Amami Guntō National Park, National park in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Amami Guntō National Park is a national park in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, established in 2017. It covers 42,181 ha of land and 33,082 ha of sea across eight islands, including Amami Ōshima, Tokunoshima and Yoronjima. The park features coral reefs, mangrove forests and subtropical hardwood forests, with a continuous canopy of low green vegetation extending to the water's edge.
The Amami Guntō Quasi-National Park was designated on 15 February 1974, initially covering Amami Ōshima. On 7 March 2017 the area became Amami Guntō National Park, Japan's 34th national park and Kagoshima Prefecture's fourth, absorbing the former quasi-national park. Its special protection and first-class zones overlap the Amami-Oshima, Tokunoshima, northern Okinawa and Iriomote UNESCO World Heritage site.
The park's islands are home to endemic species such as the Amami rabbit, the Ryukyu spiny rat and the Amami jay, alongside the habu snake and Ishikawa's frog. The Amami Wildlife Center in Yamato Village, run by the Ministry of the Environment, works to protect this ecosystem.
The park spans eight islands, so access is by air or sea: Amami Ōshima, Kikai, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima and Yoron have airports, and ferries link the islands. The Amami Wildlife Center in Yamato village, Amami Ōshima, is run by the Ministry of the Environment. Yuwandake commands views over the ria coastline of the Ōshima Strait.
The forests of the region shelter the Amami rabbit, a nocturnal species found only on a few islands of this archipelago. Mangrove forests along the coast are among the northernmost of their kind worldwide and thrive in a more temperate climate than usual.
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