Taketomi Island

Okinawa, Japan · Remote island, Town / small city

A village designated as a preservation district for traditional buildings, with red-tile roofed houses, coral stone walls, and rides in carts pulled by water buffalo.

The essentials

Getting there

Ferry — Ferry from Ishigaki Port (remote islands terminal), about 10-15 minutes with Yaeyama Kanko Ferry or Anei Kanko.

Frequently asked questions about Taketomi Island

What to do in Taketomi Island: 21 activities

• How to visit Taketomi without ruining it 1 h must-see

  The island has just over three hundred residents and receives hundreds of thousands of day visitors from Ishigaki, concentrated between ten and three. A 300-yen entry contribution is collected at the pier. The right way to visit is to sleep on the island or take the first boat: between four in the afternoon and nine in the morning the village is a village again.

• The Taketomi community charter 0.5 h must-see

  Adopted on 31 March 1986, it has five principles: do not sell land or houses to outsiders, do not soil the island, do not disturb the village's appearance, do not destroy the old houses or the landscape, and keep the rites, folk arts and local industry alive. It grew out of the utsugumi spirit of mutual aid, and it is worth knowing before you set foot in the village.

• The traditional building preservation district 1.75 h must-see

  The three hamlets were designated a national Important Preservation District in 1987: red tiled roofs set in mortar, coral walls, white sand lanes and hand-made shisa found nowhere else. These are lived-in houses: do not enter courtyards, do not photograph interiors or residents, and no drones.

• Walk through the traditional village 2 h must-see

  White sand lanes between red-tile roofed houses and coral stone walls, designated a preservation district for traditional buildings.

• Water buffalo cart ride 1 h must-see booking

  A traditional ride in a wooden cart pulled by a water buffalo through the village streets, with the guide playing sanshin music. Ethical warning: there is documented criticism of the liberal use of the whip and concern about the heat. To minimise the impact it is better to go first thing in the morning or in winter and to choose an operator with shade and rest breaks — or to replace it outright with a bicycle.

• Day trip to Hateruma 10 h booking

  The southernmost inhabited point in Japan, with the Southern Cape monument, Nishihama beach and an observation tower from which people look for the Southern Cross between December and June. Warning: the ferry, a good hour long, is cancelled extremely often - do not put it right before a flight.

• Minsah craft museum and workshop 1.25 h

  Taketomi minsah is the origin of weaving across Yaeyama; here you see the hand loom and the indigo dyeing. Yaeyama minsa and jofu have been Traditional Crafts of Japan since 1989.

• Tanadui, the harvest festival 6 h booking only the 9th lunar month (October-November)

  A national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property since 1977: nine days of rites in the ninth month of the lunar calendar, which usually falls between October and November, with more than 50 theatre and dance performances and a night round house by house. It is not a tourist show - accommodation sells out and access to certain acts is restricted.

• Day trip to Kohama 5 h

  Island of cane fields and hills in the same municipality, 25 minutes away by ferry: the Shugaru road and the Kohagura-so house are locations from the 2001 drama Chura-san, which carries strong identity in Japan. A point of precision: the star sand beach called Hoshizuna is on Iriomote, not here; on Taketomi the star sand is at Kaiji.

• Day trip to Kuroshima 5 h

  Flat, heart-shaped island where cattle far outnumber people: around 200 inhabitants against thousands of head. It has a sea turtle research centre, and its Cow Festival, on the last Sunday in February, raffles off a whole cow.

• Kaiji Beach (star sand) 1 h

  A beach famous for its 'hoshizuna', or star-shaped sand, formed from foraminifera shells. A clarification: Taketomi's star sand is here; the beach actually called Hoshizuna is on Iriomote.

• Kitsugan 3 h only the 8th lunar month (roughly September)

  Rite of thanksgiving officiated by the island's priestesses, with dances dedicated to it, between August and September. Entering the utaki, the sacred groves, is forbidden, both during the festival and outside it.

• Kondoi Beach 2 h

  Shallow, white-sand beach, the most popular on the island for swimming.

• Night stargazing 1.5 h

  Nearly light-pollution-free skies make Taketomi one of the best spots in Okinawa to see the Milky Way.

• Nishisanbashi Pier at sunset 1 h

  Old pier at the western tip of the island, one of its best spots to watch the sunset.

• Aragusuku, the Panari island 8 h booking

  Practically uninhabited and with no services, and its rites are restricted to descendants. You cannot land freely: the only way in is on an authorised tour.

• Bicycle rental to tour the island 2 h

  The island is completely flat and can be fully toured by bicycle in a little over an hour.

• Hatoma music festival 4 h only early May

  In May, on an island of some 60 inhabitants in the same municipality.

• Kihoin Shushukan Folk Museum 1 h

  Private collection of thousands of traditional Yaeyama artifacts, housed in an old village home.

• Nagomi no Tou lookout tower 0.5 h

  Small tower in the village centre with elevated views over the sea of red-tiled roofs.

• Wildcat Marathon 5 h booking

  Run on Iriomote in February, with the proceeds going to conservation of the Iriomote cat.

What only happens on specific dates

• Hatoma music festival early May
• Kitsugan the 8th lunar month (roughly September)
• Tanadui, the harvest festival the 9th lunar month (October-November)

Ready-made routes through Taketomi Island

Chains well with

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