Plants & Animals

Keramashoto National Park

The Keramashoto Coral Reef, home to 248 species of reef-building corals, was designated a Ramsar Site in 2005. Around June, the corals spawn, and some of their surviving larvae are swept out to the west coast of the main island of Okinawa and settle in the waters there.

Over 620 native plant species grow in the Kerama Islands. The forests contain 46 different tree species, where fan palms and Ryukyu pines grow in abundance. Seasonal winds heavily affect the landscape, so trees grow relatively low to the ground.

The Kerama Islands are home to a variety of unique and rare wildlife, including Sword-tail newt, Ryukyu black-breasted leaf turtle, green sea turtle, Ryukyu robins and Kerama deer. The outlying sea areas of the Kerama Islands are also breeding grounds for humpback whales.

Animals

Green Sea Turtle

Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical zones. They come ashore to lay their eggs on the sandy beaches of the Kerama Islands during the spawning season, and you may have a chance to swim with them.

Green sea turtle

Humpback Whale

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) range between 13 to 15 meters in length and weigh up to 30 tons. They swim the seas around the Kerama Islands between December and April. Their main breeding grounds in Japan are the waters around the Ryukyu Islands and Ogasawara Islands.

Humpback whale

More Plants & Animals