Cycling the Southwestern Islands of Japan: Summary

Ruth: Apologies for getting this summary out so late. There has been a lot to process after the recent deaths of both of my parents. 

We started and ended our cycling and island hopping adventure on Okinawa.  After a week on the island of Kumejima we returned to explore Okinawa by bike. Yambaru National Park in the North of the Island was a particular highlight.  From Okinawa we flew south to the Miyako group. Miyako had wonderful opportunities to explore a number of other island connected by long bridges. Another flight took us to the southernmost group, known as the Yaeyama Islands. In this group we cycled many of the roads on Ishigaki and Iriomote. We also made a day trip to Taketomi. 

Cycling on these islands was a true delight. In seven weeks we feel we have just scratched the surface of a few islands with much more to explore. Road conditions were fantastic, particularly off of Okinawa. Other than around Naha there is generally little traffic and generally very courteous drivers. The southern third of Okinawa is densely populated with lots of traffic. It is, however, still Japan, and therefore sidewalks line all the major roads and highways (with only a few exceptions) and can be used by cyclists. 

I may just have found my favorite place on earth. Of course I love to travel and I usually fall in love with whatever corner of the world I find myself in, but these islands are special. 

The Numbers:

Likelihood of returning: 100%

Kilometers cycled: 1345

Islands visited: 16

Islands slept on: 5

Snorkeling days: 10

Venomous sea snake sightings : 3

Okinawa Rail sightings : 5

Iriomote cat sightings: 0

Bedbugs: 0

Vicious dogs: 0

Food poisoning incidents: 0

Money spent: $152 Canadian per day, or 17,200 Japanese yen for both of us