Kouri-jima [Kouri island] : The beautiful island you can go to by bus from Naha! Snorkeling Paradise.

When I visited Okinawa mainland in late September 2018, a big typhoon was approaching.

I decided to go to Kouri-jima which is a remote island but connected with the mainland with a long bridge because I had to give up visiting Zamami island due to the cancellation of boats there.

My friend and I were killing for snorkeling somewhere in a beautiful beach, but there are no places around Naha city.

There are some beaches, but snorkeling is forbidden and swimming is also strictly controlled and limited.

We had driver’s licenses, but neither of us was confident in driving at that time. Actually Naha is a rather big city. I eventually practiced driving around Ishigaki or Miyako islands later on, but it was not an option for us in 2018.

I managed to find out a way to go to Kouri-jima by an express bus, after all, it was a wonderful experience!

Kouri-jima(island): You can get there from Naha by bus!

I had already been in remote islands of Okinawa prefecture before I visited Okinawa mainland for the first time.

Therefore, I was a bit disappointed with the urban atmosphere of Naha city. On top of that, snorkeling at the beaches around the area and getting into the water that were not put under surveillance were strictly prohibited.

So if you want to enjoy snorkeling on your stay in Naha, basically you have 3 options.

• register boat tours with professionals
• drive out of Naha to the places where snorkeling is allowed
• go to remote islands (e.g.Zamami, Tokashiki and so on) by ferry

We planned to take a ferry to Zamami island, but it was all cancelled due to the approaching typhoon at that time! (September 2018)

However, it was not in the middle of the typhoon. Once we got to a beach, we could swim.

I managed to find out a solution instead.

Kouri-jima by bus.

What’s the condition for the free shuttle?- just be a passenger of Yanbaru Express bus to the Nakijin Joseki Iriguchi

So you only need to be a passenger for the Yanbaru Express bus to Nakijin Joseki (the ruins of a castle) Iriguchi (entrance). It’s better to tell the driver that you want the shuttle to Kouri-jima. If you don’t think your English is fully understood, just say “Kourijima” and “Shuttle” again. “Shuttle” is used in Japanese language with Japanese accent.

Somehow the return rate from Nankijin Yakuba (village office, with which the shuttle gotconnected for return) was cheaper although the distance was one stop longer…It’s mysterious! It was only 1,800 JPY.

Then the driver will arrange the shuttle for you at Nakijin Joseki Iriguchi.

You can find the names written in alphabet letters according to the bus stop below the table. For example, 3 (県庁北口 in Kanji letters) is Kencho (prefectural Hall) Kitaguchi (North exit).

When I took this bus in 2018, we could take advantage of the free shuttle ride even if we took the express bus from a nearby bus stop, but now, you need to pay 200-400 JPY to Kouri island unless you take the express bus before the highway. From bus stop 1~14, the shuttle is still offered for free.

2.5 hours journey to Kouri-jima from Naha!

It was long, but I could comfortably sleep on the seat. There was a 10 minute break at the station with restrooms and a store.

I had a comfortable doze most of the time, but the scenery from the window was too beautiful to miss!

On arrival at Nankijin Joseki, the shuttle was waiting for us

We found a small shuttle that had been waiting for us when we got off the express bus at Nankin Joseki. The passengers were originally 4 including my friend and me, and then 2 other tourists from overseas joined later on.

The shuttle looked like an ordinary local bus, but one thing which was quite different was that the driver was so talkative 🙂

He politely asked us what we were planning on this trip, and he gave us flexible pieces of advice. He was trying to communicate with foreign tourists (I guess they were Chinese or Taiwanese) in English and he suggested them a restaurant for their request to eat sea urchin.

Before going across the bridge, we dropped by a “Michi no Eki (the station on the road)” where you could see a great landscape.

Here is the landscape the driver persuaded us to see! The bridge to Kouri island is there.
It was a magnificent scenery, indeed.

 

Heading to “Heart Rocks” in Kouri-jima over the big bridge!

While enjoying the driver’s hilarious talk, the bus was finally getting on the big bridge (Kouri Oohashi).

I took the picture from the bus. It was really nice.

The beautiful emerald green color of water excited me!

Kouri beach. We were heading to another beach, but this beach also looked fascinating..

 

Arrived at the “Heart Rocks” which were shown in a TV ad of JAL with ARASHI. Tokei-hama (beach) is 5 minutes away on foot

Honestly, I was not interested at all, I was dying to go snorkeling, so I just passed by the place. But my friend briefly went there and offered me this pic.

Yeah, the shape can look like a “heart”…?

5 minutes later, I got to the first Tokei-hama beach. Tokei-hama is divided into 3 beaches, and the 2nd and 3rd beaches are across the rock hill.

We were carrying our own snorkeling masks and life jackets, but there was a shop around this area where you can rent them for reasonable prices.

Tokei-hama: 3 beaches there

Tokei-hama (hama means a beach) is divided into 3 parts, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Tokei-hama.

The 1st Tokei-hama

We tried the 1st one at first. The waves were a bit rough because of the approaching typhoon, but some kids were also swimming with their parents.

It was just before the low tide, so I could see a lot of fish at my knee level of tide.

 

Then, at the waist level of the tide.

Here are the pictures at the point where I felt the bottom. I am 159cm tall by the way.

As I was swimming around 40-50m off the beach, it was getting deeper.

The 2nd Tokei-hama: more fish than the 1st but too shallow at low tide

After a while, we moved to the 2nd Tokei-hama going across the rocks.

It was actually the lowest tide.

At the knee level of the tide, there were already plenty of fish.

Do you see the legs of a tiny octopus hidden in this coral?

I would like to warn you, please wear a life jacket to keep your body parallel to the bottom instead of standing on the corals. It may seriously damage them. Besides, you might get injured by stepping on dangerous creatures.

 

 
I was just amazed by the bunch of corals just 30-40m off the beach at the lowest tide.

After all, the low tide with rough waves made my swimming there more difficult. There was no space where I could stand up because there are so many corals. I didn’t want to hurt them.

I managed to reach the area where swimming was easier, but I could still reach the bottom.

You can see the 3rd Tokei-hama over there. I will upload another post about it sometime soon.