Tokashiki Island of the Kerama Islands

Tokashiki Island is the largest island of the Kerama Island Group. The transparency of the waters around Tokashiki will take you by surprise. With clear weather, the view of the reef invites closer inspection, and it certainly never disappoints. If you like sea turtles, the Kerama Islands are ideal as there are many beaches where you can snorkel with different types of sea turtles. The two main beaches of Tokashiki Island are Tokashiku Beach and Aharen Beach, and a few days at either spot is usually enough for most people. In case of a north wind, Aharen Beach has higher water clarity, and in case of a south wind, Tokashiku Beach has higher water clarity.
The best beach for snorkeling with sea turtles is Tokashiku Beach, however, realistically you can only snorkel with sea turtles before 9am (from mid April till the end of October), as the lifeguards (starting duty from 9am) don’t allow people to snorkel outside the very small buoyed area where sea turtles rarely enter. If wind conditions are right, November is a great month for those who want to snorkel with sea turtles without a wetsuit, as the water temperature of the Kerama Islands remains over 25°C/77°F in November. Please only swim if you are a strong/confident swimmer as the lifeguards are not on patrol then (off duty between November and mid April).
For off-the-beach snorkeling with sea turtles among the Kerama Islands, it’s much better to go to Aka Beach on Aka Island or Ama Beach on Zamami Island where there are less snorkeling restrictions.
The best off-the-beach snorkeling spot is this area in front of Hijuishi Beach but it has to be on a calm day as this point gets easily affected by even a moderate north/south/west wind. If you are visiting the deserted island in front of Aharen Beach with your own packraft or rental kayak, this point is nice, although small, for snorkeling with various types of coral. You can rent a kayak from this shop run by a guesthouse called Sea Friend.
This part of Aharen Beach where you don’t need to wear a life jacket is also not bad with some nice coral dotted around, and there are quite a few Nemo fish too (although the water clarity of this area gets easily affected by a south wind).
If you want to see pristine coral reefs, it’s better to take a snorkeling tour by boat.

The number of international tourists visiting the Kerama Islands has increased significantly in the last 10 years. Even still, it doesn’t feel busy even during peak seasons due to the limited number of accommodation and also the limited number of seats on jet ferries for day trippers.
However, water accidents have also increased in recent years with more tourists. Because of this, most tourist beaches with lifeguards on the Kerama Islands have started to ask people to wear a life jacket (or wetsuit) whilst snorkeling, especially in the “swimming surveillance area”. Alternatively you can just go to non-tourist beaches which have no lifeguards.
For experienced snorkelers who want to snorkel without restrictions, Aka Island (Aka-jima) is our choice among the Kerama Islands for easily accessible non-tourist beaches for a great snorkeling experience.

About the Kerama Island Group:
The Kerama Island group is known for some of the world’s clearest waters reaching 50-60m visibility. If you want to enjoy just beaches and snorkeling or scuba diving, rather than combined with jungle trekking or mangrove river kayaking, the Kerama Islands are highly recommended. The beaches on these islands are very beautiful but off-the-beach snorkeling is not the best since a lot of coral close to the beaches were damaged by El Niño in 2007 and 2016, although they have started to recover recently. If you can swim to the outer reef or go snorkeling or scuba diving from a boat, you can have a great experience (however, not as great as you would in the Yaeyama Islands and the Miyako Islands). The Kerama Islands are easily accessible by ferry from Okinawa Main Island (Tomarin Port) in 30 mins to 2 hours depending on your destination island and the type of ferry. If you want to have a car-free holiday, these islands are perfect as each of these islands is small enough to explore by bicycle/scooter.