Kumejima

Kumejima sits about 100 km west of Okinawa Island and is the fifth-largest island in the prefecture, hilly and green rather than flat coral. Most people come for Hate-no-hama, three white sandbars strung out for about 7 km off the east coast. Nobody lives there and there is no bridge: tour boats leave from Tomari Fisherina near Eef Beach and take 20 to 30 minutes. Book a tour; there is no other way across. Out on the sand there is no shade beyond the simple sunshades the tours put up, and the swimming area is kept small for safety, so bring serious sun protection. Back on the island, a causeway leads to little Oujima, where Tatami-ishi spreads across the shore: pentagonal and hexagonal andesite columns, some about 1 m across, that look like a giant turtle shell. It became a national natural monument in 2014. On the main island, the Uezu family house was built in 1754 for a family of district heads and is described as the oldest surviving house in Okinawa; there is a small entry fee. Eef Beach, about 2 km of sand on the east side, is where most hotels, inns, shops and dive centres are.