Day 4. Stop 2: Ishigaki Island, Okinawa (Japan)
Today, Val treated us to a day at Club Med Kabira Ishigaki. This was meant to be our beach day, but it was windy and cool. I chose not to get into the water. Hubs opted to dip his feet. Val went full on Val: he went in the ocean and in the pool.
To be clear, 20oC, overcast and windy does not an ideal beach day make. Which is sad, because the beach was perfect. Fine, white sand. Turquoise water. Empty.
There are many resorts on the 222.5-square-kilometer island. But they are relatively empty, as their patrons flock during the summer months. Yet, the weather seemed to be great for wind surfing, as I spotted a few people gliding on the water at the mercy of the wind.
Getting to the resort was fairly easy. The cruise company offered shuttles to the ferry terminal. From there, it's only a 3-minute walk to the bus station, where tour buses and regular buses take passengers around the island, including major attractions, resorts and the airport.
We meant to get on the tour bus. Our plan was to see the island's major attractions. But we ended up with tickets for the regular bus. We're blaming this on language barriers.
At first, we were a bit annoyed, but we quickly adapted our plans. And, honestly, I don't regret it. The location is beautiful.
The resort is located near Kabira Park. The beach is surrounded by lush vegetation. A perfect little cove.
Our day passes on the resort included access to the property (beach, pool) and activities, free drinks at the bar, a buffet lunch (the best meal we had so far) and free Wi-Fi.
We hung out there for about 4 hours. Then we took the bus back to downtown.
We were far from the bustling ultra modern streets of Tokyo. Downtown Ishigaki is small, but busy. It's a quaint town, complete with a covered market and cute shops.
All in all, a good day ashore.