. I ran back down the trail. It turns out it
probably wasn¹t a habu, but it still made me sweat a little.

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