I’ve heard a lot about the Keramas and after 3 years in Okinawa I finally made it to one of the islands, Tokashiki. We only did a day trip and trust me when I tell you that I cannot wait to go back and explore more of this chain of islands!! We took the 9:00am fast ferry from Naha Tomari Port to Tokashiki Port, and it only took us only 35 minutes.
While on the ferry the islands reminded us of Hawaii, because they are very mountainous and the waters are so blue!! Granted i’ve never been to Hawaii, but my friend has and she said it was a lot alike.
Once we arrived we found a car rental inside a restaurant (weird, huh!) and we got a tiny japanese car for the whole day for only ¥6,000. There are 2 touristy beaches on Tokashiki, Aharen and Tokashiku. We decided to visit Arahen, the farthest beach and then drive down to Tokashiku before heading back to port. Get ready for an over-spam of pictures!
^^ I cannot get over the fact that the tidepools were so incredibly blue!! ^^
We spent most of the day at Aharen. The beach has a lot of little restaurants and tents where you can rent snorkeling gear, floaties and so much more! We explored the beach, my friends went snorkeling (I don’t like fish, lol), we had lunch at a little shack, stopped for ice cream and then we did a small hike up to a beautiful observatory before heading ot the next beach.
^^ The view from our lunch spot! ^^
^^ Okinawa Salt Cookies at the beach.. it doesn’t get better than this! ^^
We only spent a little less than an hour at Tokashiku beach. Although it was more secluded and empty, we liked Aharen better.
^^ Watching a sumo match on the ferry ride back to Naha! ^^
What a great day trip this was! It’s crazy to think that a little piece of paradise like Tokashiki is only an hour away from our house. Looking for more day trip ideas? We’ve done several trips to Ie Island, as well as Hamahiga and Ikei Island.
Tips for planning your day trip to Tokashiki:
1. Reserve a spot on the first and last fast ferry by calling the Tomari Port.
2. We took the Marine House Ferry, see ferry schedule.
3. Ferry Tokashiki (the slow ferry) is the only one that transports cars. If you’d like to take yours call the port in advance to reserve a spot.
4. Bring enough yen, but if needed there is a Japan Post office with an ATM.