Beaches

Yonehara Beach – The best beach for snorkeling where you can go by bus

*This article confirmed the information in August 2024.

  Contents 
Welcome to Yonehara Beach
How to get to Yonehara Beach
Facility Information of Yonehara Beach
How to use the shower
Temporary baggage storage
Restaurants around Yonehara Beach
Accommodations around Yonehara Beach
Rental Shop for beach items
Yoneko-yaki Seesah garden is recommended

Welcome to Yonehara Beach

More photos : Instagram

・It is also a popular beach for locals.
・There is also a rental shop for marine items and showers.
・Snorkeling spot
・High tide is recommended

Yonehara Beach is the most popular snorkeling spot on Ishigaki Island. There are also corals in shallow areas near the beach, and you can see colorful fish even in those shallow areas.
During the summer season, it is bustling with not only tourists but also locals.

The beach has facilities such as parking lot, toilets and showers, and there are restaurants around the beach. Therefore, you can enjoy marine leisure comfortably.

However, the tides are fast here and there are no lifeguards, so some people drown every year.

We recommend wearing a life jacket when snorkeling.

There are several rental shops around the beach, where you can rent life jackets, snorkeling goods and umbrellas.

This is a shallow beach, so it is recommended to go at high tide. At low tide, corals in shallow waters are exposed and you need to go tens of meters offshore to snorkel.


How to get to Yonehara Beach

Transportation to get there
Route bus
Rental car
Taxi

Yonehara Beach is located in the center of Ishigaki Island. It is about 30 minutes by car from the city center (around Bus Terminal or Ishigaki Port) and about 25 minutes from Ishigaki Airport. You can get to Yonehara Beach by route bus, rental car or taxi.

The beach is close to the bus stop and there is a shower too, so you can go by bus. However, be careful of the time as there are few buses to operate.

Go to Yonehara Beach by route bus (Azuma Bus)

POINTThe name of the bus stop is different for going and returning.

The route bus to Yonehara Beach depart daily from Bus Terminal and Ishigaki Airport. Yonehara Beach is about a 3-minute walk from the bus stop.

The name of the bus stop at Yonehara Beach differs depending on the destination of the bus. They are “Yonehara” and “Yonehara Camp Jo”. The bus only stops at either bus stop. Please be careful not to miss your stop.

The distance between the two bus stops is about 200m. The location of the bus stop is shown on the map below.

How to get to Yonehara Beach by bus
  Bus stop name  
“Yonehara” or “Yonehara Camp Jo” ( 3-minute walk to Yonehara Beach)

  Bus Route  
 From Bus Terminal (5 buses / day)  No.2(840yen), 8(840yen), 11(890yen)
 From Airport (3 buses / day)  No.3(1,050yen), 11(540yen)

Azuma Bus Schedules from Bus Terminal

*Latest bus schedule as of August 2024

There are 5 buses a day from the Bus Terminal to Yonehara Beach. There are 3 routes buses bound for Yonehara Beach, but we recommend route No.2 or No.8 bus. These route bus run along the seaside road. Therefore, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the sea from the bus.
When you go to Yonehara Beach, you can see the sea on the left side, so the seat on the left side is recommended.

Nagura Bay

The bus fare from Bus Terminal to Yonehara Beach is 840 yen or 890 yen (It depends on the route.), so it is better to buy a one-day Bus Pass (1,000 yen) for those who make a round trip by bus.
How to buy a Bus Pass
is summarized on another page
.

 Riding Time 
56 minutes – 58 minutes (It depends on the route.)
 Fare 
840 yen or 890 yen (It depends on the route.)

departureBusSchedule Yonehara FromBusTerminal

returnBusSchedule Yonehara FromBusTerminal Return

download timetables
Route2 (PDF:0.4MB)
Route3 (PDF:0.4MB)

Route8 (PDF:0.4MB)

Route11 (PDF:0.4MB)

Azuma Bus Schedules from Airport

*Latest bus schedule as of August 2024

There is a bus from Ishigaki Airport to Yonehara Beach. Therefore, when you arrive at Ishigaki Airport, you can take the route bus from the airport to Yonehara Beach and immediately swim at that beach. In addition, there is a shower on the beach.

If you have large baggage such as a suitcase, the “Baggage Delivery Service” is convenient. There are no lockers at Yonehara Beach that can fit large baggage such as suitcases.

The bus stop at Ishigaki Airport is ‘B’.

The bus fare Ishigaki Airport to Yonehara Beach is 540 yen one way, so if you are traveling by route bus after that, it is better to buy a one-day Bus Pass (1,000 yen).

 Riding Time 
25 minutes – 74 minutes (It depends on the route.)
 Fare 
540 yen or 1,050 yen (It depends on the route.)

departureBusSchedule Yonehara FromAirport

returnBusSchedule Yonehara FromAirport Return

download timetables
Route2 (PDF:0.4MB)
Route3 (PDF:0.4MB)

Route11 (PDF:0.4MB)

Yonehara Beach Bus trip Best Plan

This is a proposal for a plan to enjoy the area around Yonehara Beach with only a route bus. Yoneko-yaki Seesah garden is recommended.

 Best Plan 
1. Route No.8「Bus Terminal」 Dep. (10:45) get off 「Yonehara Camp Jo」(Yonehara Beach)
2. Lunch at the Tonkatsu-riki
3. Rent a life jacket at Jerry Fish
4. Enjoy Yonehara Beach
5. After changing clothes, enjoy Yoneko-yaki Seesah garden
6. Route No.11「Yonehara Camp Jo」 Dep. (4:21pm) get off 「Bus Terminal」(5:17pm)

Go to Yonehara Beach by taxi

There is no taxi stand at Yonehara Beach. Even if you call a taxi, you will have to wait about 30 minutes because it comes from city center.

You can call a taxi with the taxi app “DiDi”.

Taxi fare and riding time
  Approximate fare  
Airport Yonehara Beach : 4,000
Bus Terminal Yonehara Beach : 4,500


  Riding Time  
Airport Yonehara Beach : About 25 minutes
Bus Terminal Yonehara Beach : About 30 minutes

Go to Yonehara Beach by rental car

The Omoto Tunnel, which you pass when going from the airport to Yonehara Beach, is the only tunnel on Ishigaki Island.

It is convenient to use a MAPCODE mapcode to set the destination of the car navigation system.
*MAPCODE is numerical number that the latitude and longitude of a place in Japan are converted into.

How to get to Yonehara Beach by rental car
  address  
446-1 Fukai, Ishigaki-shi, Okinawa
mapcode : 366 397 734*54


  Riding Time  
Airport Yonehara Beach : About 25 minutes
Bus Terminal Yonehara Beach : About 30 minutes


  Parking Lot  
Paid parking (500yen / day)


Facility Information of Yonehara Beach

Yonehara Beach is a free beach and is open all year round. There are showers, toilets and restaurants, but no lifeguards or jellyfish nets.

Yonehara Beach

Business Hours Always
Admission Free
Closed No Closing days
Web
Parking Lot 〇 (Free:about 7 cars,
Not Free:about 30 cars)
Toilets 〇(Multipurpose Toilets : 〇)
Changing rooms 〇 (in shop)
Shower 〇 (200yen / 10mins)
Temporary baggage storage It’s in the shop (Shouten), but it’s too small for a suitcase.
Lifeguards ×
Jellyfish Net ×
Rental beach items

Yonehara Beach Map

Yonehara Beach Map
download MAP (PDF:0.1MB)


How to use the shower

There are some paid shower rooms on the beach. It’s large enough to change clothes. We introduce you how to use it.
ShowerRoom at Yonehara Beach
1. Prepare money. (200yen / 10mins)
You can use only 100 yen coin for shower. There is no bill changer around the beach. Therefore, you need to exchange money before coming to the beach.

2. Insert a coin.
Then the water comes out. Water will be out for 10 minutes.


Temporary baggage storage

The following “baggage storage service” has already ended when we confirmed it in November 2021. There are no lockers at Yonehara Beach that can hold large baggage such as suitcases. Therefore, please use the “Baggage Delivery Service“.

There are no lockers on Yonehara Beach, but there are stores that can store your baggage. It’s Jerry Fish, a beach items rental shop.

Jerry Fish is a member of a baggage storage service called Ecbo Cloak. Please check the Ecbo Cloak website for how to use it.


Restaurants around Yonehara Beach

There are several restaurants around the beach. If you are hungry, you can have lunch and swim. Let’s try “Japanese tonkatsu” for lunch!

*Tonkatsu
Tonkatsu is a dish of thickly cut pork with eggs, flour and bread crumbs fried in oil. It is a Japanese-style arrangement of food cutlets.

*Business hours may have changed.

Tonkatsu-riki

Tonkatsu

This is a popular Tonkatsu restaurant.

Business Hours 11:00am to 2:00pm
Closed Sun. and Mon.
Menu (only in Japanese) pork loin cutlet set : 860yen
pork loin cutlet and Japanese curry : 1,000yen
Location 3-minute walk from the beach
View ×
Accepted Credit Cards No
English a little
Web Tabelog
Instagram Instagram

Cafe & Restaurant imagine

This restaurant seems to be closed. (Confirmed in 2021)

A cosy restaurant

Business Hours 11:00am to 4:00pm
Closed Irregular closing days
Menu (only in Japanese) Hamburg steak set (Ishigaki beef) : 1,380yen
Pizza Margherita : 1,400yen
Location 2-minute walk from beach
View ×
Accepted Credit Cards
English
Web Tabelog

Accommodations around Yonehara Beach

There is no supermarket around Yonehara beach. In addition, most shops are not open at night, so you can’t have dinner around here.
When you book accommodation around this area, we recommend an accommodation plan with dinner.
There aren’t many buses in this area, so you’ll need to rent a car.

Hanashiro

Hanashiro

This is a Minshuku near Yonehara Beach.

Address 644-38 fukai, Ishigaki-shi
mapcode_short MAPCODE 366 427 146*38
Bus Bus stop name : Yonehara
2-minute walk from bus stop
Route : No.2, 3, 8,11
5 buses / day (from Bus Terminal)
3 buses / day (from Airport)
Price range economical
Room type Japanese
View ×
WiFi
Parking Lot
Handicapped-accessible room ×
Web Official 
(in Japanese)
Instagram Instagram

JUSANDI

This is a luxury hotel that the author also wants to stay at.

Address 470 fukai, Ishigaki-shi
mapcode_short MAPCODE 366 428 239*57
Bus Bus stop name : Yonehara Palm tree
7-minute walk from bus stop
Route : No.2, 3, 8,11
5 buses / day (from Bus Terminal)
3 buses / day (from Airport)
Price range Luxury
Room type western
View Ocean View
WiFi
Parking Lot 〇 (5 cars)
Handicapped-accessible room ×
Web Official
Instagram Instagram

Rich Reson Ishigaki

This is a reasonable hotel.

Address 474-1 fukai, Ishigaki-shi
mapcode_short MAPCODE 366 428 075*28
Bus Bus stop name : Yonehara Palm tree
4-minute walk from bus stop
Route : No.2, 3, 8, 11
5 buses / day (from Bus Terminal)
3 buses / day (from Airport)
Price range economical
Room type western
View ×
WiFi
Parking Lot
Handicapped-accessible room
Web Official 
(in Japanese)
Instagram

Rental Shop for beach items

There are several shops around Yonehara Beach where you can rent beach items.

JellyFish

JellyFish Rental Shop for beach items

It is a shop that offers marine tours and lunch. In addition, there is a paid parking lot (500yen / day) in front of this shop.

Business Hours 9:00am to 6:00pm
Closed Always open
Location 1-minute walk from beach
Rental Goods Snorkel and mask : 660yen/day
Life jacket : 1,100yen/day
Parasol : 550yen/day
Changing rooms 〇 (free)
Shower 〇 (500yen)
Accepted Credit Cards
English unclear
Web Official

Yoneko-yaki Seesah garden is recommended

Shisa garden

Yoneko-yaki Seesah garden is located near the Yonehara bus stop and is a garden where large colorful *Shisa are exhibited. Shisa with various expressions and colors is fun. You can freely visit it for free.

ShisaFarm Wide

*Shisa
The Shisa is an Okinawan lion dog statue. Shisa has the meaning of amulet and is installed in many buildings in Okinawa. There are many Shisa on Taketomi Island where you can see traditional Okinawan buildings.

 Business Hours 
9:00 to 4:30pm
 Admission 
Free
 Closed 
No Closing days
 Web 
Official
Instagram


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