Miyakojima

Okinawa, Japan · Remote island, Sea / Beach

The island has no rivers at all: its water is held underground behind walls injected into the limestone, and that single fact explains half of Miyakojima. Above it lie the sand of Yonaha Maehama, three and a half kilometres of toll-free bridge across to Irabu and, off Shimojishima, a system of submarine caves with arches and shafts of light for experienced divers only. The Yabiji reef surfaces on the spring tides of March and April; mango arrives in June.

The essentials

Getting there

Plane — Direct flight from Naha or major Japanese cities

Frequently asked questions about Miyakojima

What to do in Miyakojima: 24 activities

• Cave diving off Shimojishima 6 h must-see booking

  Antonio Gaudi, with its arches and chimneys; the Devil's Palace, a cavern system shot through with light beams; and the famous Toilet Bowl, where the current lifts and drops the diver through a vertical shaft. It demands experience and good buoyancy control, and is cancelled in heavy swell.

• Irabu Bridge 1 h must-see

  Three and a half kilometres of deck: the longest toll-free bridge in Japan, opened in January 2015. There are viewpoint car parks at both ends, and stopping on the bridge itself is forbidden.

• Yonaha Maehama Beach 3 h must-see

  One of Japan's top-rated beaches, with fine sand and turquoise water.

• Miyako soba 0.75 h

  Flat noodles in a pork and bonito broth. Its traditional peculiarity is that the meat was hidden under the noodles, a gesture of discretion inherited from the era of the poll tax.

• Miyako-jofu, ramie weaving 1.25 h booking

  A national Important Intangible Cultural Property since 1978: hand-spun ramie thread, Ryukyu indigo and an extremely fine kasuri. Only about 20 rolls a year are produced, hence the price.

• Shigira Ogon Onsen 2 h

  These are the southernmost and westernmost natural hot springs in Japan, and practically the only real onsen in the whole southern archipelago. It has a naked bathing area and a mixed area where swimsuits are worn, plus a sauna.

• Snorkelling at Yoshino and Aragusuku 2.5 h

  Two reefs on the east coast with plenty of tropical fish and direct access from the shore, best at high tide. Feeding the fish and standing on the coral are prohibited.

• Sunayama Beach 1.5 h

  It is reached by walking down a sand dune and has a natural rock arch. Warning: rockfalls have been documented, so it is not advisable to stand underneath it for photos. No lifeguard, with rip currents and jellyfish from May to October.

• Toriike and 17END, on Shimojishima 1.25 h

  Two twin sinkholes connected to the sea by underwater tunnels, designated a national Natural Monument. 17END is the sandbar at the end of the Shimoji airport runway, with restricted vehicle access: you go on foot or by bike.

• A night in Nishizato 2.5 h

  The izakaya and bar area of the old town of Hirara, with live sanshin in some places. It is where the otori is practised.

• Cape Higashi-Hennazaki 1 h

  A lighthouse and cliffs at the island's eastern tip, with sea views in two directions.

• City museum and the poll tax stone 1 h

  The museum covers the nintozei, the brutal poll tax that Satsuma and Ryukyu imposed on Miyako and Yaeyama between 1637 and 1903. The legend that anyone taller than the stone began to pay is very probably apocryphal, and should be told as legend, not as fact.

• Paantu Festival 2 h only the 9th lunar month; date not announced

  A ritual in the village of Shimajiri in which figures covered in mud and leaves move through the streets to drive out evil spirits, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. ESSENTIAL WARNING: the Shimajiri community has deliberately stopped announcing the exact date because of incidents with tourists — there are documented cases of a visitor who complained because her dress and camera were smeared, and of a tourist who assaulted a paantu. Guards have been deployed to protect the bearers, and cancelling the ritual has even been suggested. The rule is simple: if you enter the area you will be smeared with mud, and that is the ritual. Disposable clothes, a protected camera, no annoyance at all, no close-up photographs without permission, and do not come in a large group.

• Route across the inter-island bridges 2 h

  Bridges spanning the sea, connecting Miyakojima to neighbouring islets.

• Snorkeling in underwater caves 2.5 h booking

  Easily accessible coral formations and caves on the island's west coast.

• Strongman, the Miyakojima triathlon 10 h booking

  A long-distance race in April: 3 kilometres of swimming, 123 of cycling and a full marathon. The whole island turns out and accommodation sells out that week.

• The market street in Hirara 1.25 h

  Miyako mango between June and August, Yukishio salt, awamori and fish paste.

• The Miyako awamori route 1.5 h booking

  Six distilleries on the island, one of them founded in 1954 that ages in a natural cave at constant temperature, and another from 1948 with a mostly female workforce. Cultural warning: the otori, the circular toasting ritual in which you cannot pass on your turn, is exhausting and potentially dangerous - it can be declined politely.

• The water problem and overtourism 0.5 h

  Miyakojima depends 100 percent on groundwater. A 2024 report concluded that hotel growth has outstripped the municipal forecasts and that in a severe drought scenario there would be a shortfall of the order of 8,800 cubic metres a day, to the point of calling into question the viability of new large developments; desalination was ruled out on cost grounds. In practice: short showers, do not ask for daily towel changes and avoid July and August if you are after a quiet island.

• Ueno German Culture Village 1.75 h

  The reason there is a German village here: in 1873 the German merchant ship of R. J. Robertson was wrecked off Miyako and the islanders rescued and cared for the crew, and Kaiser Wilhelm I had a monument of thanks erected in 1876. The park has a replica of Marksburg Castle and an authentic fragment of the Berlin Wall.

• Underground dam museum 1 h

  Miyakojima has no rivers: water is held below ground by impermeable walls injected into the limestone, among the largest of their kind in the world. It is the best introduction to the island's water problem.

• Yabiji Reef 4 h booking

  One of Japan's largest coral reef complexes, visitable by boat excursion at low tide off Ikema Island. It is also written Yaebishi, and it emerges above the water only a few days a year, on the spring tides of March and April.

• Miyako Jinja Shrine 0.5 h

  A Shinto shrine in central Hirara that blends Shinto tradition with religious beliefs native to the Ryukyu Islands. It is the southernmost and westernmost Shinto shrine in Japan; the present building was rebuilt in 2018.

• Yukishio Salt Factory and Museum 1 h

  A facility on Irabu Island where Yukishio powdered salt is produced using a patented method, with a shop and free tastings.

What only happens on specific dates

• Paantu Festival the 9th lunar month; date not announced

Ready-made routes through Miyakojima

Chains well with

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