Kuroshima - Kuroshima Visitor Center -
Early reservations are recommended as they fill up quickly.
◆Tuk-tuks and electric trikes are also popular!
About the Kuroshima Visitor Center
A museum where visitors can learn about Kuroshima's folk culture and history.
On the walls, you can see paintings of various marine life and creatures found in the waters off Kuroshima.
The museum also displays traditional folk tools and household items that were once in use.
If you want to learn about Kuroshima, I recommend this.
Directions to the Kuroshima Visitor Center
The Kuroshima Visitor Center is located about a 25-minute walk or a 5-minute drive from Kuroshima Port.
Leave Kuroshima Port and head straight south.
Turn left at the end of the street, then turn right at the next intersection, and you'll find it on your right.
Click here to book a ferry to Kuroshima
Things to Do at the Kuroshima Visitor Center
At the Kuroshima Visitor Center, you can learn about the way of life on Kuroshima in the past.
We also hold stargazing events from time to time.
Puzumari, located at the highest point on Kuroshima and once used as a lookout point, is nearby, so I recommend visiting it as well.
Details on the Kuroshima Visitor Center
The Kuroshima Visitor Center is a facility where visitors can learn about the nature of Kuroshima—which is designated as part of the Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park—as well as the lives and culture of its residents.
The museum displays a variety of items, ranging from traditional folk tools and farming implements to everyday household goods. The walls are covered with large paintings of marine life from Kuroshima, and hanging from the ceiling is a piece of banana-fiber cloth inscribed with excerpts from traditional folk songs passed down through the generations on Kuroshima.
This spot is absolutely packed with everything related to Kuroshima, so if you want to learn about Kuroshima, you can’t miss it!
The Kuroshima Visitor Center offers not only exhibits but also sanshin workshops led by its famous caretaker and workshops on making finger rings.
In April Heisei 29, the museum’s exhibits were renovated and reopened, transforming the facility into a place packed with a variety of enjoyable features, such as a video exhibition on the starry skies of Kuroshima.
Near this center is Fuzumari, the highest point on Kuroshima.
Originally, during the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom, this site was used as a lookout to monitor tribute ships and foreign vessels passing by on the sea.
You can still climb these stone walls, but please be very careful, as there is a risk of collapse.
Recommended Sightseeing Spots Near the Kuroshima Visitor Center
Puzumari (Hibanomori, Sakishima Islands)
Puzumari (Hibanomori, Sakishima Islands) is located about a 23-minute walk or a 4-minute drive from Kuroshima Port.
As mentioned above, Puzumari is one of the watchtowers built near the Kuroshima Visitor Center for the purpose of monitoring foreign ships.
The view is unobstructed, allowing you to spot trading ships and foreign vessels, and since this is the highest point on the island, you can take in the entire surrounding area.
Although this practice is no longer used today, in the past, when foreign ships were spotted, smoke signals were used to notify the Ryukyu Prefectural government office on Ishigaki Island.
The fire-watching ceremonies of the Yaeyama Islands and the Miyako Islands are collectively known as the Sakishima Islands Fire-Watching Ceremonies.
Location: Kuroshima, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama County, Okinawa Prefecture
Access: 5 minutes by bicycle from Kuroshima Port
Parking: None
Meals (nearby): None
Toilet: None
Kuroshima Research Institute
The Kuroshima Research Institute is located on the right-hand side if you head northwest along the street directly in front of the Kuroshima Visitor Center.
This research institute focuses on the marine life in the waters around Kuroshima, and the facility houses specimens of coral and seashells, as well as display panels.
The center primarily conducts research on sea turtles and houses the three species found in Japan: the green sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, and the hawksbill sea turtle.
In addition to sea turtles, the facility houses and displays other marine life from Kuroshima, giving it the feel of an aquarium.
Location: 136 Kuroshima, Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa, Japan
Access: 10 minutes by bicycle from Kuroshima Port
Parking: Available
Meals (nearby): None
Toilet: Yes
Ox-Head Rock
If you head toward the ocean from the Kuroshima Visitor Center, you’ll come to Miyazato Beach, and the rock shaped like a cow’s head that you can see from there is Gyūzu-iwa.
Ushizuka Rock is a rock shaped like a cow located on Miyazato Beach, just past Buzumari. There’s a small sign about Ushizuka Rock along the way, so please use it as a landmark.
This is a sightseeing spot unique to Kurojima, an island where there are more cows than people.
Although it wasn't created by human hands, it possesses a beauty that makes it hard to believe it was formed by the forces of nature.
Address: 1 Kuroshima, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture
Directions: About a 5-minute drive or a 20-minute walk from the port
Parking: None
Meals (nearby): None
Toilet: None
Details on the Kuroshima Visitor Center
| Location | Kuroshima, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture (View in MAP) |
| Access | A 30-minute walk from Kuroshima Port |
| parking lot | ant |
| toilet | ant |
| Business Hours | - |
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Ishigaki Island Tours
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