Taketomi is a short ferry ride from Ishigaki, the southernmost city in Japan. Cars are not allowed, so it remains fairly unspoiled. Visitors get around on these buffalo-drawn carts, rental bikes, or on foot. Some might argue that such carts as these are a commercial contrivance and not worth including in an evocative travel image. But to western eyes, at least, these carts are incongruous. To get hauled around by a buffalo is an event, just as it probably is for these Japanese tourists. I like the body language of the passenger in the first row at left. His hand tells us that he is relaxed. The detail is instructive as well – the small lion on the front of the roof is to ward off evil spirits. I can’t read Japanese, so I don’t know what the sign says, but I am sure it adds useful context for those who can. If not for tourism, such a cart would not exist. It accurately represents Taketomi Island to the world.