Denpaku” (Head office: Amami Innovation Co., Ltd., Amami City, Kagoshima Prefecture / President: Yasuhiro Yamashita), which is engaged in community development and operates retreat lodging facilities in the Amami Islands, has created an experience tour for guests of Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA to enjoy a sunset cruise on “Denpaku Catamaran”. Sunset cruising in Akagi Bay was born. You can enjoy a rich moment immersed in the nature of Amami while watching the setting sun in front of Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA.
“Denpaku Catamaran”, the only one of its kind in the world, was created in collaboration with Ryoichi Tsuboyama (59), the only boat builder in Amami who makes traditional wooden boats, and was designed and built in a way never seen before. In the past, wooden fishing boats called “taku-san” were a common sight in the Amami Sea, but they have become less common due to changes in the fishing industry and lifestyles.
With the birth of “Denpaku Catamaran,” we hope that this new form of traditional boat floating on the Amami Sea will help people learn more about the island’s traditional culture and natural beauty, and help to pass on traditional skills to the next generation.
Denpaku will continue to support the revitalization of local traditional crafts and the transmission of skills through the elimination of the lack of successors.
Denpaku Catamaran” Redesign of a traditional boat to make the sea more accessible and enjoyable
Denpaku, whose concept is to “pass on traditional and legendary architecture and village culture to the next generation,” has focused its attention on traditional Amami wooden boats. Currently, it is used in the “boat paddling race” that the Amami islanders look forward to every year, and is called “Ainoko-bune” on the island.
This boat was developed by an Amami boat builder in the Taisho era (1912-1926) by incorporating the advantages of the Okinawan wooden boat “Sabani”, which has excellent speed, into the wooden boat called “Itatsuke”, which has been used for fishing in Amami for a long time. The stable and fast performance of the boat made it popular among fishermen. However, as the fishing industry changed with the times, the number of traditional boats declined drastically. Mr. Tsuboyama is the only person in Amami who has inherited this shipbuilding technique.
Yamashita, the representative of “Denpaku” and an architect from Amami, did not want to see this traditional boat technology die out, so he designed the boat. Together with Mr. Tsuboyama, he worked for about a year to complete a boat that is “a new take on a traditional object, one that can only be found here in the world.
The stunning curvaceous beauty created by carefully bending wooden planks over time is a true expression of the high level of skill involved. By connecting two of these boats together in a luxurious manner, a sense of stability is maintained, creating space for cruising and other relaxing activities on the sea.
By implementing experience programs that “turn everyday island life into tourism,” including traditional local crafts, songs and dances, dialect, festivals, and local cuisine, Denpaku hopes to help spread valuable cultural resources and pass them on to the next generation.。
The Concept of Catamaran
Sparkling light and shimmering water
The warmth of handmade work and wood carries you along, and your heart will smile at the exciting time.
Till the falling sky connects to the sea
Fill your glass with the colors of the sunset and play with the scent of the tide and the water.
In a cradle floating on the mother sea
face to face with yourself, and slumber in the time of eternity.
About Akagina Bay Sunset Cruising
It consists of three types of lodging facilities: “Denpaku Old Folk Houses,” ” Denpaku Amami Hotel,” and “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA.” The community is being developed to promote interaction between the residents of the village and tourists.
Amami Oshima Island has nurtured a rich natural environment and ecosystem, and was registered as a World Natural Heritage site in 2021. Similarly, the approximately 360 different village cultures that have been handed down over hundreds of years from one “island” (village to another) to another in a variety of historical backgrounds are also valuable cultural resources that we can be proud of to the world. We consider them as “treasures of Amami” and started “Denpaku” in 2016 with the desire to protect them and hand them down to the future. Currently, we have 41 buildings and 51 rooms on the three islands of Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, and Kakaroma Island.
About Denpaku
It consists of three types of lodging facilities: “Denpaku Old Folk Houses,” ” Denpaku Amami Hotel,” and “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA.” The community is being developed to promote interaction between the residents of the village and tourists.
Amami Oshima Island has nurtured a rich natural environment and ecosystem, and was registered as a World Natural Heritage site in 2021. Similarly, the approximately 360 different village cultures that have been handed down over hundreds of years from one “island” (village to another) to another in a variety of historical backgrounds are also valuable cultural resources that we can be proud of to the world. We consider them as “treasures of Amami” and started “Denpaku” in 2016 with the desire to protect them and hand them down to the future. Currently, we have 41 buildings and 51 rooms on the three islands of Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, and Kakaroma Island.
