Taketomi island is one of beautiful islands in Okinawa, Japan. It’s very small island, although, there are a lot of attractive things such as star-shaped sand beach, magical beach (it appears on specific time), buffalos, traditional Okinawan houses, etc! Here are how to access, things to do, and what food you should eat on your trip there!
About Taketomi island, Okinawa
Taketomi island is a one of Yaeyama islands, Okinawa, Japan 🌴 It located only 6 km away from Ishigaki island which means you can go easily by ferry.
The population is only 352 in 2018. It is a very small and peaceful island which is perfect for you to be relaxed 😊
How to Access to Taketomi Island
There is no direct flight to Taketomi island, unfortunately. Generally people go to Taketomi island from Ishigaki island by boat/ferry which takes only 10 mins 🚤 It is easy and quick!
Price : How much is the ticket for ferry?
[Adult] one way : ¥790, round trip : ¥1,520
Ishigaki to Taketomi Ferry Time Table and More
The schedule will be changed by weather and other reasons, you should check.
There is no English page, but you can select “Language” –> English
https://www.yaeyama.co.jp/operation.html
Get Your Way to Enjoy Taketomi
Buffalo carriage
There are so many buffaloes in this islands, Local people adore buffalos and each one has name. You can get a ride which carries you very slowly but it is also fun 😉
Rental bicycle
You can rent a bicycle and this is also one of popular way for sightseeing. I rent one to enjoy to the fullest as much as i could, it’s a bit hard to go up though 💪🏻 Nice to be able to go anywhere as you want.
What To See in Taketomi
Traditional Okinawan Houses
There are traditional Okinawan houses which has Ryukyu red tiles on its roof, stone walls around a house, and there are sandy streets in front of those houses.
Kaiji Beach for Star Sand
Have you heard of “Hoshi no suna” which means “star-shaped sand”
* hoshi = star
* suna = sand
Kaiji Hama is a beach with “hoshi no suna”. It’s technically not sand, it’s shell of foraminiferal.
As the increase of number of tourists, it’s getting harder to find “hoshi no suna”, and now you can NOT bring it home. However you can buy some souvenirs of hoshi no suna at shop in Taketomi, or around Okinawa 🙆🏻♀️
📍Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa 907-1101, Japan
Kondoi beach : Magical Beach
It’s a kind of magic!
It appears for very short moment, depends on time so please check it out before you go!
📍 Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa 907-1101, Japan
Nagomi no Tou Tower
This is a tallest building in Taketomi island. You can no longer go inside anymore unfortunately, but this used to be an overlook point.
📍 Taketomi, Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa 907-1101, Japan
West Pier (Nishi Sanbashi)
There is an old pier on the quiet beach. You can find fishes on high tide at daytime, have a beautiful view on sunset time, look an incredible starry sky at night.
📍 207 Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa 907-1101, Japan
Food in Taketomi
Shaved ice @ Parlor Painu
There is a lot of places to take a break, however I went to ” Parlor Painu” which was perfect for me to get something cool myself down on a hot day.
They have a shaved ice for about ¥500 🍧 Roughly 10 kinds of syrup there included seasonal ones, so that it’s a bit difficult for me to choose, but i had a pineapple one🧡💛💚💙
📍 Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa 907-1101, Japan
So-ki Soba @ Takenoko
Takenoko is very famous restaurant in Taketomi. You can eat a very tasty “So-ki soba” which is Okinawan speciality, noodle dish with soup made with broth of bonito, and there are some sliced pork and green onion on top.
Also “Spam Nigiri” (Oppo) is popular too!
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Taketomi island Accomodation : Hotels
Hoshinoya Taketomi island
To be honest, I have never stayed in this place, although it’s absolutely on my list! Hoshinoya is a famous hotel brand in Japan, and It’s known for luxury, comfortable and relaxing interior.
*This is not PR
Hope you got enough information from this article!
