Kuroshima - Pijiri Utaki -
Early reservations are recommended as they fill up quickly.
◆Tuk-tuks and electric trikes are also popular!
What Is Pijiri Ontake?
Pijiri Utaki is located in the western part of Kuroshima, a little inland from Miyazato Beach.
While fishing, the stone kept getting caught in the net, so they decided to take it back to the village, but the net tore on the way. After that, they began to worship this stone as a sacred stone. Since then, the village has enjoyed bountiful harvests and abundant catches at sea, leading residents of neighboring islands to adopt this faith as well. The site is now enshrined as Pijiri Utaki. Nearby are Funora Utaki and Ngishituwan Utaki.
How to Get to Pijiri Ontake
Pijiri Ontake is located about a 26-minute walk or a 6-minute drive from Kuroshima Port.
Leave Kuroshima Port and head straight south. Turn left at the end of the road, then turn right at the next intersection, and you'll find it on your left.
How to Enjoy Pijiri Ontake
Miyazato Beach is located near Pijiri Utaki. The boat race for the Harvest Festival takes place at Miyazato Beach, so if you’re there at the right time, be sure to check it out. Also, Miyazato Beach faces crystal-clear waters teeming with coral and tropical fish, so be sure to try snorkeling there. However, since snorkel gear isn’t available for rent, please bring your own.
Details on Pijiri Ontake
Pijiri Utaki is a sacred site located south of the Kuroshima Visitor Center, along the road to Miyazato Beach. Since you have to make your way through dense underbrush to reach it, you might not notice it at first glance. If you happen to meet a local, I recommend asking for directions.
Like other Utaki, Pijiri Utaki is also associated with a legend. Long ago, a member of the Tsukudun-ya family from Miyazato Village went out at night to fish, carrying a net and using a torch to scoop up fish. However, he caught absolutely nothing; instead, he kept scooping up the same stone over and over again. Believing it to be no ordinary stone, he took it home. On the way back to the village, the net containing the stone tore, and the stone took root in the ground. Consequently, the Tsukudun’ya family of Miyazato Village began to revere it as a sacred stone. Since then, the family has enjoyed bountiful harvests and abundant catches at sea. Neighbors also began to worship it, and it came to be enshrined as a “Utaki” (sacred site). This sacred stone exhibits a phenomenon where it feels light at low tide and heavy at high tide; it is said that this occurs because the deity goes out fishing at low tide and returns at high tide.
Recommended Sightseeing Spots Near Pijiri Ontake
Miyazato Beach
Miyazato Beach stretches just south of Pijiri Utaki. Although it’s not as well-known as Nakamoto Beach—the most famous beach on Kuroshima—it’s a beautiful beach where unspoiled nature remains. While there are no nearby facilities, the crystal-clear waters are home to colorful coral and a wide variety of vibrant tropical fish. Since snorkel gear isn’t available for rent, you can enjoy snorkeling if you bring your own equipment.
As mentioned above, since this beach isn’t as famous as Nakamoto Beach, there are fewer tourists, so you can enjoy a private beach-like atmosphere. It’s also the site of the Harvest Festival in July, so if the timing works out, be sure to stop by.
Location: Kuroshima, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama County, Okinawa Prefecture
Access:-
Parking: None
Meals (nearby): None
Toilet: None
Funoura Mitake (Funorawan)
Funorawan Utaki, located right next to Pijiri Utaki, is a sacred site dedicated to prayers for shipbuilding and safe voyages. On Kuroshima, timber was sourced from Iriomote Island—which is rich in natural timber resources—for shipbuilding. The first shipyard on Kuroshima was located at Makidomari in Minami-Futa Village, but after several relocations, the shipyard was established in Funaura, Miyazato Village, where the shipbuilding industry flourished. Funaura Utaki was founded here with the hope of further advancing the shipbuilding industry. At this Utaki, rituals were held—including prayers for shipbuilding and safe voyages, as well as launching ceremonies (suraoroshi)—with carpenters and villagers making pilgrimages to the site to participate in the ceremonies.
Address: Kuroshima, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama County, Okinawa Prefecture
Directions: About a 23-minute walk or a 4-minute drive from Kuroshima Port
Parking: None
Meals (nearby): None
Toilet: None
Ngishituan
Ngishituan is also located very close to Pijiri Utaki, situated between Nakamoto Beach and Miyazato Beach. It is a sacred site where people pray for bountiful harvests and safety at sea.
On the morning of the Harvest Festival held at Miyazato Beach, it is a long-standing tradition for the rowers of the Nakamoto hamlet’s Par레이쿠이 (dragon boat race) to gather at the Mukai-ri Utaki to pray for the festival’s success.
Kuroshima’s Utaki is also one of the “Eight Utaki,” a group of eight Utaki considered particularly important. Although visitors are not permitted to enter the Utaki due to its sacred nature, since it is also a shrine dedicated to maritime safety, it’s a good idea to visit before going swimming or participating in marine activities. While it is known that Mukaizato Utaki was originally established as the Utaki of Mukaizato Village, the details regarding its origins and legends remain unknown.
Address: 1849 Kuroshima, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture
Directions: About a 28-minute walk or a 6-minute drive from Kuroshima Port
Parking: None
Meals (nearby): None
Toilet: None
Details on Pijiri Ontake
| Location | 1849 Kuroshima, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture |
| Access | About a 28-minute walk or a 6-minute drive from Kuroshima Port |
| parking lot | nashi (Pyrus pyrifolia, esp. var. culta) |
| toilet | nashi (Pyrus pyrifolia, esp. var. culta) |
| Business Hours | - |
