For the final two nights of our holiday, we had booked accommodation near Ishigaki Port. Ishigaki is a huge island, and a hire car is a must if you want to explore it. We didn't fancy spending the remainder of our journey stuck in a car, trying to program a Japanese sat-nav, and so we explored the town on the first day, and took a 25 minute ferry journey to nearby Kuroshima (black island) on our second and final day.
This could almost have been my home in Norfolk.
Kuroshima is mostly a farmland. The island has the approximate shape of a heart symbol 「♡」when viewed from the air, and is marketed as "Heart Island". We rented bicycles, and I was surprised by how much it felt like Norfolk, except with the Sun turned up to 11.
There are apparently more cows than people on Kuroshima
Cattle raising is a major economic activity and a yearly "cow festival" is held. Sometimes the island is marketed as "Island of Cows" as well, as there are more cows than local inhabitants. We visited the sea-turtle research centre, which was rather small, but allowed us to escape the heat and intense sun for some respite.
Lighthouse at the southern tip of Kuroshima
Standing on the small cliffs at the southern tip of the island, the next land mass across the ocean is the Philippines.
Farms and clouds - UK or Tropical Japan?
Clouds mimicking bushes...
We ended the day with a dip in the richest green-blue water I've ever seen. It was so cool and refreshing after cycling all day. I can hear the waves lapping at the shore right now...
Possibly the best beach I've been to... so far
This concludes the "photo-journal" style posts from our holiday. I hope you enjoyed the series!