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Taketomi Island (Taketomijima) is an island just off the coast of Ishigaki Island and the site of a beautifully preserved, traditional Ryukyu village. As Taketomi Island is fairly small, it is often visited as a day trip from Ishigaki.
Thanks to preservation efforts, the small village consists almost entirely of traditional style, one-storied houses, which are surrounded by stone walls, and covered with red tiled roofs and ample lion-like shiza statues to ward of evil spirits. Some of the village's houses serve as minshuku accommodations.
Other traditional homes inside the village are used as restaurants and shops selling local food and crafts. There are no rental cars on Taketomi, and most visitors either walk or rent a bicycle to travel through the village's white sand roads and to the nearby beaches along the western shore of the island.
The preserved traditional streets of Taketomi Island
Attractions:
Beaches:
Taketomi Island has both sandy beaches and rocky beaches where you can enjoy swimming and snorkeling. Except for Kondoi Beach, the beaches do not have any public facilities.
When using the beaches always beware of strong currents that can pull you out to sea and poisonous creatures such as Habu Jellyfish, a type of box jellyfish, that are most prevalent from June to October. Signs in English inform about the dangers while some beaches have netted off swimming areas. Although stings are rare, if stung you should pour vinegar over the sting, remove any tentacles, and seek medical help as it may become life threatening.
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How to get there
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Three ferry companies operate high speed ferries and an infrequent car ferry, between Ishigaki Island and Taketomi Island. Boats depart every 30 minutes between 7:30 and 17:30 with a short break around noon. The roundtrip fare is 1100 yen, and the one way trip takes 10 minutes by high speed ferry, and 15 minutes by car ferry.
Taketomi Island is small, and it is possible to explore the island entirely on foot or by rental bicycle (300 yen per hour, or 1500 yen per day). Another popular way to see the village is from a water buffalo drawn cart.
The water buffalo tour operators and bicycle rental companies offer free shuttle service between the ferry terminal and their respective locations (no reservations required). Otherwise, the village can be reached in a 10-15 minute walk from the pier.
How to get to and around the Yaeyama Islands
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Travel Community
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Popularity of Taketomi Island:
Users who have been to Yaeyama Islands: 38
Users who have been to Taketomi Island: 213rd of 3 most visited sights in Yaeyama Islands.
380th of 554 most visited sights nationwide.
Ratings for Taketomi Island:
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japan-guide.com Rating:
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best of Japan
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User Rating (by 16 users):
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88/100
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recommended
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