Kouri Island

Kouri is about eight kilometres around and is reached by a bridge of just under two kilometres, opened in 2005, which runs low and dead straight over water shallow enough to be a flat pale turquoise on either side - driving it is the reason most people come, and there is a car park at the island end for the walk back along it. The island itself has a beach either side of the bridgehead, a small village, sugar cane fields and a shrine. On the northern shore are the Heart Rocks, two eroded stacks that from one angle overlap into a heart shape; they were used in an advertisement and now have a paid car park, a path and a queue. Local legend calls Kouri the island where the first man and woman of Okinawa lived, which is why it is sometimes called the island of love, a connection the Heart Rocks marketing leans on heavily.

What you'll find

• The bridge - just under two kilometres, low and straight over pale turquoise shallows.
• Beaches at the bridgehead - shallow clear water on both sides of the causeway.
• Heart Rocks - two stacks overlapping into a heart from one particular angle.
• A small island - eight kilometres around, with cane fields and a village.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. Midday sun for the strongest water colour.

What to expect

Heart Rocks has a paid car park, a queue and works only from one spot - many find it underwhelming. The island is small and there is little beyond the bridge and the beaches. A car is essential. Typhoons close the bridge.

Nearby

Churaumi Aquarium is on the Motobu peninsula; Nakijin Castle is close.

Key facts