#03 Emotional ties with
Ishigaki Island
and Our Salt
NATURAL SALT
FROM ISHIGAKI ISLAND
Registration of Ramsar Convention
POWER OF THE FOREST
This rich flavor of the salt is from sea water
in Nagura Bay.
But also great forest beside of Nagura Bay is
very important as well.
What is the relationship between sea and forest?
The answer is ...
THE RIVER
The route of NAGURA river
makes happy to creatures!
The mountain is protectorate god of the sea
The Nagura river, its length is about 4.5km from Omoto Mountain
which is the most highest mountain in Okinawa as 526m to Nagura Bay.
Yes, this river bring the gift from the mountain to the sea!
Wetlands, Nagura Ampar
Nagura Ampar is located at
west of Ishigaki Island,
between Nagura Bay and river mouth of Nagura River.
NAGURA Ampar the people called treasure of creature is wetlands
with great mangrove forest.
Also known as The Ramsar Convention from 2005.
Look at your feet!
Many fiddler crabs are there.
And listen!
You can hear the song of the birds.
Mangrove
Mangrove grows in coastal saline or brackish water.
Look carefully.
They have A yellow leaf in the green leaves.
Salt crystals formed on yellow leaf for other green leaves to live.
It is the wisdom of Mother Nature!
Yaeyama Palm
Yaeyama Palm forest around Yonehara area is one of Natural Monument in Japan
and feel like tropical rain forest.
The palm are around 20 meter then 400 to 500 tree at only this whole neighborhood.
How wonder, this Yaeyama Palm is just here, Yaeyama Islands in the world as the WILD.
When enter in the Natural monument of Yaeyama Palm forest,
It's nice and cool even summer.
Yaeyama Palm tree are truly magnificent to the sky.
We can feel here is the special tropical jungle from the wind,
smell of soil, song of the birds
as five sences...
Yaeyama Palm tree have the trunk in diameter around 50cm.
and they have aerial root
looks like skirts.
This trunk is getting strong fiber.
That's why long time ago, people used as timber.
Speenwort is kind of fern.
Here in Okinawa, we eat this sprout of Speenwort as Tampura or pan-fried. It is very traditional menu in here.
If you have the chance, must try it!
Good condition of the sea make rich salt.
Same time,
fresh forest make good condition of the sea.
Here, Ishigaki Island have both,
beautiful, rich sea and forest
that's why we can make tasty salt.
So SEA and FOREST are essential for making salt!
Height and Presence
Forest and Sea
influence each other
Look at the sky at the night. Beautiful Stars are there.
The taste of our salt is changing like diurnal motion.
"Nagura Bay" registered RAMSAR CONVENTION from 2005.
You can see a lot of wild birds in winter period around here.
Also the local people come to catch the seasonal seaweed.
Because why so rich sea is ...
The skirts of Omoto mountain have a big mangrove forest
and inside the deep sea have a lot of coral.
So means like the mixing of mountain and sea.
Unprecedented in other!
