Miyakojima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands

Miyako Islands

The are a group of islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, east of the Yaeyama Islands.-Islands grouping:*Japanese Archipelago**Nansei Islands***Ryūkyū Shotō****Sakishima Islands*****Miyako Islands-Inhabited islands:*Miyako Islands...

 of Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa Prefecture

is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It lies approximately 400 kilometres east of Taipei, Taiwan. With an area of 158.70 square kilometres, Miyako is the fourth-largest island in Okinawa Prefecture.

Miyakojima is well-known for its beauty, particularly the , which is considered by many as one of the most beautiful spots in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Other places worth noting include Maehama beach, the German Cultural Center, Painagama Beach, and the sights on Irabu-jima. Miyako also has its own version of Miyako soba

Soba

is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheat flour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle . Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup...

.

There are two close islands which are connected by bridges to Miyako-jima:

The Miyako language

Miyako language

Miyako is a language spoken in the Miyako Islands, located southwest of Okinawa. The combined population of the islands is about 52,000 . Miyako is a Ryukyuan language, most closely related to Yaeyama...

, one of several Ryukyuan languages

Ryukyuan languages

The Ryukyuan languages are spoken in the Ryukyu Islands, and make up a subgroup of the Japonic, itself controversially a subgroup of Altaic....

, is spoken here.

Miyako airport

Miyako Airport

is an airport on Miyako-jima in Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan.-Airlines and destinations:-External links:** from Japan Airlines...

 is the only airport on the island.

Rites unique to Miyakojima

There is a unique festival called Paantu

Paantu

Paantu, a devil or god or ghost, an evil spirit on Miyako-jima, a small island in the East China Sea and part of the Okinawa chain of islands in Japan....

 (パーントゥ), which occurs in the ninth month of the old (lunar) calendar. Three men dressed in grasses and mud go about smearing it everywhere. They carry sticks in one hand and a simple but scary mask in the other. Those people who have been dirtied by the Pantu will have a year of protection. Owners of new homes will also invite Pantu to give a 'blessing' to their homes.

Miyako culture

• Otori
  Otōri
  is a custom in Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan of drinking awamori, a distilled beverage native to Okinawa Japan. The custom involves one person offering a toast to each of several other people in a round.-Otōri:...
  
   is a custom of drinking Awamori, a distilled beverage native to Okinawa Japan. It is performed by people sitting (usually around a table). One offers a toast, drinks from a small glass, and then offers some to each person at the table making a round, and usually going to the right. When the toaster makes his way back to his spot the person who passed the Otori before pours him another glass. He then announces "TSUNAGIMASU" and drinks his second glass. After some brief interval it is then the turn of the next person to pass the Otori. This continues until the celebration is ended.

Points of interest

• Miyakojima City Tropical Plant Garden
  Miyakojima City Tropical Plant Garden
  The is a botanical garden located at 1166-286 Higashinakasonezoe, Hirara, Miyako-jima, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is open daily; admission is free....
  
  
• Japan Airlines
  Japan Airlines
  is an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
  
  maintains a ticketing office on Miyakojima island. It is only for domestic flights.

External links

• Miyakojima Website (Japanese)
• Pantu in Japanese
• Iphone website in english of miyakojima
• WLCM.net, Miyako Folklore English translation by Mark Wisniewski
• WLMC.net, Miyako Natural Science English translation by Mark Wisniewski