Yambaru National Park

Yambaru National Park is located in the northern part of Okinawa Island and was designated as the 33rd national park on September 15, 2008. It is home to one of the largest expanses of subtropical evergreen forests in Japan, a wide variety of endemic and rare plants and animals such as the Yanbaru rail, and a diverse natural environment including limestone sea cliffs, karst landforms, and mangrove forests, against a background of islands that were formed in the formation process of the Ryukyu Islands. It is also characterized by a humanistic landscape that is steeped in the traditional Yambaru character that has been nurtured through daily life in this natural environment. In Yambaru National Park, visitors to the park are provided with opportunities to interact with nature in a high quality environment through various leisure activities such as scenic tours, trekking, canoeing, river trips, and driving in this subtropical wilderness. (Source: Ministry of the Environment website https://www.env.go.jp/nature/nationalparks/list/)