On westernmost Yonaguni, geopolitics can’t spoil the island’s aura

Yonaguni, Okinawa Pref. –

Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost point, rises from the sea like a crown.

With few sandy beaches, the island’s checkerboard coastline of green grass and black volcanic stone is even more striking amid the sheer white of massive waves thrown high against the bases of its cliffs.

Located at the extreme end of the Ryukyu island chain and a touch over 100 kilometers from Taiwan (for comparison, the Okinawan mainland is more than 500 km to the east), Yonaguni is eternally linked to both the sea and geopolitical realities beyond the waves.