Photo/Illutration On the south side of Amami-Oshima island, a grand forest of virgin mangrove trees stretches across a wide area. Visitors can go canoeing through the forest and learn about the ecosystem. (Photo by Lisa Vogt)

I was driving down a desolate, narrow road late in the afternoon in the northern part of Amami-Oshima island, making my way back to town, when before me, an old woman with plastic bags in both hands was walking zig-zag in the middle of the road.

I slowed down, rolled down my window and told her to hop on in--I’d take her to wherever she was heading.

She did, and we had a nice little chat, although I could only understand about 20 percent of what she said because of her very strong accent.

“I have a question about this island,” I said. “There are signs everywhere warning of 'habu' snakes. Are there really so many of them and are they as scary as I hear?”

She laughed and said that, indeed, there were tons of them.

“The snakes have these sharp flickering tongues ... but I’ve never thought of them as being scary. Nope, never, no. ...” then, after a perfectly timed pause, she delivered, “It’s humans, especially women’s, tongues that are scary. Truly venomous.”

Amami-Oshima island (along with Tokunoshima and Iriomote islands) was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021 owing to its unique and pristine natural environment.

It is home to many endemic and endangered species, and has a rich cultural heritage shaped by its geographical isolation.

In a misguided attempt to eradicate the poisonous habu snake, in 1979, 30 mongooses were brought to this island from Okinawa, where mongooses from India had been introduced in 1910.

As is often the case, the alien species didn’t have any natural enemies and became invasive, preying on native creatures such as the wild dark-furred Amami black rabbit and colorful Amami-Oshima frog.

Unique fauna also suffered. Fortunately, a team of local concerned citizens calling themselves the Mongoose Busters has been successful in eradicating the problematic species.

Their efforts serve as an example of how communities can preserve unique and fragile ecosystems for future generations.

Hiking Amami-Oshima’s pristine and diverse forests; seeing diverse and well-preserved coral reefs, as well as rare marine species such as the dugong and the rabbitfish; kayaking through Japan’s second-largest virgin mangrove forests; and trying your hand at traditional crafts such as weaving, mud-dyeing and pottery-making that have been passed down through generations are but a few of the joys you can experience on this island.

As I write this, a round-trip plane ticket on an LCC from Tokyo (Narita) costs less than 10,000 yen ($68.40) if you can time it right. That, dear readers, is an incredible bargain. See you on the islands.

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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the June 4 issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series "Lisa’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan," which depicts various sites of outstanding universal value across the country through the perspective of the author, a professor at Aoyama Gakuin University. 

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