Originally I had visions of Ishigaki as being the Japanese Hawaii. While it is hot and has the island vibe, lots of T-shirts with spam and Orion beer emblems, we have yet to find a good beach to swim at.
Fusaki Beach
Fukasi image below from internet
Tides are a real deal breaker here. Low tide means that the water does not come up above the knees. The beaches are painful to the bare feet. Covered with bleached white broken coral only signifies badness in terms of climate change. Box jelly fish are a threat so we tend to swim in the small netted off area set up by the resorts. Ugly buoys and large inflated structures disrupt the view.
Fukasi beach
Image below from internet
The first beach resort wanted 2500 ($17) yen to rent one chair and umbrella for one hour. On principle we just could not pay it. As a result both boys got a nice burn, as the water was the only place we could comfortably hang.
Today’s beach, Fukasi actually had biting fish, Cork has small open chunks taken out of his shins. We again went to a resort and this time were able to sit in the chairs with sun umbrellas as the resort surveillance was loose. It was a good thing that we had coverage as it poured rain. Luckily both beaches were an easy 30 min bike ride so we did not have to take a bus.
We took two taxis to Yonehara beach, renowned for its off beach snorkeling. We did not have gear but plenty of people were exploring the shallow waters. We found a waist deep pocket of sea that we could submerge and escape the heat.
We did find that “instagram” beach after all. Kabira bay, white sands and turquoise waters. Perfect because it is protected and no swimming is allowed. There are only two places in Japan where black pearls are cultivated, this is one of them. It has been designated by the government as a Place of Scenic Beauty and the bay forms part of the Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park.
We paid 1000 yen a person ($7) to ride on a glass bottom boat and witness the busy coral world. We even saw two magnificent sea turtles. The coral in Kabira Bay is relatively healthy, no doubt because snorkeling is not allowed.
Bochner Family Adventure 
Such an interesting, broad-view snapshot of the human search for the joy evoked by perfect Instagram photos versus reality. The one place where the beauty of the coral reef environment could be fully appreciated allowed no swimming. We humans need to wake up to the negative effects of some human activities. Thank god for glass bottom boats.
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Thank you Sue for such an insightful read on my thoughts!
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