10 Best Islands in Okinawa

Ishigaki Island is among the largest in the Yaeyama Island chain and is known for its hilly terrain with many trails and nature experiences. It’s the home of the famed Mount Omoto, the tallest mountain in Okinawa. Reaching the summit requires a 90-minute hike, and along the way, you’ll see a cascading waterfall with otherworldly, fairy-tale surroundings. If you want a less strenuous hike, you can walk through the Yonehara Palm Tree Groves with many easy and well-travelled trails.

This island is best reached by plane. You can head for the Naha Airport on the main island and take a one-hour flight to the New Ishigaki Airport.

The Kerama Islands are a group of 36 islands which form a stunning national park just off the main island with beautiful beaches and natural attractions. Here you can enjoy swimming, snorkelling, sunbathing, paddle boarding and beachfront relaxation. In addition, the islands have observation decks with panoramic views of the surrounding islands and sea. Whale-watching tours are popular here between January and March, during their migratory season. You can also enjoy hiking and exploring the inland wooded region.

The ferry to reach the largest islands in the archipelago takes only 30 minutes to 1 hour from Naha. The islands also offer hotels and other accommodation and ferry boats to the smaller islands.

Miyako Island, the largest island in its namesake archipelago, is a snorkeller’s and scuba diver’s dream, with the opportunity to explore a vast undersea world. Mini Grotto is among the most popular dive sites on the island, where you can explore extensive tunnels and huge underwater boulders. Han Drop is another popular dive site with sea creatures like the leaf scorpion fish and the giant trevally. Just offshore is Yabiji, one of Japan's largest coral reef clusters, where you’ll see more than 300 species of living coral.

The most popular dive time is between April and November, when the waters are warm. To get here, take a 45-minute flight from Naha Airport to Miyako Airport.

Iriomote Island is the spot to choose if you’re into wildlife viewing opportunities, as well as exploring stunning natural beauty with virgin forests and mangrove swamps. The island hosts varieties of wildlife, including endangered species like the yamaneko leopard, which is only endemic to this island. Keep an eye out for snakes; the habu snake on this island is venomous.

In addition to the brilliant opportunities for wildlife viewing, you can also take a cruise to explore the island’s waterways, or you can rent a kayak to explore on your own. Getting here from the main island requires a 1-hour flight to New Ishigaki Airport, followed by a ferry boat that takes 35-40 minutes.

Taketomi Island is a destination for visitors to Okinawa who want an authentic cultural experience, with its traditional village, historic buildings and quaint, walkable roads. This compact island can be explored on foot in one day, making for a wonderful afternoon experience. The older houses in this Ryūkyū village are stunningly well-preserved with their red tile roofs and shisa statues, with stone walls surrounding the grounds. It’s like taking a walk back in time.

The experience is charming and serene, and the entire area can be explored on foot. To get here, you’ll catch a 1-hour domestic flight from Naha Airport to New Ishigaki airport, then take a 10-minute ferry ride from Ishigaki Port.

Zamami Island provides an outstanding opportunity to see majestic humpback whales migrating from the Bering Sea to the warm local waters for the breeding season. The majority of whale-watching tours depart from this island. A typical tour takes about half a day to accomplish. The best time to see whales is from January to April. If you’re not here during the whale-watching season, you can explore the island itself, which has a large wilderness with hiking and pristine beaches, where you can relax, swim and snorkel.

Zamami is among the largest islands in the Kerama archipelago. To get here, you’ll take a ferry from Tomari Port on the main island, which takes about 50 minutes.

Tokashiki Island is one of the two largest islands in the Kerama Island chain and is famed for its crystal clear waters, which have optimal conditions for snorkelling. The island features several beaches ideal for spotting marine life like butterflyfish, damselfish, clownfish and living coral reef ecosystems. One of the most popular snorkelling beaches is Aharen Beach. On the other side of the island, you can visit Turtle Beach, more properly called Tokashiku Beach, where you can see lots of majestic sea turtles.

To get here, you’ll just need to catch a high-speed ferry from the Main Island’s Tomari Port. The journey takes about 35 minutes. Ferry boats run 3 times per day.

Kudaka Island has been dubbed the Island of the Gods and offers nearly endless options for sacred sites and lush forests to explore. Legend has it that Cape Kaberu on the northeastern tip is where the Goddess Amamikiyo first descended to land and that after this, she went to reside in the Fubo Utaki forest, the sacred heart of the island. The forest is one of the few areas you can’t visit. As the legendary home of the Goddess, it’s off-limits to humans.

This island is a magical place to visit, a 15-minute ferry ride from Azama Port on the main island. Ferry boats run 6 times per day.

Hateruma Island offers some of the most stunning beaches in the entire Okinawa island chain, with pristine white sands, crystal clear teal waters, and ultimate relaxation. This island is the southernmost inhabited island in Japan and is part of the Yaeyama archipelago. Nishihama Beach has been named World’s Best Beach in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards. Its sands are powder soft, and its waters stunningly clear. If you want to swim, snorkel, build sand castles or just lay back and relax, this is the spot.

Ie Island is colloquially known as Flower Island and is where botany fans come to see thousands of colourful varieties of unique and exotic plant life. The Hibiscus Garden is a primary attraction, with a rainbow of colours. In addition, the lily garden showcases over 90 varieties of lily from all over the world, including pure snow-white Easter lilies. Every spring, the island is home to the annual Island Lily Festival. During this time, you’ll see these brilliant blossoms in full bloom.

Ie Island is easy to reach from the Main Island as well. It takes a 30-minute ferry ride, and ferry boats run several times daily.