Amami Oshima Island of the Amami Islands

The size of Amami Oshima Island is about 60% of Okinawa’s Main Island but its population is one-twentieth of Okinawa’s Main Island, which gives a completely different feeling due to the sparseness of the population.
The island is not a tourist hub, but it is great for people who want to do a road trip, explore countless untouched beaches, drive on winding roads through rainforests, and discover Amami culture.
Due to the vast size of the island, if it’s a short stay, it is good to concentrate a stay on a specific part of the island (unless you want to spend a lot of time on driving everyday). There are many amazing beaches on Amami Oshima, and if you consider the wind direction of the day, you can be sure to find a secluded pristine beach with calm water for just yourselves. We also highly recommend searching for potential beaches on Google Maps (satellite view mode) beforehand, as some beaches on Amami Oshima can have brown sand with volcanic pebbles instead of idyllic white sand.
Amami Oshima has many beaches where you can almost always snorkel with sea turtles all year round. Our recommendation is Yoan Beach (just off the central part of the beach, as well as this spot at the west end). The sea turtles usually spend their time feeding very close to this beach, so families with small children can also enjoy swimming with them close to the shore.

Amami Oshima is ranked as one of the most cloudy places in Japan during winter due to its topography. For the winter period, we suggest visiting other southern Japanese islands instead, such as the Miyako Islands for better weather with warmer climate.