Okinawa

📍 Kerama Islands National Park, roughly 40 km west of Naha, Okinawa

The clear-water island group behind Okinawa's 'Kerama blue' shorthand: Zamami, Tokashiki and Aka and their smaller neighbours, fringed with coral in water that is often exceptionally transparent. Sea turtles are the signature — they graze the seagrass and reef shallows — and the whole group sits inside Kerama Islands National Park, designated in 2014.

Reached by ferry or high-speed boat from Naha's Tomari port, and the crossings are weather-dependent, so build in a spare day. It is a national park with its own visitor rules: confirm current restrictions locally, and give turtles real distance rather than swimming over them.

📍 Onna Village, west coast of Okinawa main island

Okinawa's most famous shore snorkel. A rocky entry at Cape Maeda leads out to the Blue Cave, a sea cave whose interior glows blue in the morning light, with coral and reef fish on the reef outside it. This is genuinely walk-in snorkeling rather than a boat day, which is why it is the island's introduction to the water for so many people.

Read the caveats: this is the busiest snorkel site on the island, the entry crosses rock and coral and gets difficult in swell, and access at the cave is periodically restricted for safety and conservation. Check the day's sea state and local rules before you commit, and go early to beat the groups.

📍 Between Ishigaki and Iriomote, Yaeyama islands

The Yaeyama group's big reef system: the Sekisei Lagoon, one of Japan's largest coral lagoons, holding dense patch and fringing reef across a wide, shallow, island-studded stretch of sea. On Ishigaki's Shiraho coast the reef flat carries a rare blue-coral community, and the shallow lagoon water is clear enough to snorkel properly.

The Yaeyama islands are a flight from Naha to Ishigaki or Miyako first. The best water is a boat ride out, much of the lagoon is shallow coral you must not stand on, and the tide windows matter — go with a local guide, and verify current conditions and any restricted zones before you plan a day.

📍 North-west Ishigaki island, Yaeyama

The most photographed bay in the Yaeyama islands: a near-enclosed, vivid blue bay whose colour comes from the clarity and depth of the water over coral and sand, worked by glass-bottom boats. It is the scenery stop of an Ishigaki itinerary rather than a snorkel site.

Important and often missed: swimming is not permitted in Kabira Bay itself, so do not plan a snorkel here. Treat it as the view, do the actual snorkeling on the island's other coasts or on a boat trip, and confirm current local rules, which can change.

📍 Miyako Islands, between Ishigaki and Okinawa main island

A third island group in the prefecture, with its own lagoon and fringing reef. Offshore from Ikema lies Yabiji, a large submerged coral system that surfaces only at extreme low water — the local 'phantom island' — with shallow coral and clear water over it and boat trips running out to it.

Boat access only, and entirely tide- and weather-dependent: Yabiji is a shallow, exposed reef, so it is a fair-weather day with a local operator or not at all. Verify the tide, the sea state and what your boat actually visits.

Okinawa's own noodle, and nothing like mainland Japanese soba: a wheat noodle in a pork-and-bonito broth, usually topped with soki — slow-braised pork ribs — or a slab of kamaboko. It is the island's everyday lunch, cheap, filling and served in small family shops with a jug of awamori on the counter.

Tip: Order at the counter and take the small red pickled ginger (koregusu) chilli-infused awamori if the shop offers it — a few drops lift the broth. Cash is expected in the smaller places.

Bitter melon fried with tofu, egg and either pork belly or Spam — the dish that sums up Okinawan home cooking and its long-life reputation. The bitterness is the point, and it is genuinely good once you accept it. Almost every island restaurant serves its own version.

Tip: Ask for it at lunch rather than hunting it at dinner: it is home food here. Pair it with a small bowl of rice and call it a meal, and follow it with a slice of beni-imo (purple sweet potato) tart if there is one on the menu.

The Yaeyama islands eat differently from the main island: coral-reef fish grilled or served as sashimi, umi-budo (sea grapes) popping on the tongue, and Ishigaki beef raised on the island, which is a genuine regional speciality rather than a marketing one. Eat near the harbour where the boats come in.

Tip: Sea grapes are in season in the warmer months and are best simply dressed over rice — ask for umi-budo by name. Book a table on Ishigaki in high season, because the island's good restaurants are small.