Ishigaki Island: things to do, beaches and how to get around

Seeing the whole island takes a full day by car, because it is 160 km around (Visit Okinawa), and the north and west coast sights are 30 to 60 minutes' drive from the port (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association). You cannot swim at Kabira Bay, so see it from a glass-bottom boat and swim at Sukuji, Fusaki or Maesato, inside the nets in jellyfish season.

This page covers the main island. For the outer islands, start with which island to visit and the ferries.

The tours worth booking on Ishigaki itself

No ferry needed for any of these; most pick you up at your hotel.

Viator1 · Best half dayBlue Cave snorkeling tour1.5 hours★4.9 (505 reviews)Booked 5+ times last week on ViatorThe Blue Cave snorkel, 505 reviews at 4.9.✓ Free cancellation up to 24 h beforefrom US$44.70 per personCheck availability →Viator price and rating, 3 Nov 2026GetYourGuide2 · Whole island in EnglishBest of Ishigaki day tour in English6 hours · Pickup · English★5.0 (11 reviews)Six hours round Kabira, the north coast and the viewpoints with an English-speaking guide; rated 5.0.✓ Free cancellation up to 24 h beforefrom US$120 per personCheck availability →GetYourGuide price and rating, 3 Nov 2026Viator3 · After darkNight jungle and starry sky tour1.5 hours★4.8 (182 reviews)Booked 2 times today on ViatorNinety minutes of forest and stars for about thirty dollars; rated 4.8 by 182.✓ Free cancellation up to 24 h beforefrom US$31.74 per personCheck availability →Viator price and rating, 3 Nov 2026

Kabira and the north-west

Kabira Bay (川平湾)

Swimming is not allowed in Kabira Bay because of black pearl farming (JNTO). Swimming and snorkelling from the beach are not permitted (Visit Okinawa). Glass-bottom boats leave every 15 or 30 minutes, without a reservation, and tickets are sold at shops by the car park (JNTO).

One operator, Kabira Marine Service, publishes these terms as of 3 Nov 2026: first boat 09:00, then every 15 minutes, last boat 17:00, about 30 minutes on board, ¥2,300 adults (12 and over), ¥1,200 children (4 to 11), open every day, with trips cancelled in bad weather (Kabira Marine Service). For the classic view of the bay and its islets, walk up to the Kabira Park observation spot (JNTO).

Sukuji Beach (底地ビーチ)

Sukuji is a shallow, calm beach of about 1 km behind a casuarina grove (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association). The association lists swimming from 1 April to 30 September with lifeguards, a jellyfish net from July to September, free entry and free parking for 100 cars. That listing was last updated in July 2022.

Yonehara Beach and the Yaeyama palm grove

Yonehara (米原) is a natural reef beach inside Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association). Its local rules are stricter than the law: do not take any marine life, do not step on coral, do not feed fish, no spears or spearguns, and use reef-friendly sunscreen (Ministry of the Environment, Yonehara rules). The same leaflet warns that rip currents form easily here and that you should not swim in storms or typhoon conditions. If caught, stay calm and swim parallel to the shore.

The Yonehara Yaeyama palm grove (米原ヤエヤマヤシ群落) is a national natural monument. The palm grows only on Ishigaki and Iriomote and reaches 25 m. Entry is free, there is parking for 15 cars, and the path is unlit and slippery, so go in daylight (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association).

Mount Omoto (於茂登岳), at 526 m, is the highest point in Okinawa Prefecture (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan).

Blue Cave

The Blue Cave in the north of the island is a kayak, paddleboard and snorkel spot (Visit Okinawa). The tours below go there. Rules and safety for every reef are on the snorkelling page, and manta trips have their own guide.

Blue Cave and snorkel trips

GetYourGuideKabira Bay, Blue Cave, waterfall basin and snorkel4 hours · Pickup★5.0 (27 reviews)Four hours on the north coast with hotel pickup: the bay, the cave and a swim.✓ Free cancellation up to 24 h beforefrom US$63 per personCheck availability →GetYourGuide price and rating, 3 Nov 2026GetYourGuide−50%Blue Cave exploration and snorkeling2 hours · Pickup · English★4.7 (177 reviews)Two hours: swim into the Blue Cave, then snorkel the reef outside.✓ Free cancellation up to 24 h beforefrom US$94 US$47 per personCheck availability →GetYourGuide price and rating, 3 Nov 2026KlookHalf-day Blue Cave exploration and snorkelinghalf day · Pickup★4.8 (202 reviews) · 3K+ bookedHalf-day Blue Cave exploration and snorkel.from US$51.45 per personCheck availability →Klook price and rating, 3 Nov 2026

The north loop

Tamatorizaki and Hirakubo

Tamatorizaki observation point (玉取崎展望台) looks over the Hirakubo Peninsula, Ihara-ma Bay and the reef. The path up is lined with hibiscus, and it is about 40 minutes by car from the port terminal (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association).

Hirakubo-zaki (平久保崎) is the northern tip of the island, with the Pacific on one side and the East China Sea on the other. It is about 60 minutes by car from the port terminal (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association).

Ishigaki Sunset Beach, on the Hirakubo Peninsula's west coast, opens 09:30 to 18:00 and is closed from 16 November to 3 April (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association).

Shiraho reef

On the south-east shore, Shiraho reef has the largest community of blue coral in the Northern Hemisphere, and glass-bottom boat tours go out to it (Visit Okinawa).

West coast and sunsets

Fusaki Beach, at the Fusaki resort on the Kabira bus route, has free entry, free parking, lifeguards and a jellyfish net. Swimming hours are 09:00 to 17:00, depending on season. In winter you swim only after notifying the beach station (Visit Okinawa, Fusaki Beach).

Ishigaki Yaima Village (石垣やいま村) in Nagura is a park of relocated red-tiled houses, folk shows, a mangrove walk and a squirrel monkey garden. It opens 09:00 to 17:30, every day (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association). Admission price not confirmed: the village's own site did not load on 3 Nov 2026.

For sunset, Mikamisaki (御神崎) is the westernmost cape, with cliffs and a lighthouse (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association). Visit Okinawa names Oganzaki Lighthouse and Ishigaki Sunset Beach as evening spots (Visit Okinawa).

Town

Euglena Mall is the island's covered shopping street, which calls itself Japan's southernmost arcade, built around the public market (Euglena Mall). The 730 intersection in Misaki-cho has a monument to 30 July 1978, the day Okinawa switched from right-hand to left-hand traffic (Ryukyu Shimpo report).

The Yaeyama Museum (石垣市立八重山博物館) shows Yaeyama history, folk objects and crafts. The association lists 09:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30), closed Mondays and public holidays, and ¥200 for adults, but that entry dates from 2019 (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association).

Banna Park covers about 279 hectares in the centre of the island, with viewpoints over the city, Taketomi and the Sakieda Peninsula (Banna Park). The association lists it as open 09:00 to 21:00 with free parking (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association).

The nearest beaches to town are Painuhama, open for swimming 1 July to 30 September 2026 with free entry (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association), and Maesato, with a season of 15 March to November, lifeguards and free parking (Visit Okinawa, Maesato Beach).

Ishigaki beef and Yaeyama soba

Yaeyama soba is a simple bowl of round, straight noodles in a slightly sweet broth with kamaboko, pork and spring onion (Euglena Mall). At Shima Soba Ichibanchi, 7 minutes' walk from the port terminal, a bowl costs ¥715 including tax, as published on 3 Nov 2026. Lunch runs 10:30 to 15:30 (Shima Soba Ichibanchi).

For Ishigaki beef at lunch, Yakiniku USHIGAKI lists an Ishigaki beef bowl at ¥1,280 and Ishigaki beef curry at ¥1,380, tax included (USHIGAKI menu). Toraichi Seinikuten lists an Ishigaki beef yakiniku bowl at ¥1,700 and a 100 g sirloin steak set at ¥4,500, lunch 11:00 to 14:00 (Toraichi menu). All prices as published on 3 Nov 2026.

Stargazing

Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park holds International Dark-Sky Association certification (JNTO). Visit Okinawa says 84 of the 88 constellations are visible from the island and names Kabira Bay and Banna Park as viewing spots (Visit Okinawa). The Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory has a 105 cm telescope (JNTO) and runs stargazing on weekends and holidays (Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association).

Jellyfish and swimming rules

{{note}}Okinawa's 2026 habu jellyfish advisory ran from 1 June to 30 September. Cover your skin, swim inside the jellyfish nets and bring vinegar (Visit Okinawa). Kabira Bay is closed to swimming all year (JNTO).{{/note}}

Getting around

Azuma Bus runs every line on the island. Route 9 goes from the Bus Terminal past the ferry terminal and Fusaki to Kabira Park. Route 11 links town, Yonehara, Kabira and the airport, and leaves the airport for Kabira at 12:15 and 15:00. Routes 2 and 3 circle the island, and route 5 reaches Hirakubo (Azuma Bus). A 24-hour pass is ¥1,000 and a 3-day pass ¥2,000 for adults (Azuma Bus tickets). Buses take cash and contactless cards, not IC cards (Azuma Bus).

For the north loop and sunsets, a car gives you more freedom: see car rental. Rental scooters and bicycles are listed by the Ishigaki City Tourism Exchange Association. For the airport bus, see the ferry terminal guide.

Half-day and full-day plans

• Town, half day: Euglena Mall and the public market, the Yaeyama Museum (not Mondays), soba for lunch, then Banna Park or a netted beach in season.
• West coast, half day: a glass-bottom boat at Kabira, the Kabira Park view, a swim at Sukuji in season, Yaima Village on the way back, sunset at Mikamisaki.
• North loop, full day: Yonehara on a calm day, the palm grove, Tamatorizaki, Hirakubo lighthouse, Sunset Beach from April to mid-November, back via the east coast.

On rough days, check the rough sea guide first.

All the options, side by side

Prices and ratings as GetYourGuide, Klook and Viator showed them on 3 Nov 2026; you see your own currency on their pages.

Facts on this page link to their sources; checked 2026-11-03.

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Sea cave at the Blue Cave area, Ishigaki: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0; Kabira Bay from above with glass-bottom boats, Ishigaki: 663highland, CC BY 2.5; Banna Park forest gate, Ishigaki (daytime photo, not a night scene): M108t, CC BY 4.0; Yonehara Beach on the north coast, with the reef flat at low tide: Syced, CC0 1.0; Hirakubo-zaki Lighthouse at the northern tip of Ishigaki: Nicholas Wang, CC BY-SA 2.0; A glass-bottom boat on the beach at Kabira Bay: 663highland, CC BY 2.5.