Taketomi Island

Very peaceful Island.about 15 minutes away from Ishigaki Island. The Island have several nice beaches.several small cafe and restaurant have there. Visitors can rent bicycles.you can spend a few hours to see everything.Good place to relax.

A great little place to go but we didn't have enough time as we needed to get back to the ship, they have water buffalo cart rides, hire a bike and rise around the island or just hit the beach and relax but please be advised there are a lot of people who go here and lining up for the return ferry takes time

Taketomi island is a beautiful island that’s about 20 minutes away by a Ferry from Ishigaki Island Japan. The island have several nice beaches that are walking distance from the ferry terminal. Quaint town with traditional Okinawan style homes and architecture. There are several cafes and small restaurants in the islands serving traditional Japanese foods and desserts. A nice place to visit if you’re in Ishigaki Japan.

A must see place for anyone who wants to experience what “real Okinawa” felt like for hundreds of years. Traditional Okinawan style homes and architecture, beautiful beaches, delicious quaint little cafes. This residential little island is no Disney theme park. Aside from the ox driven carts and couple cafes catering to tourists, most of the island is made up of the homes of locals living their peaceful island life. A beautiful place to to spend a day.

Getting to Taketomi Island is easy from Ishigaki Island. It take about 20 minutes by ship from Ishigaki Port Departure Terminal. Upon arrival, a car comes down to the impressive village with red tiled wooden houses, coral stone walls, and white coral sandy white roads all over. The scenery is representative of Taketomi Island. Which has been identified as a conservation group of traditional ancient buildings. National key The island also has services Ride the cart, use the buffalo to drag. Around the village one more round or let the buffalo donkey go into the water Taketomi Island has a shallow sea surrounded by calm waves. And has views representing the islands Authentic Okinawa The state of the country that has been set in the past since the setting sun that has helped to dye the sea red. And the stars that shine in the silent night sky This island that gave birth "Asadoya Yunta" which is widely known among the Okinawan folk songs. It is a wonderful island that invites people to enter into eternal time.

Some were good, some were bad. We went there mainly for the Buffalo cart. It said it would take 25-30 minutes. But it felt more like 10 - 15 minutes. It was a short round, and the guide only spoke Japanese. So whatever he tells about the place, you won't know or understand. It's a little off and disappointing when it's a tourist spot.. They didn't sell much food on the island. The one cafe we wanted to visit was surprisingly closed. So we had smoothies at another one. There was no cold place with air-conditioning (witch u find on the other bigger islands in every store and cafe). So get ready to sweat and stay warm for all your visit. Remember sunscreen. We visited late September and got really burned even tho we used sunscreen otw there. We went to see the star-sand beaches. We could find some tiny ones, but it's not so easy to find. I recommend buying if you want it as a souvenir. There is one beautiful beach and sand-island for bathing and snorkeling, but not so much corals or colorful fishes. It's like a little sand island right next to the beach, which is beautiful. Phantom island might be better for snorkeling, but it was not an offer to go there from Taketomi Island, so we didn't try it out. Also there is no cafe or wendingmaschine at the main beach so bring smth with you from the village. The Worst part was .. that from the pier, there is a minibus included, driving you to the center of the village for the Buffalo carts. But otw back from the star beach (on the other side of the island) where we had walked for 20 minutes in direct sun to the village to get back, there was no more people or busses. The village was dead at approximately 17.00. We had no info about when the last bus would drive us back from the pier again. I wasn't sure when the last boat went back home to Ishigaki, but never did I expect it to be that early. Inside a building in the village was some workers and one bus outside. We asked about the bus, and they said it was only for them, for the workers, so they can't drive us back.. we then had to walk another 30 minutes from the village to the pier, to wait for the last boat wich went 17.50. We luckily made it. I can't imagine having to stay over there if we spent more time at the beach, not knowing when we the last bus went. I still don't know when the last bus would drive people back from the village if the last boat is 17.50, but already at 17.00 there was no busses or people... I was rly scared for a moment. The boat from Ishigaki cost approximately 3400¥ for 2 people. The Buffalo cart was 6000¥ for 2 people. If you want to rent a bicycle to see the beaches, it's 2000¥ each person.

Taketomi Island is an archipelago that has traditional Okinawan life, the houses here have distinctive characteristics including being fenced with dead coral reefs piled up to form a fence around the house, the surrounding island is decorated with beautiful white sand and amazing coral reefs, the beaches are pristine , visitors can also watch the sunset from this island. Visitors can come to this island by boat/ferry from Ishigaki Island, which is not too far away, around 7 km. To get around the island, visitors can rent bicycles at the bicycle rental places that have been provided. Visitors can also ride a ratchet train using buffalo power around the village.

Well worth a visit. 20 minute ferry ride from Ishigaki harbor. We rented bikes and spent about three hours touring the island. Lots of great spots for pictures. Very different vibe from Ishigaki. Authentic but well set up for tourism with rental bikes and water Buffalo taxis. Etc.