Taketomi Island | Top things to do in Okinawa | 沖縄・竹富島

Taketomi Island Okinawa Japan | 沖縄・竹富島

Taketomi Island (竹富島, Taketomijima) is an island just off the coast of Ishigaki Island and the site of a beautifully preserved, traditional Ryukyu village. As Taketomi Island is fairly small, it is often visited as a day trip from Ishigaki.

Thanks to preservation efforts, the small village consists almost entirely of traditional style, one-storied houses, which are surrounded by stone walls, and covered with red tiled roofs and ample lion-like shisa statues to ward of evil spirits. Some of the village's houses serve as minshuku accommodations.

Other traditional homes inside the village are used as restaurants and shops selling local food and crafts. There are no rental cars on Taketomi, and most visitors either walk or rent a bicycle to travel through the village's white sand roads and to the nearby beaches along the western shore of the island.

☆ Attractions | Top things to do in Taketomi Island ☆

🔹Traditional Ryukyu village
The island’s most striking feature is its beautifully preserved Ryukyu village. Limestone walls with hibiscus and bougainvillea hedgerows skirt wooden houses with traditional red-tiled roofs. Take a leisurely walk along the white coral sand streets for a laid-back introduction to the village.

🔹Water Buffalo Cart Rides
Hours: 9h00 to 17h00
Fee: 2000 yen
Two companies offer water buffalo drawn cart tours of Taketomi Village.

🔹Nagominoto Tower
Can currently not be climbed due to its deteriorating state -
The 4.5 meter tall Nagominoto Tower sits roughly in the center of the village, from where you have a view over most of the island.

🔹West Pier
Is a 10-minute walk from the Kondoi beach, and is an excellent spot for watching the sunset.

🏖 Beaches
Taketomi Island has both sandy beaches and rocky beaches where you can enjoy swimming and snorkeling. Except for Kondoi Beach, the beaches do not have any public facilities.

🔹Kondoi Beach
Kondoi Beach is Taketomi Island's best beach with emerald green water with a shallow, sandy floor. It has a large white sand beach that is perfect for laying out in the sun, and warm waters to swim in, although they are too shallow to swim in during low tide. Grassy, shaded picnic areas as well as restroom, changing, and rental facilities are also available.

🔹Kaiji Beach
This beach, together with Hoshizuna Beach on Iriomote Island, is known for its sand which is shaped like tiny stars (although it is actually made up of the skeletons of small one-celled organisms that live among the sea grass). Swimming is prohibited due to strong tidal currents.

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▪️ Getting there

Three ferry companies operate high speed ferries and an infrequent car ferry, between Ishigaki Island and Taketomi Island. Boats depart every 30 minutes between 7h30 and 17h30 with a short break around noon.
Taketomi Island is small, and it is possible to explore the island entirely on foot or by rental bicycle (500 yen per hour, or 2000 yen per day).

Official website of the ferry company.
🔶https://www.yaeyama.co.jp/
🔶 https://aneikankou.co.jp/

📍: https://goo.gl/maps/nto8ugnQBEfwSiJt8

0:08 Ryukyu village
0:53 Kaiji Beach
1:38 Kondoi Beach
3:07 Cycling through the village
5:18 Walking Around Kondoi Beach
8:56 Walking Around West Pier
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