Kerama Islands

The Keramas sit about thirty kilometres west of Naha and are close enough for a day trip, which is both their appeal and their problem. Three inhabited islands, Zamami, Aka and Tokashiki, lie in a shallow group of reefs and channels where the water is clear enough that boats appear to float above their own shadows. The colour has a name in Japanese tourism, Kerama blue, and it holds up in person. The reefs were made a national park in 2014. Humpback whales come into these channels to breed between January and March, watched from small boats out of Zamami, and turtles feed off several of the beaches.

History

The islands belonged to the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1429 to 1879, when islanders served as navigators on the kingdom's trading ships to China (Wikipedia, Kerama Islands).

What you'll find

• Furuzamami beach - a long reef-backed beach on Zamami with clear shallow water.
• Whale watching - humpbacks in the channels between the islands from January to March.
• Reef snorkelling - coral and turtles close to shore off several of the beaches.
• The lookouts on Zamami - hill viewpoints over the channels and the smaller islets.

When to go

April to October suits swimming, with the calmest sea in early summer; typhoons interrupt late summer without much notice. Whale trips run from January to March, when the water is too cold for comfortable snorkelling. Day trippers should take the first boat out and check the last boat back, since crossings are cut when the wind picks up.

What to expect

Boats are cancelled by wind often enough that a day trip can evaporate, and the fast ferry sells out in summer. Accommodation on the islands is small-scale and books early. There is very little shade on the beaches and no substantial towns or shops. Parts of the reef have bleached in recent warm years, so conditions vary a lot from site to site.

Nearby

Naha on the main island of Okinawa, the departure point for every crossing.

Key facts