Taketomi (竹富町) is a town located in Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The town includes all of the islands in the Yaeyama Islands excluding Ishigaki, Yonaguni, and the Senkaku Islands. This includes the islands of Iriomote, Yubu, Taketomi, Kohama, Kuroshima, Hateruma, and Hatoma. Although Ishigaki is not part of the town of Taketomi, the town hall is located there. As of October 2016, the town has an estimated population of 4,050 and the population density of 12 PD/km2. The total area is 334.02 km2.

Geography

The town includes the inhabited islands of Iriomote, Taketomi, Kohama, Kuro, Hateruma, Hatoma, Aragusuku (comprising the islands of Kamiji and Shimoji) Kayama and Yubu and the surrounding desert islands such as Sotobanari or Nakanokami. Since all traffic between the different islands in the town go through Ishigaki Island, the town office is located on Ishigaki Island. There is a project to move it to Ōhara on Iriomote Island, but with the completion of the new town office on Ishigaki Island in 2022, the project in Ōhara will probably be downsized. There are only two other municipalities in Japan whose office is located outside of the municipality: Toshima and Mishima in Kagoshima Prefecture.

Administrative divisions

The town counts thirteen wards, themselves divided into thirty-six villages.

Aza name (Japanese) (Islands)

Aragusuku (新城) (Aragusuku Island)

Iriomote (西表) (Iriomote Island, Uchibanari Island, Sotobanari Island)

Uehara (上原) (Iriomote Island, Hatopanari Island)

Kuroshima (黒島) (Kuro Island)

Kohama (小浜) (Kohama Island)

Komi (古見) (Iriomote Island, Yubu Island)

Sakiyama (崎山) (Iriomote Island, Nakanokami Island)

Takana (高那) (Iriomote Island)

Taketomi (竹富) (Taketomi Island)

Haimi (南風見) (Iriomote Island)

Haiminaka (南風見仲) (Iriomote Island)

Hateruma (波照間) (Hateruma Island)

Hatoma (鳩間) (Hatoma Island)

Nature

Taketomi Town, and especially Iriomote Island, is host to the Iriomote cat and the crested serpent eagle (special natural monuments), the Chinese box turtle and the Ryūkyū emerald dove (natural monuments), as well as the Sakishima grass lizard (endemic to the Yaeyama Islands). The whole area of Tatetomi Town, including the surrounding sea, is part of the Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park. The Yaeyama Islands being located at a low latitude, 84 of the 88 constellations are visible, including the Southern Cross when the conditions are good. The land part of the Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park, including Taketomi Town, was designated by DarkSky International as the first dark-sky preserve in Japan on March the 30th 2018.

Transportation

Hateruma Airport is located on Hateruma Island in Taketomi.

Education

Combined elementary and junior high schools include: Junior high schools include: Elementary schools include: For public senior high school students may attend schools of the Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education.

Cultural and natural assets

Taketomi Town hosts sixty-three designated or registered tangible cultural properties and monuments, at the national, prefectural or municipal level.

Cultural Properties

Folk Cultural Properties

Historic Sites

Places of scenic beauty

Natural Monuments