Ishigaki City Yaeyama Museum

Yaeyama Islands


This modest museum has exhibits on the culture and history of the island, which are quite well presented with English explanations. Notable among the more typical cultural artefacts: a few informational pages about some of Japan's oldest human remains (estimated, using carbon dating, to be 24,000 years old), discovered on Ishigaki in 2011 during construction of the new airport.


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1. Miyara Dōnchi

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2. Gongen-dō

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3. Tōrin-ji

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5. Nishitō Utaki

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This shrine is dedicated to a 16th-century ruler of the Yaeyama Islands who was born on Taketomi-jima, and whose tomb lies behind the shrine.

6. Taketomi Mingei-kan

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This is the workshop where the island's woven minsā belts and other textiles are produced.

7. Nagomi-no-tō

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Roughly in the centre of the village, this modest lookout tower has good views over the red-tiled roofs of the pancake-flat island.

8. Kihōin Shūshūkan

4.79 MILES

At the west of the village, this private museum houses a diverse collection of local folk artefacts.