Yoron Island of the Amami Islands

Yoron Island is one of the Amami Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture. This subtropical island is solely formed by emerged coral reefs, just like the Miyako Islands we regularly visit. This is the reason why Yoron’s beaches are similar to those of the Miyako Islands with white coral sand and high water clarity, even though the climate zone, culture, people, etc, are different.
As Yoron Island has no rivers, the sea stays crystal clear even after rain. The island is completely fringed by coral reefs, with 2/3 of the coastline having lagoons right in front of the beaches. Plus, this small island has pristine beaches in all directions, which provides calm water options in any wind condition! All these elements on a small island, make Yoron an ideal weekend destination for those who love calm, clear, warm water.
Like most other Amami Islands, Yoron’s beaches are important nesting sites for 3 types of sea turtles (Green sea turtle, Hawksbill sea turtle and Loggerhead sea turtle). Hundreds of sea turtles come to lay eggs on Yoron Island every year.
Yoron is not the best island for off-the-beach snorkeling as the coral reefs that you can easily reach by swimming are rather limited. However, it’s still greatly enjoyable to snorkel with sea turtles, Nemo (clownfish) and many other marine species inside the crystal clear lagoons right in front of the beach.
You can spot sea turtles on any beach of Yoron at certain times of the day, but if you want to swim with them we recommend this spot where sea turtles are less shy and don’t mind humans next to them. They are always there except for right on low tide (they return even within 1 hour after low tide unless it’s around full moon days).
Yoron is most known for Yurigahama, which is a collection of sandbanks that are located inside the vast lagoon in front of Oganeku Beach. The coral sand cays of Yurigahama appear at low tide around full moon days between late March and early November.
For sunset, we recommend Shina Beach and Paradise Beach. Shina Beach is also known for off-the-beach snorkeling at the reef edge. This beach and Fubama Beach are also known as off-the-beach snorkeling spots as the reef is relatively close to the beach. The maze-like limestone cave at the north end of Udonosu Beach is a must-see at low tide.
The towns of Yoron are very quiet, with a limited number of good restaurants which often require reservations in advance.

We often mention the problem of plastic ocean garbage on beaches. Plastic rubbish is washed ashore from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by typhoons or monsoonal winds. However, you will be impressed to see the lack of plastic garbage on Yoron’s beaches. This is because many beaches on Yoron Island have large wooden boxes labelled as “拾い箱” which are bins for collected plastic ocean garbage found on beaches. Locals and tourists are aware of this system, so the more people that visit the beaches, the cleaner they become if we all do our bit!