What is Taketomi Island? Introducing popular sightseeing spots and set tours! Ishigaki Island resident staff will give you a thorough explanation!

Hello everyone.
Do you know Taketomi Island?
Taketomi Island is a small island created by the uplift of coral reefs, located about 10 minutes offshore by boat from Ishigaki Island. You can enjoy swimming and diving.
Especially popular spots are Kondoi Beach, Kaiji Beach famous for its star sand, Takidunguchi in the northwestern part of the island, Simovishi in the southwestern part of the island, and Taketomi Island Minamioki Reef in the southern part. In addition, you can also see various faces of Shisa in houses with red-tile roofs, and Taketomi Island retains the simple and beautiful old-fashioned Okinawan original landscape.
This article introduces Taketomi Island.

 

 

 

What is Taketomi Island? Features and Reasons for Recommendation

Taketomi Island is one of the places in the Yaeyama Islands where you can enjoy a slow life. Taketomi Island has a number of beautiful beaches and marine activities are popular. It is a perfect resort for relaxing, and buffalo carts are also used as a means of transportation around the island.
With a variety of cafes and stores where you can take a break, it is also a popular spot to give your body a rest when you are tired from playing in the activities.

 

Access to Taketomi Island and Getting Around the Island

Taketomi Island is located near Ishigaki Island and has many regular ferry services, so many people visit the island for sightseeing. The ferry fare and timetable for Taketomi Island are as follows.

 

 

 

20 Sightseeing Spots on Taketomi Island

1) Kondoy Beach

The white sandy beaches and emerald green sea can be seen beyond the horizon. The sparkling sea and pure white sandy beach, like glasswork, are perfect for the image of a tropical island. The shallow waters, gentle tides, and showers and toilets make it safe for children to enjoy playing in the ocean.

 

(2) Star Sand Beach

Hoshi-suna-no-hama is a sandy beach also known as Kaiji-hama. It is called Hoshi-suna-no-hama because you can pick up star-shaped seashells from the white sand of the beach. Many people may have received this beach as a souvenir from Okinawa. However, you cannot take the sand from the star sand beach home with you, so you should only take star sand as a souvenir.

 

(3) West Pier

The pier was originally used for unloading ships coming from Iriomote Island. The total length of the pier is about 105m long, suggesting that it was important for ships coming in and out of the island. It is famous for the spectacular view of the sunset into the sea and is regarded as the biggest sunset spot on Taketomi Island.

 

(3) Buffalo Car Sightseeing

The buffalo car tour is a must-see sightseeing tour of Taketomi Island. Let's ride on a buffalo-drawn cart and go around the island. You will discover something new that you could not find by car or on foot. Forget the hustle and bustle of daily life and immerse yourself in an extraordinary world.

 

(5) Nagomi Tower in Akayama Park

Nagomi no To is a viewing platform from which you can overlook the village of Taketomi Island. Since Taketomi Island has strict regulations on buildings and all buildings except elementary and junior high schools are one-story, you can overlook the beautiful red-brick buildings of Taketomi Island.

 

(6) Minka with red tile roof

The villages of Taketomi Island have uniform old houses with round orange roof tiles framed in white plaster and a lion sitting on the roof to ward off evil spirits. The houses are usually square, surrounded by black stone fences carved from coral reefs, and the islanders protect the tropical landscape of hibiscus and bougainvillea from their gardens.

 

⑦Taketomi Island Visitor Center Yugafu-kan

Yugafukan is the visitor center of Taketomi Island. It introduces the nature, history, and traditional culture of the island, and you can watch video materials on a large-screen theater. It is convenient to stop by before sightseeing in Taketomi Island to learn about recommended spots.

 

 

8) House of the birth of Asatoya Kuyama

Kuyama Asulya was an amazingly beautiful woman whose beauty was so beautiful that she even became a song. The song is so well-known that it has become a standard sanshin (Okinawan folk song).

 

Akayama Park

This is the plaza where Nagomi no To stands. It is said to be the viewing platform of the Akayama clan, a fallen member of the Heike clan, and is conveniently located for a panoramic view of the island. Hoshimi-ishi (star gazing stone) and the Akayama observatory are also located here.

 

⑩Taketomi Folk Art Museum

Taketomi Island is also known as an island where traditional textiles such as the mincer belt and bashofu have been handed down. At the Taketomi Folkcraft Museum, you can see the process of weaving Bashofu through panels, and also watch a weaving demonstration. A 10-centimeter square coaster can be made in 30 minutes to an hour. Mincer is also a very romantic textile, with a pattern called "yashira-mi", which is a series of short horizontal stripes, named after the foot of a centipede, which means "footsteps" and "please come to me", or "love over and over", as it is dyed with indigo over and over again. It is also a very romantic textile. There are also woven fabrics for sale on the island, so those who don't have time for a demonstration can buy some and take them home as souvenirs.

 

 

(11) Ruins of Taketomi Island warehouse

The kuragen is not a brewery that makes sake, but an old town hall. The remains of the warehouse can be seen in a stone wall near Kaiji Beach on Taketomi Island. It is surrounded by a parking lot and there is a signboard on the road side.

 

(punishment by being placed in a) 12-year prison term

Seimochi Gogoku is the most famous Utaki in Taketomi Island, located in the center of Taketomi Village, where the god of fire and the god of agriculture are worshipped. Especially, "Tanedori Festival" held around October is the biggest event in Taketomi Island, where all the islanders gather together to pray for fertility and prosperity of the island. It is located in the village of Taketomi Island, so you can visit the festival while walking around on foot.

 

Seotang Utaki

This Utaki is dedicated to Saetang, a great man born in Taketomi Island, among many Utaki dedicated to nature worship and deities. Saidang excelled in civil engineering and designed the Shuri Castle Wall and built the Sonohiyamu Utaki Stone Gate. After he was appointed as the administrative chief of Yaeyama region, he made many reforms in Yaeyama, such as guidance for improvement of agriculture, installation of sundial and time bell, and so on.

 

Kihoin Collection Museum

This is a history and folklore museum attached to Kihoin, the southernmost temple in Japan. The museum exhibits approximately 4,000 items, including arts and crafts and folk tools handed down from generation to generation on the island. The museum provides visitors with a wide range of knowledge, including symbols from a time when there were no letters, warasan (rope tying), and the origin of the mincer weaving pattern.

 

 

(15) Ngubuhuru Observatory

The name "Nbufuru" comes from a legend that a cow owned by a resident in the past used to make a high hill in the middle of the night by pushing up dirt and stones with its horns, and the hill was named after the cow's cry, "Nbufuru, Nbufuru. There used to be a lookout tower, but it has been gone for some time and seems to have been reconstructed in recent times.

 

Misaki

Misaki is a beach in the northern part of Taketomi Island. There is a small beach between the surrounding rocky areas. Since it is a rocky beach, it is not so popular and you can spend your time slowly. Misaki Utaki is located nearby.

 

⑰Aiyar beach

This beach stretches on the southeast side of the island. It is not visited by as many people as Kondoi Beach, but because of this, it is ideal for those who want to spend a quiet and relaxing time. The brilliance of its clear water is one of the best in the Yaeyama Islands.

 

Taketomi Post Office

Taketomi Post Office is the only post office on the island. The building has a red-tiled roof, the tiles are framed with white plaster, and a lion sits on the roof to ward off evil spirits, giving it an atmosphere unique to the old days, yet it is equipped with modern functions. The exterior of the post office is very much in harmony with Taketomi Island, and it can be said that the post office itself is a rare existence to be a sightseeing spot.

 

The wells of the 1930's

The well is said to have been discovered because a dog kept by a god in an old village myth kept its tail wet despite the drought. The well was respected as a well with abundant water, and water from this well was used for important occasions such as New Year's wakamizu and water for childbirth, making it a well that was familiar to people's lives.

 

the beach of 「⑳ヌヌヌーシャ」(⑳ヌヌーシャ)

Nunucher's Beach is located north of the West Pier. It is a beach with few tourists and often visited by locals for a walk. The name is derived from the dialect word "Nunusha" meaning "to bleach cloth," as the traditional fabric of Taketomi Island, basho cloth, was bleached with seawater.

 

 

Recommended model course for two days and one night on Taketomi Island

Day 1

10:30 a.m. Departure from Ishigakijima Terminal

↓Transfer time: 20 minutes by boat

11:00 Arrival at Taketomi Island

Check in at the inn and have lunch

1:00 p.m. Star Sand Beach

Hoshi-suna-no-hama is a sandy beach also known as Kaiji-hama. It is called Hoshi-suna-no-hama because you can pick up star-shaped seashells from the white sand of the beach. Many people may have received this beach as a souvenir from Okinawa. However, you cannot take the sand from the star sand beach home with you, so you should only take star sand as a souvenir.

 

↓Travel time: 10 minutes on foot

2:00 p.m. Kondoy Beach

The white sandy beaches and emerald green sea can be seen beyond the horizon. The sparkling sea and pure white sandy beach, like glasswork, are perfect for the image of a tropical island. The shallow waters, gentle tides, and showers and toilets make it safe for children to enjoy playing in the ocean.

Back to the village

5:00 p.m. Nagomi Tower in Akayama Park

Nagomi no To is a viewing platform from which you can overlook the village of Taketomi Island. Since Taketomi Island has strict regulations on buildings and all buildings except elementary and junior high schools are one-story, you can overlook the beautiful red-brick buildings of Taketomi Island.

 

↓Travel time: 10 minutes on foot

6:00 p.m. West Pier

The pier was originally used for unloading ships coming from Iriomote Island. The total length of the pier is about 105m long, suggesting that it was important for ships coming in and out of the island. It is famous for the spectacular view of the sunset into the sea and is regarded as the biggest sunset spot on Taketomi Island.

 

↓Travel time: 10 minutes on foot

7:00 p.m. Settlement

We will have dinner and go to bed at the inn.

 

2nd day

8:00 a.m. Settlement

We will have breakfast and relax.

↓Travel time: 20 minutes on foot

10:00 Buffalo Car Sightseeing

The buffalo car tour is a must-see sightseeing tour of Taketomi Island. Let's ride on a buffalo-drawn cart and go around the island. You will discover something new that you could not find by car or on foot. Forget the hustle and bustle of daily life and immerse yourself in an extraordinary world.

 

10:40 a.m. Kihoin Shushukan

This is a history and folklore museum attached to Kihoin, the southernmost temple in Japan. The museum exhibits approximately 4,000 items, including arts and crafts and folk tools handed down from generation to generation on the island. The museum provides visitors with a wide range of knowledge, including symbols from a time when there were no letters, warasan (rope tying), and the origin of the mincer weaving pattern.

 

12:00 Return to the village for lunch

1:00 p.m. Taketomi Folk Art Museum

 

Taketomi Island is also known as an island where traditional textiles such as the mincer belt and bashofu have been handed down. At the Taketomi Folkcraft Museum, you can see the process of weaving Bashofu through panels, and also watch a weaving demonstration. A 10-centimeter square coaster can be made in 30 minutes to an hour. Mincer is also a very romantic textile, with a pattern called "yashira-mi", which is a series of short horizontal stripes, named after the foot of a centipede, which means "footsteps" and "please come to me", or "love over and over", as it is dyed with indigo over and over again. It is also a very romantic textile. There are also woven fabrics for sale on the island, so those who don't have time for a demonstration can buy some and take them home as souvenirs.

 

3:00 p.m. Return to the village and check out.

16:00 to Taketomi Port

16:30 Arrive at Ishigakijima Remote Island Terminal

 

 

Taketomi Island can be fully enjoyed even in half a day.

In addition to walking, you can efficiently enjoy sightseeing on Taketomi Island by using a buffalo cart or renting a bicycle.

In addition, Taketomi Island is relatively small and can be enjoyed in half a day.

There is a tour that includes sightseeing on Taketomi Island, landing on a phantom island, and snorkeling!

 

Points to keep in mind when going to Taketomi Island

Taketomi Island is located relatively close to Ishigaki Island, about 30 minutes by boat, and many people visit the island for sightseeing. The sea is clean and marine activities are popular, but since it is a southern island, ultraviolet rays are very harsh, so please be sure to take UV precautions.

 

 

At the end.

We introduced Taketomi Island. How was it?
The island has a tropical island atmosphere, with spectacular spots where you can watch enchanting sunsets and star-sand beaches. The island is easy to visit with many restaurants and sightseeing spots concentrated in the villages. Please visit Taketomi Island, which has such a high level of attractiveness.
Thank you for reading to the end.

 

 

 

 

This article was written by.

Hello! I'm Niwa-chan, your source for all things Ishigaki Island. I have loved to be in touch with nature since I was a child, and I am especially fascinated by the rich natural environment of Okinawa. Currently based in Ishigaki Island, I provide information on how to enjoy activities such as snorkeling, SUP, and kayaking, as well as the hidden charms of the island.

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