Taketomi West Pier (Nishi Sanbashi)

The Pier Islanders Sailed From

The Taketomi West Pier (Nishi Sanbashi) (西桟橋) is a stone and concrete pier built in 1938 on the west coast of Taketomi Island, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District, Okinawa Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on December 26, 2005. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it as the first modern pier built on the island.

The Agency records it as stone and concrete, 105 metres long, with bollards; registration number 47-0009, owned by the Taketomi community hall and managed by Taketomi Town.

Crossing to the Rice Fields of Iriomote

According to the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual commentary, after the Satsuma invasion of 1609 Taketomi farmers had to cultivate paddies on Iriomote Island to grow rice for the poll tax imposed on them, a tax that lasted until 1902.

The same commentary describes islanders setting out from the Taketomi West Pier in plank boats, singing with the wind at their backs, and the pier serving as the landing place for bales of rice. It linked a small island with little farmland to fields across the water.

Why It Was Registered

The Taketomi West Pier was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it was the island's first modern pier and describes its end shaped for unloading at low tide.

What to Look For

The Taketomi West Pier is 105 metres long and 4.4 metres wide. Concrete walls were cast on both sides of a core of randomly laid limestone, and a mortar nameplate is set into the south face (Agency for Cultural Affairs). From the beach beside it you can see stone and concrete side by side.

The far end is widened and sloped like a ramp so that cargo could be landed at low tide (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Walk out to the end to see how boats were unloaded when the water fell.

Visiting the Taketomi West Pier

The Taketomi West Pier is an open-air structure on the west coast of Taketomi Island and can be walked freely. The Japan Tourism Agency commentary also recommends it for watching the sunset and the night sky. No admission information applies.