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Written by：Rika Agustin
Miyako Island is a small island located approximately 300km to the southwest of the main island Okinawa. It is a group of islands including Irabu Island, Shimoji Island, Kurima Island, Ikema Island, Oogami Island, Tarama Island, and Minna Island. The island is connected by a bridge to Irabu Island, Kurima Island, and Ikema Island.
Miyako island has no rivers and mountains that make the island blessed with extremely clear beaches, perfect for sunning, diving, and snorkeling. Even there are a lot of hill roads, the island is perfect for cycling too!
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This article shares about must-visit places when traveling to Miyako Island. Before we move to places for your bucket list, note that Miyako Island is surrounded by the sea and no shopping mall here, most of the places are beautiful beaches.
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Ikema Island
It takes 40 minutes to travel to Ikema Island from Miyako City. Before across the bridge, there is public parking well worth stopping for seeing emerald green water in a peaceful atmosphere. A lot of tourists take photos there and spending time enjoying the ocean breeze.
After across the 1425 long bridge, you will find a number of small shops lining up selling souvenirs, ice cream, local food, etc. One of the shops has an observation deck which allows you to enjoy perfect scenery on a sunny day.
Blue ocean and Ikema bridge
As you can drive around the island, you can visit also Funakusu Beach. A small beautiful that is great for snorkeling, blessed with crystal clear water and a lot of colorful fish. You also can see whale rock around the beach.
Sunayama beach
Sunayama beach is not too far from Ikema Island. Sunayama Beach is one of the most famous beaches nearby.
On the top of the hill, you can see the beautiful scenery of the blue ocean and sand. Each beach in Miyako has a different sand texture and color which is very interesting and difficult to find anywhere else. Sunayama beach also has an arch of natural rock.
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Yonaha Maehama Beach
One of the most popular beaches on Miyako Island and one of the most beautiful beaches in Japan. A lot of tourists visit this place for sunning, swimming, wedding photo or beach sports. Maehama beach is not recommended for snorkeling to protect fishes on the beach. Maehama beach has a super fine white sand beach that stretches about 7 km. With Kurima Island and Kurima bridge in the same frame as Maehama beach makes a perfect view for spending time for relax on this beach.
You can reach Maehama beach around 20 minutes of travel from Miyako City.
Ryugu Castle Observatory in Kurima Island
Ryugu castle observatory located on Kurima Island. The observatory has 3 floors, that allow you to enjoy an impressive panoramic of the shiny Miyako Blue waters, coral reefs, and Kurima bridge from the top floor. Also, you can see Irabu Island on the left and Yonaha Maehama beach spreading in front of you. If you visit the top, make sure to be careful because sometimes the wind comes very strong.
Amazing view from Ryugu Observation Deck
Turiba Sunset beach
If you are a sunset lover, Turiba Sunset beach is a must-visit. This beach is one of the writer’s favorite spots to see the sunset, for its stunning sunset view and is easy to access from Miyako city as it is located not that far from Miyako city.
You can enjoy the sunset with Irabu bridge and Irabu Island which is lovely. To see the wonderful sunset, March and November are the best time to visit, because that is the best time to see the miracle when the sun sinks behind the bridge.
This is also one of the good places for walking or jogging.
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Makiyama Observation Deck in Irabu Island
Irabu Island is the second largest in Miyako Island. The Irabu bridge opened in January 2015, make it easier to visit by car. One of the recommendations place in Irabu Island is the Makiyama Observation deck with the grey faces buzzard modeled. You have to climb 75 steps to see the amazing view of Ikema Island, Kurima Island, and Miyako Island at once!
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When visiting Miyako Island, it is not that convenient to travel by bus, so we recommend renting a car for a smooth fun trip. Also, the sun rays are very strong so don’t forget to bring and use sunscreen.
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