The remote island of Taketomi is most famous for its traditional Ryukyu architecture while also offering beautiful sand beaches. With frequent ferry rides that only take about 10 minutes from Ishigaki, it makes for a perfect day trip on the Yaeyama Islands!
Taketomi is home to beautiful bougainvillea flowers that bloom about everywhere on the island. Once arriving at the port, you can take a bus or simply walk around the island, which is what we chose to do. Walking from the port through the island’s village only takes about 10-15 minutes at the most and there are so many unique houses featuring Ryukyu architecture and cosy little cafes and restaurants. As it was noontime, we decided to have what turned out to be one of our best meals in Okinawa!
For me, the village architecture was one of the main reasons to visit, as it really makes the island stand out from all the other places we’ve seen in Okinawa. However, as Taketomi is flat and it was one of the hottest days with over 43°C, we really appreciated the beautiful Kondoi Beach.
Time flew by and we ended up staying four hours on the beach, bathing in the warm, yet refreshing shallow and crystal clear water, while appreciating our big sun umbrella, the water fountain and free shower facilities.
We both agree that Taketomi was the most stunning and remarkable small island that we’ve visited so far in Japan and would love to return for a daytrip or even an overnight stay to stargaze and enjoy the quiet nightscape.
– Her
If you would like to find out more insights on Okinawa itineraries, these articles might be of interest to you:
Jitensha Adventure 
So beautiful! The architecture somehow recalls me of Jeju 🙂 Especially those stone walls.
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I need to plan a trip to Jeju in this case! Hehe
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Beautiful building and beaches. I had never heard of this place before.
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