Taketomi

Tiny even by Yaeyaman standards, Taketomi (population around 300, area 5.4 km²) gets a disproportionate number of visitors because of its convenient location just off Ishigaki, and above all, its carefully preserved Ryūkyū village (集落 shūraku). Many houses in the village have red clay roofs with guardian shisa lions, a low surrounding wall of coral and extensive flower beds, which are particularly pretty in spring. Most roads are unpaved lanes of white sand and ambling water buffalo pull tourist-packed carts through town. While hardly off the tourist trail even before, Taketomi's popularity skyrocketed in 2012 when NHK aired the drama Tsurukame Josan'in (つるかめ助産院), and accommodation prices have soared to match.

Beware that the administrative area of Taketomi Town (竹富町 Taketomi-chō) covers not just Taketomi Island, but also the neighboring far larger island of Iriomote and in fact all of the Yaeyamas except Ishigaki and Yonaguni. An address with "Taketomi" in it may thus be located elsewhere in the archipelago.

The only way to get to the island is by boat. An-ei Kankō (安栄観光), Yaeyama Kankō Ferry and Ishigaki Dream Tours operate a cozy triopoly with largely indistinguishable high-speed ferries (高速船 kōsokusen) running from Ishigaki every 30 min or so from 07:30 to 17:30 daily. Ferries take 15 min and cost ¥690/1330 one-way/return. Each operator also runs a car ferry (カーフェリー) twice a week, and these are slower but slightly cheaper at ¥530 one-way. These are not listed on the main schedules, so ask locally or check the websites.

In addition, each company runs one ferry per day from Kohama to Taketomi and back (¥1,180/2,260), and a one-way service from Iriomote's Uehara or Ōhara ports (¥1,670). These are primarily meant for repositioning ferries, and reservations are mandatory.

Packages including water buffalo rides are heavily flogged at the ticket counters, but read up below before you go for this. Returns are only valid on the same company, so you might want to pay the extra ¥50 for the flexibility of two one-ways. Try not to miss the last boat, since if you do, you're stuck for the night: there aren't even any charter services available.

• 🌍 Taketomi Port (竹富港). All the ferries go here. (updated Oct 2019)

Getting around Taketomi is easy enough. At the north-east corner of the circular island, about 1 km away from the central village, is the ferry terminal. From here, you can rent a bicycle, hop on a shuttle bus or simply walk. Wisely enough, the village does its best to minimize motorized traffic, so rental cars and motorcycles are not available.

A loop of paved road (環状線 kanjōsen) runs at a respectful distance around the village, with small Japanese-only markers at most intersections pointing the way to landmarks. Within the village, though, orienting yourself can be a bit of a challenge, since the streets of white sand and the walled-in buildings all look quite similar, and the little signage there is, is mostly in handwritten Japanese. The Nagomi-no-tō viewing tower makes a useful center point.

Start your tour by dropping into the visitor center right next to the dock, which can give you a free rough map or sell you a better one (¥200). Most sights in the village are of fairly minor interest and it's generally more rewarding to amble around randomly, popping into little village shops and cafes.

• 🌍 Kihōin (喜宝院), ☏ +81 98-085-2202. Daily 09:00-17:00. Japan's southernmost temple, but it's not much to look at. It houses about 3,000 historical artifacts and local handicrafts gathered from around the island. With no English explanations, visitors may find it to be of limited interest; however, it is essentially the island's history and culture museum. ¥300. 
• 🌍 Nagomi-no-tō (なごみの塔) (center of the village). 24 hr. A purpose-built concrete tower that offers views over the entire island. The steps up are very steep. 
• 🌍 Folkcraft Museum (民芸館 Mingeikan), 381-4 Taketomi, ☏ +81 98-085-2302. 9AM-5PM. Has local artisans weaving traditional Yaeyaman minsā cloth. Free. 
• 🌍 Yugafukan (ゆがふ館) (near ferry terminal). An informative museum run by the national parks authority, but all the information is in Japanese. On the plus side, the 15-minute film and the audio sets of Yaeyaman stories and songs are interesting to everyone. Free. 
• 🌍 West Pier (西桟橋 Nishi-sanbashi). This disused pier is where Taketomi's villagers used to set off by canoe to tend their rice fields on Iriomote. Today, it's Taketomi's best sunset-watching spot, but you'll have to stay overnight to catch this nightly event. 

Taketomi is the kind of island where, by design, you can't really "do" much of anything — for example, there are no watersport facilities beyond paddling around snorkeling.

Upmarket handicraft shops discreetly litter the streets of Taketomi. Popular buys include the local minsā cloth, which is very expensive if hand-weaved and hand-dyed with indigo, and star sand, more affordable at around ¥30 per teaspoonful.

There are no supermarkets or convenience stores on the island, so stock up before you head over. Souvenir shops do sell beach essentials like sunscreen.

The island has half a dozen cafes and restaurants, which do a roaring trade at lunchtime and are quiet the rest of the day. Overnight guests typically eat dinner and breakfast at their accommodations. Much of the southern part of the island is taken up by a farm that cultivates kuruma-ebi (車えび), a type of shrimp, so no prizes for guessing what you will find for dinner.

• 🌍 Shidame-kan (しだめー館), ☏ +81 980-85-2239. 10:00-22:00. Lovely little cafe-restaurant-bar right below the Nagomi-no-to tower, serving up a wide variety of Okinawan and Japanese staples. Best known for their rafti-don (ラフティ丼, ¥1,000), a rice bowl dripping with porky goodness, and their home-made sata-andagi donuts (2 for ¥100). Stays open late, with customers hanging out after dinner drinking awamori and sampling snacks. Meals from ¥700. 
• 🌍 Takenoko (竹の子), ☏ +81 980-85-2251. Daily 10:30-16:00, 19:00-21:00. A well-known island eatery, Takenoko is justly famous for their rendition of Yaeyama soba, which they've been serving since 1975. Order the soki variant with melt-in-your-mouth pork ribs, spice it up with a dash of their homegrown piyashii pepper or a careful slug of kuchu chilli-infused awamori, then cool down with a bowl of shaved ice (kakigōri). Soba from ¥700. 

Taketomi has only one dedicated drinking spot.

• 🌍 Bar Take-To-Me (next to Guesthouse Je t'Aime), ☏ +81 980-85-2555. Daily 19:00-23:30. Forget marble countertops and tuxedoed waiters: this is an open-air wooden platform piled with plastic lawn chairs and surrounded by hibiscus flowers. Order an awamori straight or turned into a cocktail, kick back, watch the starry skies and enjoy the quiet of Taketomi at night. Open only during high season. Drinks ¥500-900. 

Accommodation on the island is limited and expensive, so most visitors choose to day-trip from Ishigaki instead. However, a night on the island is the only way to experience the beauty of the village in peace (after the day-trippers leave) and since the last boat leaves around 5:30PM you also get some deserted beaches to enjoy before sunset.

• 🌍 Taketomi Clinic (竹富診療所 Taketomi Shinryōjo), 324 Taketomi, ☏ +81 980-85-2132. M-F 09:00-17:00. The only medical facility on the island. On weekends, or for anything even mildly serious, you'll need to schlep back to Ishigaki. Emergencies outside ferry operating hours will require a helicopter medevac or convincing Hoshinoya to lend their private boat. 

Taketomi has no less than 30 on (御嶽), or holy places for venerating the gods, usually marked off with low stone walls and Japanese signage. Don't venture inside.

• Ishigaki - You take this ferry in and take this ferry out