Educational Tourism and Vacationing in Yaeyama and Taiwan

~ ~ cq dx de js6shs ~ ~ Educational Tourism
(Photo by "ishigakijimaumibe")	and Vacationing in the Yaeyama Islands (southern Okinawa) and eastern Taiwan
What we can do for you... We are located on Ishigaki Island, the population center of the Yaeyama Islands (the southernmost island group in Okinawa) and offer travel planning assistance, general on-location support, and culture interpretation in Japanese, Taiwanese Hokkien, Mandarin, English, and German. We can work with travel agencies in your home country to provide you with any of the booking information you need (you can show this site to your travel agent or contact us directly). E-mail link Our Service Menu Educational Tourism: Explore Yaeyama's past and present while enjoying a holiday on subtropical islands. Whether it is nature or culture you are most interested in, we have plenty of both for you to experience and appreciate. Coral reefs, mangrove forests, and mountain jungles with their rich variety in life forms provide an endless source of information and wonder. And since the Yaeyama Islands have been settled for thousands of years, you may want to learn about their history and the traditional religion of their people, try your hand at traditional weaving, enjoy traditional songs and dances, and gain an understanding of the social, cultural, and economic reality of this region today. Vacationing: Windsurfing, paragliding, swimming, scuba diving and snorkeling coral reefs, fishing, kayaking, cycling, island hopping, taking a sunset cruise on a sailboat, just hanging out at the beach - many islands, many opportunities. Our climate is always moderated by the ocean: in the summer it is not too hot (32C/90F), and in the winter it is still warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirt most of the time and to swim in the ocean! (Day temperatures below 18C/65F are extremely rare, and the minimum water temperature is 21C/70F.) DXpedition, anybody? Starting in 2009, JS6SHS offers special planning support for ham radio operators intending to visit and operate from any of the Yaeyama Islands. Like, when have you last heard Iriomote Island on the air? Or Hateruma Island, Japans southernmost inhabited island, located 65km (40miles) north of the tropic of cancer? Ask us also about health, rehabilitation, and sports related vacations! New since November 2009: Since November 2009 we have an experimental scheduled air connection between Ishigaki and Hualien, 270km away, at the east coast of Taiwan (you can fly twice a week until the end of 2009; after that three times a week). Situated between Taiwan's central mountain range with numerous peaks reaching over 3000m and the Pacific Ocean, Hualien, the largest prefecture in Taiwan but with less than 400,000 inhabitants (1.7% of Taiwan's population), is a special place, not the least because of the abt. 100,000 native people whose cultures and languages are different from those of the recently immigrated Chinese population. Hualien offers a multilayered history, from the era of the various native people, the era of Chinese immigration in the 19th century, and the "Japanese era" (1895-1945), to today, and you can pick from a diverse menu that includes visits to historic sites, meeting the people who operate organic farms, ranches, and orchards and sampling the products of their work, hanging out at a night market, sightseeing and hiking in the famous Taroko Gorge, relaxing in outdoor hotsprings, attending native people's festivals, building up your stamina when whitewater rafting or cycling, or taking photos in stunning natural settings - whether you come to penjoy the culture or just to take a break, Hualien nicely complements what the Yaeyama Islands have to offer. E-mail Your contact person for tour planning and guiding Yuuri on Ishigaki Island Taiwan, Ishigaki and Okinawa in context
Photos of Ishigaki Island Page last updated: December 2009

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