Exploring the rain forest in Iriomote island

I had a dream for long time. It's exploring a rain forest with canoes. At last my dream came true!

My family have trip to Iriomote island, located in about 450KM southwest of Okinawa main island.

90% of the island is covered with rain forest and is famous for indigenous wild animals an plants and various kinds of activities in the forest.

We took part in a excursion tour to the Pinaisala falls with paddling in the river and trekking through the forest.

It was the first time for us to paddle canoes so we had difficulty in dealing with the canoe and strong wind. But we MANAGED to go up the river to the goal.

We found many kinds of tropical plants like Bruguiera gymnorhiza in the mangrove forest along the river.

Bruguiera gymnorhiza: Black mangrove

Bruguiera gymnorhiza: Black mangrove

Heritiera littoralis

Cyathea lepifera:Flying Spider-monkey Tree Fern

The scenery from the top of the Pinaisala falls

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My family and the Pinaisala falls

t was still cool to swim in the basin of the falls but we had a craving for doing it and at last we dared to dive into the water and swim! Look at a middle aged man diving into the water with joy! It's me! 

diving with yelling "Yeaaaaha!!"

It's not a drowned body but he is my son relaxing himself on the water.