Taketomi-jima

Taketomi-jima Review

It is just a 10-minute ferry trip from Ishigaki City to the quaint terra-cotta-roof Ryukyu cottages, sleepy lanes, and empty bright beaches of Taketomi Island. The cute little town is easily navigable by bicycle; ask one of the touts standing at the pier when you show up. Another fun option is the "old-fashioned" tour—meander between the narrow rock walls in the back of a water buffalo-drawn cart, and you'll be serenaded by the plonking sanshin and soaring voice of the cart's skilled grandfatherly driver. Kondoi Beach, about 15 minutes by bicycle from the center of town, has good swimming with showers and changing facilities. Hoshizuna Beach is famous for its star sand, which are, depending on who you ask, either the tiny exoskeletons of marine protozoa or the children of stars.