The tourist information building at Michi-no-Eki Yui-Yui Kunigami with visitors resting on benches

Stations #12

Yui-Yui,
the forest gate

The northernmost roadside station on the main island — and the last place to stock up before the World Heritage forest begins.

Kunigami VillageRegistered 19999:00–17:45Fact-checked Aug 2026

Kunigami Donut ¥162no eggs, no dairy, no preservatives

What to eat

In short

three things to know before the forest starts

The gateway to a World Heritage site

Yanbaru joined the UNESCO World Natural Heritage list in 2021. This station is the official visitor hub for the three villages that hold it — Kunigami, Ogimi and Higashi.

Genuinely the last stop

North of here the shops thin out and the forest takes over. Fuel, food, toilets and information, then Route 58 keeps going to the cape.

And a bus actually comes here

The Okuma Beach Iriguchi stop is a one-minute walk away, served by route 67 from Nago. Rare this far north.

At some point on the drive north, Okinawa stops being a holiday island and becomes a subtropical forest with one road through it. Yui-Yui Kunigami is where that happens — the last building with a car park before the trees close in.

Yanbaru

A forest with
its own species

In July 2021, UNESCO added "Amami-Oshima, Tokunoshima, northern Okinawa and Iriomote" to the World Natural Heritage list. The Okinawan part of that is Yanbaru — the subtropical forest covering the villages of Kunigami, Ogimi and Higashi, and a national park since 2016.

Okinawa rail

FlightlessYanbaru kuina — found nowhere else on earth, and unable to fly. A protected natural monument.

Okinawa woodpecker

Noguchi-geraAlso endemic, also endangered, and the reason the forest roads have speed limits at dusk.

Yanbaru long-armed beetle

Found 1983Japan's largest scarab beetle, discovered here only in 1983 — an indication of how little of this forest was known.

! To see a live Okinawa rail, you need a different address. The station has a photo spot and displays, not birds. The living ones are at Kuina no Mori in Ada, on the village's east side — 9:00–17:00, closed Wednesdays. Worth planning around if the bird is why you drove up here.

The donut, and the noodles

Kunigami
Donut

Three confectioners in the village — Miyazato, Carotte and Mori no Kobito — developed this together, and it's better than a roadside doughnut has any right to be: soy milk from the local tofu maker, prefecture-grown tapioca flour, and Kunigami pineapple or tankan citrus. No eggs, no dairy, no animal fat and no preservatives, which makes it one of the few things on an Okinawan road trip a vegan traveler can actually eat. ¥162.

Beyond that: kunjan pork, the village's own brand; karagi tea, a caffeine-free brew from Okinawan cinnamon leaves, sold here as a powder; tankan jam, Yanbaru salt, and the green tea from Kunigami — picked earlier in the year than anywhere else in Japan.

A bowl of Okinawa soba piled high with bean sprouts and pork — Restaurant Kuina's soba, under a mountain of sprouts.

A row of kitchens, one site

Restaurant Kuina for soba, a fish counter run with the local fishing co-op, Wā-yā for home cooking, Yui Cafe for baked goods, plus a burger shop, a curry parlour, a soba stand and a chicken shop.

Furusato Ichiba

The farm-produce corner: whatever the village grew this week, at village prices. Tankan citrus in winter, pineapple in summer.

About the wild boar

Kunigami is famous for inobuta, a boar-pig cross bred here since 1981 — leaner and higher in protein than pork. But the station states plainly that no shop here currently serves it: the animals take 15 months to raise and supply can't keep up. Read it as a story about the village, not a menu item.

Closed

Hiji Otaki — closed at the time of writing

The tallest waterfall on Okinawa's main island, 25.7 m, sits about 4 km away, and the walk to it is 1.5 km each way through forest and over a suspension bridge.

It is not open. Heavy rain in November 2024 closed the site — car park included — and Kunigami Village has not announced a reopening. Entry was ¥500 for adults and ¥300 for children. Check the village tourism association before you drive up.

The main building of Michi-no-Eki Yui-Yui Kunigami under a blue sky — The station, with the forest starting behind it.

Getting there —
two hours, minimum

By car

About 2 hours from Naha Airport. Take the expressway to its northern end at Kyoda IC, then Route 58 north for roughly another hour along the coast.

Free parking — 161 spaces by the road authority's count, including 10 for large vehicles and 7 accessible — plus 24-hour toilets and an EV charger. Mapcode 485 830 346.

By bus — yes, even here

Get off at Okuma Beach Iriguchi, one minute's walk away, on route 67 (Hentona Line).

From the airport: highway bus 111 or 117 to Nago Bus Terminal (about 1 hour 40 minutes), then route 67 for about an hour. Budget two and a half to three hours in total.

1605 Aza-Okuma, Kunigami
Okinawa 905-1412

9:00–17:45 (from April 2026) · free parking · 24-hour toilets · EV charger

Open in Google Maps →

Need a taxi? Here's how it works in Okinawa

This is the far north — the least taxi-friendly corner of the island, and where a foreign SIM failing to dial a Japanese number really costs you. Three ways that work:

Use an app. GO — Japan's main taxi app — works in Okinawa with an English interface. DiDi and Uber cover parts of the island. Install before your trip.

Dial with +81. From a foreign phone, replace the leading 0: 0980-XX-XXXX → +81 980-XX-XXXX. Wi-Fi calling works too.

Ask the staff — show them this:

タクシーを呼んでください

Takushī o yonde kudasai

Nearest stations from here

This is the top of the island. Everything else in the series is south of here, which makes Yui-Yui the turning point of a northern road trip rather than a stop along one.

See the whole series →

9.6 km · ~15 minYanbaru Pineapple Hill, Kunigami — Pineapple country on the wild east side of the north.

11 km · ~20 minMichi-no-Eki Ogimi, Ogimi — A forest visitor center in the village of longevity.

22 km · ~40 minKouri Sorahashi, Kouri — Where the sky bridge lands, with showers for after the beach.

24 km · ~40 minMichi-no-Eki Sunrise Higashi, Higashi — Sunrise, pineapples and mangrove country on the east coast.

Practical information

Address1605 Aza-Okuma, Kunigami Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa 905-1412

Phone0980-41-5555 (from abroad: +81 980-41-5555)

Hours9:00–17:45, revised April 2026. Individual shops keep shorter hours — the restaurant and the farm-produce corner both close earlier.

ClosedNo fixed closing day for the site, but individual shops have their own days off. Closes for typhoons.

ParkingFree — 161 spaces (144 standard, 10 large, 7 accessible) plus bicycle racks, per the road authority

ToiletsOpen 24 hours, with accessible facilities

FacilitiesTourist information for the three Yanbaru villages, Wi-Fi, EV charger, kids' space, playground, Okinawa rail photo spot, meeting room. No ATM.

PaymentNot published — carry cash

Officialyuiyui-k.jp

Questions, answered

Can I see an Okinawa rail here?+

Not a live one. The station has a photo spot and information about the bird, but the living birds are at Kuina no Mori in Ada, on the eastern side of Kunigami Village — 9:00–17:00, closed Wednesdays.

Can I eat wild boar at the station?+

No — despite what several guides say. Kunigami's inobuta, a boar-pig cross bred here since 1981, is a genuine local specialty, but the station states that no shop on site currently serves it because supply can't keep up.

What are the opening hours?+

9:00–17:45 as of April 2026. Older listings saying 19:00 are out of date, and individual shops inside close earlier than the site does.

Can I get there by bus?+

Yes. Take a highway bus to Nago Bus Terminal, then route 67 to Okuma Beach Iriguchi — a one-minute walk. Allow two and a half to three hours from the airport.

Sources

Yui-Yui Kunigami official site for hours, shops and the note on inobuta supply, checked August 2026 · Okinawa General Bureau for parking and facilities · Kunigami Village Tourism Association for Hiji Otaki · Ministry of the Environment for Yanbaru National Park · 道の駅ゆいゆい国頭（おきなわLovers 日本語版）. We corrected the opening hours, the expressway exit, the parking count, and removed the claim that wild boar is served here.

Every station

nearest first, from where you are now

Yanbaru Pineapple HillKunigami · 9.6 km Michi-no-Eki OgimiOgimi · 11 km Kouri SorahashiKouri · 22 km Michi-no-Eki Sunrise HigashiHigashi · 24 km Rikarika WarumiNakijin · 25 km Nakijin no Eki So-reNakijin · 29 km Haneji-no-EkiNago · 32 km Wansaka Oura ParkNago · 34 km Michi-no-Eki GinozaGinoza · 43 km Michi-no-Eki KyodaNago · 44 km Onna-no-Eki NakayukuiOnna · 68 km Umi-no-Eki AyahashikanUruma · 68 km Uru MarcheUruma · 71 km Michi-no-Eki Kina BanjoYomitan · 78 km Michi-no-Eki KadenaKadena · 80 km Happy More IchibaGinowan · 89 km Michi-no-Eki ToyosakiTomigusuku · 112 km Minami-no-Eki YaeseYaese · 113 km Michi-no-Eki ItomanItoman · 115 km

Yui-Yui,the forest gate