Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the texts that follow, we'll give the approximate sailing times and departure ports (Ok-
inawa has eight ports with commercial ferry services) for each island, but be careful as ferry
transportation schedules change all the time due to demand, season and weather. You must
always call and confirm your passage, especially if you're bringing a car. Bikes and motor-
cycles never need reservations as there's always room for them.
A traditional “old Okinawa” exists. It's simply a question of looking for it. For many of the
more remote islands, however, there may not be a daily ferry, but there is usually service at
least several times a week. Obviously, you will need to visit these for several days. If that's too
long, it's worth mentioning that some have airports and regularly scheduled passenger plane
service. For example, there are daily flights to Aguni (25 minutes), Kume (35 minutes), Yoron
(45 minutes), Okinoerabu (50 minutes), Miyako (60 minutes) and Ishigaki (70 minutes).
The principal island of the Okinawa group of islands (
沖宗
黾
諸島
; Okinawa-shotō) and
indeed of the Ryukyu Archipelago (
琉球諸島
; Ryūkyū-Rettō), Okinawa (
沖縄本島
; Okinawa-
hontō) is by far the largest island in the chain. Comprising about half of the archipelago's total
landmass, Okinawa's area is 466 square miles (1,208 square kilometers), spread over a most
irregularly shaped island, giving it an extended circumference of 296 miles (476 kilometers).
Located at the center of the 680-mile (1,100-kilometer)-long Ryukyu chain, Okinawa is ap-
proximately 70 miles (112 kilometers) long from its northern tip at Hedo Point to its south-
ern point at Cape Kyan. Its width varies from as narrow as 1.75 miles (3 kilometers) between
Moon Beach and Kinbu Bay to a little more than 19 miles (30 kilometers) across the Motobu
Peninsula.
