Culture & discovery
Amami Ōshima

Prefectural site combining ‘Amami no Sato’, devoted to the archipelago’s nature, history and culture, and the museum of the painter Tanaka Isson. Open 9 am to 6 pm (7 pm in July and August), closed on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month; combined ticket ¥630.

Free Ministry of the Environment centre devoted to the UNESCO site, where one room recreates the Amami forest with animal calls, the sound of rain and light that changes through the day. You learn the rules for protecting nature here; open 9 am to 5 pm, except Thursdays.

Municipal museum on the island’s culture, history and nature, with models and traditional tools — ideal on a rainy day. Admission ¥310 for adults; closed on the 3rd Monday of the month and from 28 December to 1 January.

Weaving workshop set in a subtropical garden, where you follow every stage of Ōshima-tsumugi, from silk thread to fabric, including mud dyeing, which you can try yourself. Admission ¥550, 9 am to 5 pm; kimono fitting was suspended in October 2026.

Municipal centre that cares for Amami rabbits injured, often by cars, and keeps for life those that cannot return to the wild. You can watch them in day and night enclosures, 9.30 am to 4.30 pm except Mondays, for ¥1,000 per adult.

One of the island’s most intact forests, with giant hikage-hego tree ferns and protected species. Since 2019 it can only be visited with a certified Amami archipelago guide, and there is no parking on site.

Village rites listed as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan, held on the day of Arasetsu in the lunar calendar. At dawn the men rock a straw hut, the Shochogama, then the Hirase Mankai takes place in the evening on the shoreline rocks — on 19 September in 2026.

Naze’s big four-day summer festival in late July–early August: fireworks over the harbour, rowing-boat races, August dances in the streets and a grand parade. The 63rd edition took place from 30 July to 2 August 2026.