Ishigaki Island, Okinawa

The Limestone Cave is well laid out with concrete steps, hand rails, and adequate lighting. (Debb Bautista)
The Limestone Cave is well laid out with concrete steps, hand rails, and adequate lighting. (Debb Bautista)

A STUNNING white island in Japan’s Okinawa archipelago, Ishigaki Island is a jumping-off point for beaches and coral reefs. It may lack the attractive man-made sightseeing spots like temples and shrines which the mainland has to offer, but it more than makes up for this in terms of natural beauty.

The water around Isigaki is pure blue, with white sandy beaches to soothe your senses. Its rivers offer jungle-like scenery and have the highest mountain in Okinawa Prefecture, as well as various hiking trails throughout the island’s hilly interior. I’ll describe several places which we toured.

The Ishigaki Island Limestone Cave is a large network of tunnels adorned with impressive stalactites. Fluorescent lights illuminate the geological formations such as corals and fossils that originated from an underwater reef. It is a 660-m long trail that has been well laid out with steps, hand rails, and lighting. The formations of these limestone caves took over 200,000-yrs. It’s not the best cave you’ll ever see but the beauty of the formations and variations within the cave and the ease of maneuvering the walkthrough were a real treat.

Around 400-years ago, people started growing cotton in Okinawa and started producing Minsa (a kind of fabric). Mineya Minsah Kobe is where the technique for producing this unique cloth has been handed down through generations and remains essentially untouched by modern technology. Like any specialty store, it was quite expensive here so I didn’t buy any item.

With its emerald green and blue hues, the internationally-recognized Kabira Bay is considered one of the most beautiful places in Japan. It was a cloudy day but the views were spectacular. We strolled up the pavilion to see the crystal-clear ocean, small boats floating on aquamarine water, delightful shapes of the neighboring islands, and the sweeping sky.

I enjoyed the serenity of this quiet park, which is sheltered by lush, green vegetation on all sides. Finally, I dined and shopped at Aeon MaxValu (the largest supermarket in Ishigaki). This was where I got to choose what I wanted to eat and purchased Japanese goodies for “pasalubongs.”

Like the rest of the Okinawan islands, Ishigaki is culturally influenced by both Japan and Taiwan which is only 300-km away. The atoll was a great destination for a shore excursion from our SuperStar Virgo cruise for it was our first time to see this side of Japan.

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