Travel Features : Southern Comfort
— Life on Ishigaki Island
2000 kilometers south of Tokyo, lies the emerald green island of Ishigaki. Surrounded by crystal-clear waters, coral reefs and white sand beaches, Ishigaki has become a heavenly retreat for urban Japanese. Cramped trains and concrete cityscapes are replaced by palm lined roads and ocean panoramas. Ishigaki offers visitors more than the chance to just unwind; whether you glide over the reef with Manta Rays, or explore the mangroves by kayak, you can’t help but feel invigorated by the island’s natural wonders. At the end of this recreational therapy, visitors return to their hectic urban lives, but many will soon be back, for another shot of southern comfort.
Ishigaki Highlights
Shiraho
Shiraho is a small, sleepy town that sits on Ishigaki’s southern coast. Narrow roads wind between traditional Okinawan houses, and on scorching summer days, the wooden walls of the older homes are removed to provide a cooling breeze. When typhoons approach, the town sees an unusual surge of activity, as walls are replaced, and doors braced against the approaching maelstrom.
Shiraho’s most valuable asset, however, lies not in the town, but just offshore. The coral reef that stretches out along the coast is within a stone’s throw of the beach. The quality of the coral and its environmental importance are so substantial that the reef drew the attention of the World Wildlife Fund. Shiraho is now home to The International Coral Reef Research and Monitoring Center.
The most significant feature of the reef is the presence of a blue coral, Heliopora coerulea. The blue coral colony at Shiraho is thought to be the largest and oldest of its kind in the northern hemisphere. Several companies in the town specialize in taking visitors out to the reef in small boats. The shallow hulls of the boats allow drivers to maneuver over the reef to the best spots for snorkeling. There is a lot of healthy coral and a huge variety of subtropical fish, some of which are not found anywhere else in the world. Unlike at deeper, darker dive sites, snorkelers here can experience the full colors of the reef.
Miyara River
Ishigaki may be ringed with coral reef, but its rivers are lined with an equally valuable resource. When freshwater from the rivers meets seawater, it creates a unique estuarine environment that only a few plants and animals can tolerate. Mangroves, however, are perfectly suited to deal with the changing tides, saline water and anaerobic soils. The mangroves provide homes to a host of other species, from wading birds to juvenile fish.
The best way to explore the mangroves is to take a kayak up the river. Going with a guide will mean visitors don’t have to worry about tidal currents or getting lost. There is a kayaking center at the mouth of the Miyara River where the staff is more than happy to get you out on the water, paddle in hand.
Capes Oganzaki & Hirakubozaki
Driving in most of Japan is analogous to getting a tattoo: it’s slow, painful and can cost a small fortune. TV commercials may show cars cruising along idyllic open roads, but the reality is traffic jams and red lights. Ishigaki is the exception.
Take route 390 out of Ishigaki City and you quickly leave the urban area. Pass by the fields of sugar cane and follow the road as it tracks up the east coast. At a leisurely pace, you will reach the most northern point of Cape Hirakubo, in an hour or two. Standing beside the whitewashed lighthouse you have a breathtaking ocean panorama.
From the northernmost cape, it is another leisurely drive west toward the Ogan peninsular. The popularity of this rent-a-car “Tour de Ishigaki” has lead to many new cafes, soba restaurants and tea shops along the route. Often owned by mainlanders seeking an alternative lifestyle, they are the perfect place to take a break before heading onward. The lighthouse at Oganzaki provides another spectacular view. During the day it’s a popular place for tourists, but the locals recommend that you go at dusk to witness one of the glorious Ishigaki sunsets.
Kabira Bay & Sukuji Beach
The small peninsular just north of Oganzaki has Ishigaki’s best beach, its most famous viewpoint, and most expensive souvenirs. Tsukiji Beach (Moon Beach) is what the rest of Japan’s beaches looked like before the onset of a national obsession with concrete. An arc of golden sand is the only thing that separates the blue water from verdant trees. There are showers, toilets and the ubiquitous soda machines, but thankfully development is surprisingly limited.
Visitors can tour Kabira Bay in glass-bottomed boats or lounge on the sandy beach. The bay was the first place in the world to successfully culture black pearls; the Ryukyu Pearl Company has a store there with a wide selection of gifts and souvenirs. At around $90,000 for a black pearl necklace, beauty does come at a price.
Yonehara
Yonehara Beach is extremely popular in summer, with some visitors becoming permanent residents at the campgrounds. There is a good snorkeling reef not far out from the beach, but snorklers should be wary of strong offshore currents and rips. Each year, tourists die because they have misjudged their swimming ability or the ocean conditions.
Close by the beach is the Yonekoyaki-Koubou shîsâ craft center. Shîsâ are lion-dog sculptures that are usually found in pairs, flanking the entrance to Okinawan homes or sitting atop roofs. Traditional shîsâ are made from red clay, and have a ferocious expression designed to frighten away evil spirits. The craft center at Yonehara creates colorful, modern shîsâ that are designed to sit inside the home and bring a smile to your face. The popularity of these Ishigaki-born shîsâ has spread, and they can now be found in souvenir shops throughout mainland Okinawa.
Sympathy for the Devil Ray
The Kuroshio Current brings warm water and nutrients from the tropics into the ocean around Okinawa. It is also the route for migratory animals that include humpback whales, sharks and manta rays. For a couple of months in autumn and spring, the reefs near Kabira Bay become one of the best places in the world to see mantas. Certified divers can join a dive-boat and, once anchored around a kilometer offshore, descend down to the reef. The mantas, sometimes in groups of more than a dozen, glide over the ocean floor with their colossal wingspans casting shadows on the divers below them.
There are numerous Japanese dive shops operating day trips to see the mantas from either Kabira Bay or Ishigaki Port. Some of the divemasters, such as those at Grand Blue dive shop, can speak a little English. A two-tank day including lunch costs around ¥11,000 (¥15,000 including gear). The first dive is with the mantas, the second is usually a shallower dive over the reef looking out for turtles, anemone fish and the occasional reef shark. If you want to dive with English-speaking instructors then IANTD Okinawa runs dive trips from mainland Okinawa to Ishigaki twice a year.
Ishigaki City
Ishigaki City is Japan’s southernmost city. It is the hub for transportation and administration for the group of Okinawan islands known as Yaeyama. The small city escaped bombing during WWII with the result that some buildings are nearly two hundred years old.
Built in 1819, Miyara Dounchi is a traditional Okinawan house in the style of a samurai residence. The building has a red tile roof and, along with the surrounding garden, is designated as both a nationally important cultural property and a national scenic beauty.
Tojin Tomb is located about ten minutes drive, west of the city centre. The Chinese-style tomb, flanked by stone lions, is a memorial to a group of Chinese laborers who died on Ishigaki. The exact sequence of events is still unknown, but it appears that the Chinese workers were essentially slaves being transported to either California’s gold mines or Peru’s Chincha Islands. Following an attempted mutiny, the ship was damaged and ran aground on the reef. Three hundred and eighty Chinese were left stranded on Ishigaki Island. The people of Okinawa gave them food and water, but many were killed or recaptured by American and British troops. Okinawan ships eventually took the survivors back to mainland China, but even on this final journey, pirates took the lives of many more Chinese. Tojin Tomb stands as both a reminder to the horrors of slavery and the hospitality of the Okinawan people.
Ishigaki City serves as a good base for visiting southern Okinawa. There are numerous other islands, but the ones most worth visiting are Iriomote for its natural wilderness, Taketomi for its preserved Ryukyu houses, and Yonaguni for its rugged coastline and spectacular diving.
When to go
Ishigaki has a warm subtropical climate. Unlike mainland Japan, ocean breezes make the mid-summer heat bearable. Ishigaki, like the rest of Okinawa, is located in Typhoon Alley so a visit during July, August or September can mean either glorious weather or torrential wind and rain. When a large typhoon passes over the island, the ferry service between the islands will be stopped. Flights back to Okinawa or mainland Japan will be also delayed in the event of a typhoon. The best chance of seeing manta rays is during October and April, but there is a fair chance of seeing them at anytime during the winter months.
Getting There
From Naha City, on Okinawa’s main island, Ishigaki is accessible by direct flight or ferry. There are almost hourly flights from Naha with both JTA (JAL) and ANA. Flights are around ¥20,000 but can be close to half this if you book more than three weeks in advance. Ferries run from Naha port and are either direct or stop at Miyako Island. The journey takes 14 to 16 hours, but at a little under ¥6,000, it is an economical option when there are calm seas and travelers are not in a rush.
Getting Around
Ishigaki. like the rest of Okinawa, does not have a rail system, but the public buses travel, albeit slowly, to the main tourist destinations on the island. By far the best way to get around is by car. For around ¥5,000 a day, you can join the daily rent-a-car Tour de Ishigaki and cruise around the island in a Nissan March or Toyota Vitz.
Where to stay
There is a wide variety of accommodation from campsites, through reasonably priced guesthouses in Ishigaki City, to luxury hotels. If you are going to be spending all your time on Ishigaki then the hotels near Sukiji Beach or Kabira Bay are excellent. If you want to visit other islands then accommodation in Ishigaki City gives much better access to the port.
Ishigaki City serves as a good base for visiting southern Okinawa. There are numerous other islands, but the ones most worth visiting are Iriomote for its natural wilderness, Taketomi for its preserved Ryukyu houses, and Yonaguni for its rugged coastline and spectacular diving.
View all Ishigaki images at Alamy.com
