pettswood,
I am confident that the place you are looking for information on is
actually called Agunijima (or Aguni Island) While the reading for the
kanji can be "Awajima" for people's last names, I could find no island
pronounced "Awakuni" in Okinawa. To back this up, I offer the
following passage from the Wonder Okinawa site:
http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/025/en/card/5-6-1.html
"The name of the island is believed to have derived from "Awa,"
meaning Japanese chestnut, since the island was once a growing center
for it. Now it is more known for 'Aguni Salt.'"
Having established the proper name of the island, there is a good deal
of information available on the island. The island itself is located
about 50km northwest of the main Okinawa island of Naha. There are
two ways of getting to Aguni Island from Naha, either a twenty minute
plane trip or a two-and-a-half hour ferry ride.
Here is a capsule description of Aguni island from the Wonder Okinawa
Site, established by the Okinawa Prefectural Government. A map of the
island can also be found on the source website:
http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/007/english/point/aguni/
"Aguni Island is located 60km away in the north west of Naha city and
faces Kerama islands and Tonaki Island in south, and Kume Island in
west. During of the Battle of Okinawa, the US military landed on the
island and 90 residents were killed 150 houses were completely
destroyed. Around 1902, the residents started cultivating sugarcane.
Agriculture is the main industry in the island. Few residents live by
fishing. Many cycads grow wild in the island, so the island sometimes
is called cycad?s island. There are many shell mounds on a hill of the
eastern part of the island and there are many sacred places. Recently,
the island is famous for the condensed and boiled down salt and many
young people return come back to the island. Because the island has
beautiful beaches and there are no poisonous snakes, the island is the
best place for camping.
Location) Aguni village Okinawa
(Area/Dimension) 7.62km2
(Circumference) 16.8km
(Altitude) 96m
(Number of households) 403
(Population) 968(+38)
(age ratio) Child 19% Adult 44% the aged 37%
(Industry) Agriculture 20% Fishery 5% Secondary industry 21% Third industry 54%
(Visitors) 14,100
(Transportation) Ship is to the Aguni harbor with the Naha Tomari
harbor to a ferry "Aguni" Aguni village ships division tel
098-988-2495?2016 Airplane It is to the Aguni airport with the Naha
airport to a Cessna plane. Ryukyu air commuter tel 098-858-3291
(Information) Aguni village administration division tel098-988-2016"
Aguni is probably most famous for "Aguni Salt" and as being the
location for the hit movie "Nabbie's Love" Like many island in the
Okinawa chain, it is known as an excellent place for diving,
especially for viewing trevally and
dogtooth tuna. The island has also been designated an "Important
Preservation Districts for Groups of Historic Buildings" From the
previous information we also see that they get about 15 times their
annual population in visitors each year, so the island is probably not
as obscure as you may think!
The current weather on Aguni Island can be found from CNN's weather site:
http://weather.cnn.com/weather/forecast.jsp?locCode=RORA
A nice mini-slide show of Aguni Island with some interesting facts can
be found at http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/025/en/card/5-6-1.html
There is an awful lot of information on Aguni Island to be found on
the internet, even in English. A Google Search on "Aguni Island" plus
whatever specific information you are interested in should bring up
the results you are looking for.
Finally, if you or somebody you know reads Japanese, the best source
of current island news and information of all is the official Aguni
Island website at http://www.vill.aguni.okinawa.jp/
Google Search Terms Used:
-------------------------
Awakuni (in Japanese characters, on google.co.jp)
Aguni Island
Aguni Island Population
Aguni Island Weather
Sites noted:
------------
Wonder Okinawa: http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/
CNN Weather: http://weather.cnn.com/ |
