Nishihama Beach in Japan
Nishihama Beach Okinawa
Nishihama Beach on Hateruma Island. Fine white star sand, few people, clear water. Fantastic.(If we’re being pedantic, it’s arguably better to call it Nishi Beach or West Beach as hama means beach. This is why you should probably say Shuri-jo or Shuri Castle, and not Shuri-jo Castle. )Beautiful natural beaches with white sand and blue sea
Nishihama Beach is an hour away by boat from Ishigaki Island, natural beach in Hateruma Island. Nishi is north in Okinawa dialect, located in the north part of Hateruma island. Breath taking blue sea and white beautiful beach, daze into the sparkling sea, or enjoy swimming fully. Satisfy yourself at the relaxed beautiful ocean at Hateruma island
Nishi Hama is one of the most popular beaches in Yaeyama. “Nishi” means east in Japanese, but it means north in Okinawan dialect. That’s why the beach called Nishi Hama is located in the northern part of the island. It’s almost a kilometer long with white pure sand, and ocean color is especially emerald green.
Most of beaches in Yaeyama are very beautiful, but the Nishi Hama beach is even beyond beautiful. Sand at the beach is so smooth, and after walking toward east, there is a plant community called Hama Shitan. Plants are said to be at least a couple of hundred years old. The sunset time is more than special! The color of the ocean changes as the sun dips in the west and the sight’s out of sight. The swimming is good at the beach too.
Hateruma, the origin of a word “the island of Uruma (coral reef) of the end” is an inhabited and the southernmost island in Japan. The sea color in Hateruma is also called “Hateruma blue” which has unique blue brightness, especially, Nishi Beach is the most famous with its beautiful sea in Yaeyama. Takanazaki, located in the southern end of island, has a monument in the southernmost place of Japan and Starlit Sky Observation Tower, therefore it is a popular sightseeing spot
Hateruma Island is perfect getaway to do nothing
Hateruma Island is perfect getaway to do nothing
Editor’s Note: Okinawa’s beautiful southern islands are being showcased in Japan Update each week. This week, travels move to Hateruma Island, the farthest south and one of the most colorful islands in the Yaeyama chain.
Hateruma means “Uruma of the edge”, Uruma means Coral leaf and Hate means edge or the end. That fits Hateruma island, the southernmost inhabited island in Japan.
It is only one hour from Ishigaki island by a ferry, and just 14km around. The ocean surrounding Hateruma looks especially blue in color, and people call it “Hateruma Blue”; many describe it as one of the most beautiful oceans in Yaeyama archipelago. There are a lot of old style houses and huge sugar cane fields on this really primitive island. There are some pensions and guesthouses, and the island is famous for having not a single traffic light.
Street lights are also small in numbers, and you can watch a lot of stars at night time. There are some sightseeing places, but the locals’ recommend doing nothing while on the island. Except giving the local awamori a try. The “Awanami” awamori is made on Hateruma Island, but the availability is very limited, and the price would be much higher if one happens to find it outside of Hateruma island
Okinawa | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:00:48 1 History
00:03:24 1.1 1945–1965
00:05:29 1.2 1965–1972 (Vietnam War)
00:08:22 1.3 1973–2006
00:10:08 1.4 2007–present
00:13:23 1.4.1 Marine Corps Air Station Futenma relocation, 2006–present
00:16:05 1.4.2 Helipads construction in Takae (Yanbaru forest)
00:16:32 2 Geography
00:16:40 2.1 Major islands
00:17:37 2.2 Cities
00:17:51 2.3 Towns and villages
00:18:03 2.4 Town mergers
00:18:11 2.5 Natural parks
00:18:41 2.6 Fauna
00:19:22 2.7 Flora
00:19:40 2.8 Geology
00:20:04 2.9 Climate
00:20:55 3 Demography
00:21:03 4 Language and culture
00:21:21 4.1 Language
00:22:19 4.2 Religion
00:22:40 4.3 Cultural influences
00:23:36 4.4 Other cultural characteristics
00:25:54 4.5 Karate
00:26:28 4.6 Architecture
00:27:30 5 Education
00:28:33 6 Sports
00:29:16 7 Transportation
00:29:24 7.1 Air transportation
00:30:01 7.2 Highways
00:30:38 7.3 Rail
00:30:49 7.4 Ports
00:31:11 8 Economy
00:32:47 9 Military
00:32:55 9.1 United States military installations
00:33:54 10 Notable people
00:36:05 11 See also
00:36:23 12 Footnotes
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SUMMARY
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Okinawa Prefecture (Japanese: 沖縄県, Hepburn: Okinawa-ken, Okinawan: ウチナー Uchinaa) is the southernmost prefecture of Japan. It encompasses two thirds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long. The Ryukyu Islands extend southwest from Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu (the southwesternmost of Japan's four main islands) to Taiwan. Naha, Okinawa's capital, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island.Although Okinawa Prefecture comprises just 0.6 percent of Japan's total land mass, about 75 percent of all United States military personnel stationed in Japan are assigned to installations in the prefecture. Currently about 26,000 U.S. troops are based in the prefecture.