Story 07 — Another Japan, by Sea
Islands, another Japan.
Japan has landscapes you can only meet by crossing the sea. Coral seas, mangrove rivers, white sand beaches.
Photo: RitikaPahwa4444 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
ISHIGAKI — Okinawa
A bay that changes colour
The sea of Kabira Bay changes colour with the tide and the angle of the light. You cannot swim here, but you can watch the coral through the hull of a glass-bottom boat.
The moment you reach an island, you want to take off your watch.
Photo: 663highland / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.5
MIYAKOJIMA — Okinawa
A beach of white sand
The white sand beach of Yonaha Maehama. From the shore out to sea, the water shifts from pale aqua to deep blue.
IRIOMOTE — Okinawa
A jungle river
Iriomote Island, most of it covered by forest. From the mangroves at the river mouth, by canoe into the depths of the forest.
Photo: BenedettaR / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
Destinations in this story
Places visited in this story
ISHIGAKI
Ishigaki Island & Kabira BayOkinawa · Okinawa
Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture. Kabira Bay, in northwestern Ishigaki Island, is known for its white sand, small green islands and a sea that changes colour moment by moment. It is a national Place of Scenic Beauty and part of Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park. Swimming in the bay is prohibited; glass-bottom boats let you view the underwater world.
Seas / Islands / National parks
MIYAKOJIMA
Miyako IslandOkinawa · Okinawa
Miyakojima City, Okinawa Prefecture. Known for the white sand of Yonaha Maehama Beach and clear seas over coral reefs. The Irabu Bridge, opened in 2015, links Miyako Island and Irabu Island.
Seas / Islands
IRIOMOTE
Iriomote IslandOkinawa · Okinawa
Taketomi Town, Okinawa Prefecture. The second-largest island in Okinawa Prefecture after the main island, most of it covered by subtropical forest. Vast mangrove forests spread at the river mouths, and the Iriomote cat lives here. Inscribed as a World Natural Heritage site in 2021.
Islands / Forests / Seas
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