Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The end of the line, the northern tip of Ikeijima.
If you have a look at an aerial shot of Ikei Island you'll see that it's a uniformly laid out
rectangular grid about three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer) wide and 1.25 miles (2 kilomet-
ers) long. Its area is 6.75 square miles (1.75 square kilometers) and its circumference 4.5 miles
(7 kilometers). The island's population is close to 400. It has a small village and port (
伊計港
;
Ikei-kō) on its southern side by the bridge that connects it to Miyagijima, a small resort on
its northern end and sugar cane fields in between. The resort is the attraction for most vis-
itors. It's not too fancy but (for Japan) not too expensive, around $150 a night. It's called the
Big Time Resort and it has a main building with about 60 rooms surrounding a large indoor
atrium, a nice outdoor swimming pool, a good, relatively inexpensive restaurant and some
30 private cottages spread around the complex. It's a quiet spot, almost isolated. It's one of a
very few resorts on Okinawa's Pacific side and that's not by accident.
Ikei Beach, a pleasant beach with calm waters.
Although the hotel has several small, white sandy beaches on very secluded coves, there's
a reason why not too many people swim here, at least not out too far. This “Land's End” is
a promontory and the meeting place of the waters of Kinbu Bay and the open Pacific. Twice
a day, with the turning of the tides, the waters swirl and it can be dangerous. Several people
have been swept away and drowned just offshore at this location.
