Islands in Okinawa, Japan

Yaeyama Islands · 12

Iriomote 288.89 km² The ferry from Ishigaki takes a little over half an hour, and the engine noise fades as the harbor at Ōhara or Uehara comes into view.
Ishigaki 221.71 km² The runway at Painushima Ishigaki Airport sits closer to the sugarcane than to anything urban, and the air on arrival already carries salt and something green.
Yonaguni 28.75 km² The wind off the south cliffs arrives almost before you do.
Haterumajima 12.7 km² The high-speed boat from Ishigaki crosses water that changes color several times along the way, and the dock arrives without much ceremony.
Kuroshima 9.99 km²
Kohama 7.85 km² The ferry from Ishigaki arrives at Kohama Port in less than half an hour, and from the dock the island reveals itself as a low green dome rather than a coastline.
Taketomijima 5.41 km² White coral sand laid out along the lanes, raked each morning, holds the print of bicycle tires and bare feet alike.
Shimojijima 1.56 km²
Hatoma 0.97 km² The high-speed boat from Ishigaki cuts in toward Itoma Hama Terminal, and the floating pontoon shifts under the weight of arrivals.
Kayamajima 0.39 km² The boat from Kohama crosses a narrow stretch of water and arrives at a low, flat island where nothing rises high enough to block the horizon.
Yubujima 0.16 km² The water buffalo carts cross the shallows between Iriomote and the smaller island in ten or fifteen minutes, the wheels making a slow wake through water that barely reaches the animals' knees.
Aragusukujima (Kamiji)

Miyakojima 158.09 km² The island has no rivers.
Irabu-jima 28.99 km² The bridge from Miyako stretches long and low over shallow water, and by the time the road meets land again, the pace has already eased.
Taramajima 19.76 km² Sugarcane fields run almost to the edge of the coral shore, broken here and there by a tethered goat or a low concrete wall.
Shimojishima 9.65 km² A jet on approach makes a low pass over the reef, then climbs again without landing.
Kurimajima 2.82 km² Sugarcane fields cover most of the small island, broken here and there by lower rows of tobacco leaves.
Ikemajima 2.79 km² The bridge from the main island of Miyako curves low across shallow water, and the moment you cross it, the air changes.
Minnajima 2.16 km²
Ogamijima 0.27 km² The ferry leaves from Shimajiri harbor on Miyako, four crossings a day, and the small boat called Ukan Kariyusu pulls in at Ōgami Port, where a floating pontoon and a rest hut wait beside the water.

Iejima 22.62 km² The pointed silhouette of Gusuku-yama rises from the flat surface of the island, visible long before the ferry from the Motobu Peninsula closes the final stretch of sea.
Iheyajima 20.61 km² The ferry from Unten Port crosses to Maedomari, and the scale of things adjusts on the way over.
Izenajima 14.08 km² The ferry from Untenkō runs on its own quiet schedule, and by the time it docks at Nakada Port, the pace of the mainland has already loosened.
Aguni 7.6 km² The ferry from Naha's Tomari pier takes its time crossing the open water, and by the time the harbor at Aguni comes into view, the rhythm of arrival has already slowed.
Tonakijima 3.57 km² The ferry from Naha's Tomari port takes a little over two hours, and by the time it docks at Tonaki Port, the rhythm of the main island has dissolved into something slower.
Minnajima 2.98 km²
Tsuken 1.88 km² The ferry from Heshikiya port takes about ten minutes by hydrofoil, twenty-five by slower boat, and runs only a handful of times a day.
Kudakajima 1.36 km² The ferry from Azama port takes less than half an hour, but the distance feels longer once you step off at Tokujin.
Nohojima 1.08 km² The ridges run northwest to southeast in slow waves, sotetsu and Ryukyu pine clinging to the limestone.

Kumejima 59.36 km² The flight from Naha lasts barely longer than a coffee break, and yet stepping out at Kume-jima Airport, the air already moves differently — slower, saltier, weighted with the volcanic hills that rise toward the interior.
Ōjima 0.63 km²
Ōha 0.37 km² At low tide, a strip of sand emerges between Ōu Island and the smaller island to its east, and one can cross on foot across a narrow channel.

Tokashikijima 15.26 km² The high-speed boat from Tomari pulls away from Naha and within a little over half an hour the water has turned a clarity that makes the hull seem suspended.
Zamami 6.68 km² The high-speed boat from Naha takes under an hour; the slower ferry, about twice that.
Akajima 3.79 km² The boat from Naha pulls into Aka Port, and within a few minutes of stepping ashore, the absence of cars becomes the first thing one registers.
Gerumajima 1.15 km²

Minamidaitojima 30.43 km² 沖縄県 The plane approach is the first clue: open ocean in every direction, then a small flat green disc rising out of water that drops away almost vertically beneath it.
Kitadaitojima 11.88 km² 沖縄県 The cliffs drop straight into the sea.