Last Trip in Japan: Ishigaki and Taketomi Islands

In the last post, I covered my trip to the island of Okinawa, in the far south of Japan. Following my two night stay there, I flew even further south, to the island of Ishigaki, which is about the same latitude as northern Taiwan. Somewhat confusingly, Ishigaki is also in the prefecture of Okinawa, the name Japanese people use interchangeably to mean either the main island or all the islands under the same administrative division. 

Ishigaki is part of Okinawa prefecture; of the prefecture's 1.5 million residents, over
90% live on the main island of Okinawa, where I stayed before heading further south

Like in Okinawa (the island, not the prefecture), I stayed on Ishigaki for two nights. I took a short flight from Naha to the Ishigaki Airport, on the southeast side of the island. It's about 10 miles, or 30 minutes by airport bus into the main town. I managed to score another great deal on a hotel; this one was a 15 minute walk from the central commercial area, but I got a two double bed room for less than $25 a night. That's one of the upsides of Covid!

My hotel in Ishigaki

By the time I checked into my hotel it was close to 9 pm. I hadn't eaten dinner yet, so I went for a stroll around the town to orient myself and find food. For a small town--the whole island has less than 50,000 people--there were a surprising number of restaurants and shops. I guess I should have expected that, since it is a popular tourist spot. I did pass other tourists on my walk, but the scene was probably much quieter than normal due to the pandemic. 

By around 9:30 many places were closed; I settled on an empty ramen shop. The owner didn't speak much English, but I tried my best to hold a conversation in rudimentary Japanese; he was actually from the Tokyo area and had moved to Ishigaki over five years ago to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. I imagine Ishigaki would get boring after a few months (at least for me), but if I were to choose a small town in Japan, I'd like to be next to the beach with tropical weather!

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate for me. The highs were close to 70 (just over 20 Celsius)--not bad for late December--but periodic rain was forecast for the two days I was in Ishigaki. When I woke up the next morning, however, it was still dry, so I decided to take my chances with a trip to Taketomi Island. Taketomi, a 2 square mile (about 5 square kilometer) island, is a 10 minute ferry ride from the main port on Ishigaki. The island only has a few hundred residents, but many tourists come to see its traditional Okinawan houses, well preserved stone walls, and sandy streets. 

Taketomi Island is only a few miles away from Ishigaki Port.
Iriomote is mostly a nature preserve; I'll visit it next time!

Some visitors rent bikes or take ox cart rides, but since the island is so small, I figured I could easy cover it on foot. The first hour or so was great--I took a dirt road around the northern part of the island to a secluded beach. But around lunch time the rain started...and it didn't let up until the evening! I managed to temporarily stay dry while I ate my bento (boxed) lunch under trees. Afterward, as I walked toward town, my cheap 7/11 umbrella did keep my upper body dry, but soon my shoes were soaked.

The path I took around the north side of Taketomi

Some of the few tourists I saw on the island, before the rain started


The beach was great, although the weather was in the
60s (around 20 Celsius), so not exactly summer weather

Despite the rain, I enjoyed my walk through town. The weather further reduced the low numbers of Covid tourists, so I had the streets mostly to myself. After an hour or so of walking, I headed back to the pier to catch the ferry to Ishigaki. I had tentatively planned to make my way to Banana Park, north of town, but it turned out to be farther than I realized. After exploring a bit more, I ditched the idea of an hour walk in the rain, went back to the hotel to rest, and tried out the room's hair dryer on my shoes and socks.

Below are some pictures from the village on Taketomi:



Nakasuji Well, the main source of drinking water until the late 1970s

A true fixer-upper; not really useful on such a small island anyway

Two cats finished off the scraps from my bento lunch

View from Nagomi Tower at the center of town


After a relaxed evening, the following day I was ready to explore more of Ishigaki island itself. My flight back to Tokyo departed at 6 pm, but with one small terminal, I figured there was no need to get there super early. I rented a bicycle from a shop near the port, then headed out along the west coast, towards Kabira Bay. Once I reached the bay I decided to keep cycling to the end of peninsula and then circle back to Kabira for lunch. I actually took a wrong turn and ended up at Sukuji Beach, after which I went to the end of the peninsula, which has an exclusive Club Med hotel.

I rented a bicycle near the port and then rode along the coast, passing Tojinbaka and
Nagura on the way to Sukuji Beach and Kabira Bay. After lunch, I continued on to 
Oganzaki Lighthouse, circling the peninsula and then heading back towards town


View of the short Nagura River, under the Nagurao Bridge

My wrong turn led me to Sukuji Beach, well worth the detour!

The bike I rented for the day

If I had a motorbike I would have loved to take some of
the dirt roads and gone up to the north end of the island too

Some of the rural parts of the island are used for sugar cane farming

Once I got to the small town at Kabira Bay (only a few miles from Club Med), I stopped to have lunch and take photos of the picturesque green and blue water. The rain started to pick up, but after 20 minutes or so it was only a sprinkle, so I got back on the bike. I figured I could cycle to another small peninsula on the northwest tip of the island to visit Oganzaki Lighthouse, then circle back and drop off the bike by 4 pm.

Panorama of the beach at Kabira Bay; I skipped the boat trip and hopped back on the bicycle

The views over the sea from the lighthouse were amazing, but I felt like I had been transported to Ireland, with never ending gusts of wind. It was so windy that my hat would have blown off my head if I hadn't grabbed it. The road from the lighthouse around the peninsula was less than six miles, but the constant elevation change slowed (and wore) me down. I'm not a huge cyclist; I enjoy it for sightseeing from time to time, but hate riding up hills!

View of Oganzaki Lighthouse; the sea is to my back

View from the opposite direction

By the time I got back to the main road and began heading toward town, it was already after 3 pm. Fortunately, the way back was mostly flat, so I made up time and reached my hotel, where my luggage was waiting, just after 4 pm. From there, it was a quick ride to the bike shop and a short walk to the bus station. I arrived at the airport before 5 pm and still had enough time to grab an early dinner (or second lunch). I needed the energy after the ride; I didn't keep track of distance, but I estimated via Google maps that it was a 40+ mile (65 kilometer) excursion. My legs were happy to take a rest on the three hour flight back to Tokyo!

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