Exploring tropical Japan

Ishigaki, Okinawa – February 2024

Our plane from Naha lands at Ishigaki airport on a Friday afternoon. Today I’m traveling with Sinthia, a friend visiting me from Switzerland. Somehow, we figure out how the local bus payment works (no IC card payment available) and reach Suntoru Guesthouse, where my co-worker Julie and the guesthouse cat Francesca are already waiting. We receive a warm welcome at the Ryukyu-style Minshuku, and the owner Tamara gives us a quick house tour. The one-story building features around 8 twin rooms and a shared bathroom, living space, and kitchen. The terrace overlooking the mangroves offers another common sitting space and even a washing machine. From there, it’s only a short walk to Miyara river, where Tamara promises to take us on a kayak tour later during the week.

On this first night, we are very hungry and eager to explore the city’s restaurants. I already got a recommendation for a great seafood Izakaya, so off by bus we are. As we expected, Hitoshi Ishiganto is quite busy. But we manage to get a table for 1 hour later and in the meantime stop at a food truck down the street for an apperitif. The talkative Australian guy running it invites us to a birthday party on the next day, before asking us to promote his business. Officially in vacation mood, we return to the Izakaya, where we enjoy delicious seafood and Okinawan specialty “Champuru”. After an eventful couple of hours, we take a taxi back to the guesthouse (which costs us a fraction of the price in Tokyo and Switzerland respectively). All of us quickly fall asleep to the sounds of the jungle.

On our first full day in Ishigaki I am determined to figure out our options for scuba diving. Tamara recommends a dive shop in walking distance, and Sinthia and I head up the small street leading inland. Up on the hill, we not only find an Okonomiyaki restaurant, but also the Manta dive center. With my basic Japanese and through Google Translate, we communicate the owner and instructor our wish to go diving and hopefully see Manta Rays on one of the following days. He says the weather would be best 2 days from now, so we agree on meeting at the guesthouse that morning. Very excited (me) and very nervous (Sinthia) we make our way to lunch with Julie. The afternoon is spent exploring Shiraho Beach and the nearby village on foot.

In the evening, we return to the small hill, where we want to give the Okonomiyaki restaurant a try. The old lady who runs the shop grew up on the island, but spent many years in Kyoto, where she learned to make Kansai-style Okonomiyaki. Tonight, a family, who moved here from Osaka 5 years ago, are the only other guests. The dad works as a glassblower in Ishigaki City and warns us about sea snakes: “They are small but venomous”. We vow to stay away from them and then retire to the guesthouse. After all, we still have to arrange a car for the next day’s planned tour of the island. Fortunately, Mima-san — Tamara’s husband — is home and quickly calls his friend who gladly offers us a car at a very reasonable price.

The following morning, Mima-san gives us a ride to a private parking lot on the outskirts of the city. There we pick up a pink Kei car in the most informal way possible, before heading to the Ishigaki Stalactite Cave. We explore the dimly lit caves with rock formations named after Ghibli characters for a while. Then we head north, to the famous Kabira Bay. We park the car in front of a minimart and venture to the sandy beach with crystal-clear water. Once we have enough of the sightseeing spot, we continue the trip along the coast. We enjoy Japanese curry and juice on at a restaurant with sea view and imagine what it would be like to live here. There sure are worse places to be. But our excursion isn’t over yet.

Next up is Yoneko Yaki Kobo Shisa Farm. Shisa are the dragon statues set up on top of every traditional Okinawan house, which are said to protect the inhabitants. On the farm, an artist created giant, colourful versions of them. Set against the green scenery, it’s truly a special sight. From here we continue the journey north to Sunset Beach and our final sightseeing destination: the Hirakubozaki Lighthouse all the way up north. On the way back south to the guesthouse, we notice that the east coast is way less populated. We take advantage of the empty roads to snap some pictures of the beautiful sunset. And just before we arrive back in Ishigaki, Julie spots a turtle crawling out of the bushes onto the road. I stop the car, she runs out and grabs the small animal by its shell to return it to the mangroves. By now, we’re one with nature.

The following day is the dive day! Everyone is up early, be it due to excitement or nervousness. The wife of the dive shop owner picks us up in a large van. We explain to her with hand and feet, that now all three of us want to dive. No problem! Upon arrival at the port, we fill out the customary forms, before we receive our wetsuits. On the largest and most luxurious dive boat I have ever been on, we ride out of the harbour towards Taketomi Island. Just off the reef, we come to a halt and the shop owner gestures to me to get ready for our dive. Since I’m the only one with a license, we will go deeper than his wife with Sinthia and Julie.

And so we descend to about 15 meters. I barely have time to adjust to the depths, when the instructor points at me and I see a striped sea snake in his hand. He lets go, and the animal quickly swims away from us. But only a few moments later, he catches another one. Luckily, they seem to be quite eager to get away, so I don’t worry too much about being bitten by them. However, once we are back on the boat, the dive master shows me his hand, which is clearly swollen. So they are biting and definitely venomous. After my first dive ends, I anxiously wait for Sinthia and Julie to surface. Fortunately, they did not see any snakes and had a fantastic time.

Nevertheless, both of them are happy with snorkeling, while I go on a second dive in the afternoon. The dive shop owner asks me whether I want to give Manta Scramble a try, even though it’s off-season and the chance for sightings rather low. We all agree to give it a try anyway and off we are. The boat ride itself is well worth the money, and once we arrive at the island’s most famous dive spot, we see several other boats with eager divers. Instructor-san and I waste no time getting ready and quickly descend into the open water. At around 10 meters deep, we follow the colourful corals to a small meadow. Suddenly, I see a lot of bubbles from other divers. I look up and find a mighty manta ray circling around a swarm of cleaning fish.

I’m not sure how long we stay in this spot, looking at the spectacle above us. After a while, the dive master points in the other direction, and we swim off into a beautiful coral canyon. Once we surface, Sinthia and Julie agree that this is one of the most magical experiences we have ever had. While snorkeling, they saw the same show but from the top. All of us can’t help but smile during the whole boat ride back to town. Once we’re back at the guesthouse, Tamara asks if we still have energy for some kayaking. Of course, we say yes and spend the sunset hour maneuvering ourselves through the mangroves. Needless to say, we sleep early and well that night.

Our last full day in Ishigaki is spent with a day trip to Taketomi island. However, this time we don’t have a private shuttle boat, but we take the ferry. It’s a hot day and after walking through the picturesque village for a bit, all we want is shade and AC. We find a nice restaurant for lunch and on the way back to the port even spot the famous Buffalo-drawn carriage. In the evening, we enjoy Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) and drinks at the guesthouse with Tamara, Mima-san and another guest. They teach us a lot about Ryukyu and Okinawan culture, as well as the struggles of the southern island’s inhabitants. Moved by their hospitality, we find it hard to leave the sunny prefecture for wintry Tokyo the next day. But for now, it’s back to work for us.