Yonaguni: The Basics

The westernmost inhabited island of Japan, located amongst the Yaeyama Islands, lies 67 miles from the east coast of Thailand. This island lies between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Yonaguni itself is made of three settlements called Kubura, Higawa, and Sonai and is a sovereign Japanese island. In the local language, the island is known as Dounan (どうなん). The local language is known on the mainland Okinawa for being very difficult for them to understand. Yaeyama is only a little less than 11 square miles, and is home to approximately Most of this population lives in Sonai, which lies on the north coast, then Kubura on the west coast followed by the very small town Higawa in the south.