A glimpse into Kuroshima Island's ecosystem and the lives of islanders past

The Kuroshima Visitor Center was built upon the ruins of a former guardhouse, a designated cultural asset of Taketomi Town. Today, the center educates visitors about the natural environment and traditional lifestyle of Kuroshima Island.

The facility features a variety of exhibits, including diagrams of the local ecosystem, displays of animals that live in the Yaeyama mountain pass and a map of the island. Examples of agricultural equipment and tools created from natural materials are also on display. The visitor center hosts a craft workshop where you can make souvenirs from straw.

Nearby, you can pay a visit to a tower built from dark coral stones, known as Puzumari. Guardhouse inhabitants used the tower during the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom (from the 15th century to the 19th century). It was the highest point in the area for monitoring ships and foreign vessels passing by.