Japan
At the southern tip of Amami Oshima — the largest island in the chain that arcs between Kyushu and Okinawa like a scattered necklace of jade and coral — Naze looks out across a harbor ringed by mountains so thickly forested they appear upholstered in green velvet. This small city of roughly forty thousand souls serves as the administrative and commercial center of an island that is, in many ways, Japan's best-kept natural secret: a subtropical wilderness of virgin forest, endemic species, and coral reefs that earned UNESCO World Heritage inscription in 2021 as part of the Amami-Oshima, Tokunoshima, Northern Okinawa, and Iriomote Island designation.
Amami Oshima's forests are among the most biodiverse in the temperate world. The island's isolation — it has been separated from the Asian mainland for millions of years — has produced a remarkable collection of endemic species, most famously the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi), a primitive, dark-furred lagomorph found nowhere else on earth. The forests themselves, classified as subtropical evergreen broadleaf, are dominated by massive chinquapin oaks and tree ferns that create a canopy so dense the forest floor exists in perpetual twilight, populated by mosses, orchids, and the Amami spiny rat — another endemic whose very existence was unknown to science until relatively recently. Night tours by guided vehicle offer the best chance of encountering these shy creatures, their eyes reflecting headlamp beams like tiny copper coins in the darkness.
Naze itself is a pleasant, unpretentious town whose character reflects the distinctive Amami culture — neither quite mainland Japanese nor Okinawan, but something uniquely in between. The local cuisine showcases this cultural liminality: keihan, a rice dish topped with shredded chicken, egg, shiitake, and pickled papaya, then doused with hot dashi broth, is the island's signature meal, invented during the Satsuma domain's oppressive rule as a way to make scarce chicken stretch further. Kokuto shochu, distilled from brown sugar produced on the island, is the preferred local spirit — smoother and subtler than its mainland potato-based cousins, best sipped straight or on the rocks while watching the harbor lights from a waterfront izakaya.
The coral reefs surrounding Amami Oshima rival those of Okinawa in diversity and far surpass them in the absence of crowds. Snorkeling and diving sites accessible from Naze reveal forests of staghorn and table coral teeming with tropical fish — parrotfish, clownfish, angelfish — in water so clear that the bottom is visible at twenty meters. Between January and March, humpback whales pass through the channels between Amami and neighboring islands on their breeding migration, and whale-watching tours from Naze harbor offer encounters that are more intimate and less commercialized than those available in Hawaii or the Caribbean. The beaches, particularly Tomori Beach on the island's eastern coast, display sand of such refined whiteness that it squeaks underfoot.
Cruise ships anchor in Naze harbor and tender passengers to the town pier, which places visitors within walking distance of the market, restaurants, and the small but informative Amami Museum. The island rewards those who venture beyond town: rental cars or guided excursions open up the mangrove forests of Sumiyo Bay (explorable by kayak), the ancient banyan forests of Kinsakubaru, and coastal drives of heart-stopping beauty along roads carved into sea cliffs. Visit between May and October for warm weather and swimming conditions, or January through March for whale-watching — though be aware that the rainy season (May-June) can bring torrential downpours that transform the island's rivers into impressive cascades.