Time required for sightseeing
4-5 hours by bicycle
Kuroshima Island is a small island with a circumference of about 13km, and many people enjoy sightseeing on the island by rental bicycle. If you rent a bicycle to visit the tourist attractions on this island, it will take 4 to 5 hours even if you go around slowly. Many people who visit the island are on a day trip.
If you would like to get a summary of Kuroshima Island and information on restaurants and ATMs, please refer to “Welcome to Kuroshima Island Okinawa Japan“.
There are not many travelers to Kuroshima Island, so you can relax on the beautiful beach. However, there aren’t many restaurants, so it’s a good idea to plan where to eat lunch.
Moreover, there are not many public toilets too. Toilet information is written in the “Recommended tourist attraction map” below, so please use it to plan your trip.
Contents
♦ Nishinohama
♦ Cow-shaped rock (Hokei Beach)
♦ Kuroshima Research Institute
♦ Puzumari
♦ Nakamoto Beach
♦ Kuroshima Lighthouse
♦ Heart-shaped monument
♦ Iko Pier
♦ Kuroshima Observatory
♦ Recommended tourist attraction map
Nishinohama
This is a beautiful natural beach where sea turtles visit for spawning. It is a rare beach in the world where three species of loggerhead turtles, green turtles, and hawksbill turtles spawn.
Although it is a beautiful beach, swimming is prohibited due to the fast tide, and there are no facilities such as showers and toilets.
Business Hours
Always (Free)
Toilets
None
Map No.
About 4 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 1
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Cow-shaped rock (Hokei Beach)
There are uplifted coral eroded by waves on the coast around here. One of them looks like a cow. It is exactly the art created by nature.
Besides this, there is also a “Kinoko Iwa” that looks like a mushroom.
Business Hours
Always (Free)
Toilets
None
Map No.
About 12 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 2
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Kuroshima Research Institute
This is a facility that studies sea turtles. Specimens of sea turtles and coral are exhibited there. The facility also keeps animals that live on Kuroshima Island, and you can see sea turtles, coconut crabs, tropical fish, and sharks up close.
We recommend the occasional event of releasing sea turtles into the sea, which is held only a few times a year. It actually releases the sea turtles raised in the facility into the sea on Kuroshima Island. The sight of sea turtles slowly returning to the sea makes me want to cheer. You will have an extraordinary experience, surrounded only by the sound of the waves and the sound of sea turtles scraping the sand and moving forward.
The schedule for this event will be announced on the Kuroshima Research Institute website.
Business Hours
9:00 to 5:00pm (No closing days)
Admission fee
500yen
Toilets
Available
Web
Kuroshima Research Institute (in Japanese)
Map No.
About 14 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 3
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Puzumari
This is a small mountain of Ryukyu limestones that was used to monitor maritime traffic. In the old days, when a ship was discovered, it seemed to burn a fire and use the smoke to convey information to other islands.
Similar monitoring spots are also found on Hateruma Island (Court Mori) and Taketomi Island (Kusukumui), and it is interesting to compare them.
Business Hours
Always (Free)
Toilets
None
Map No.
About 13 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 4
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Nakamoto Beach
This is the most famous sightseeing spot on Kuroshima Island. Coral reefs become large tide pools and become natural swimming pools at low tide. You can see a lot of tropical fish in the pool. This is famous as a snorkeling spot.
The photo above is a photo of the beach taken offshore, and everything in the photo is a tide pool. You can enjoy snorkeling in this pool.
However, there are many marine accidents on this beach, so it is judged whether or not you can swim in the sea conditions of the day, and it will be displayed on the signboard (pictured below). If it’s red you shouldn’t swim because it’s dangerous. This signboard is in front of the stairs down to the beach.
If you want to swim, you should check the low tide time before you go. It is judged that swimming is possible only for about 2 hours before and after low tide when the tide is weak.
There are showers, toilets, and marine goods rentals here, so you can enjoy snorkeling even on a day trip.
Business Hours
Always (Free)
Toilets
Available
Map No.
About 16 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 5
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Kuroshima Lighthouse
It is a lighthouse located at the southernmost tip of the island. It is a very quiet place with only the sea and meadows around it.
You cannot enter the lighthouse and there are no facilities such as toilets.
Business Hours
Always (Free)
Toilets
None
Map No.
About 25 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 6
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Heart-shaped monument
The road from Kuroshima Observatory to the Agarisuji area has been selected as one of the 100 best characteristic roads in Japan. The straight road is beautiful, and a heart-shaped (Kuroshima-shaped) stone monument stands at the end of the road.
Business Hours
Always (Free)
Toilets
None
Map No.
About 15 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 7
Iko Pier
It is a pier with a length of 354 meters. It used to be used as a pier, but now it is a popular tourist attraction on the island. Taketomi Island also has the famous Nishi Pier as a sunset spot, but it is considerably longer than that.
It is recommended to go here at high tide. When you reach the tip of the pier at high tide, it feels like you are walking on the sea.
Business Hours
Always (Free)
Toilets
None
Map No.
About 13 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 8
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Kuroshima Observatory
If you go up the stairs of the observatory, you can see the straight road selected as one of the 100 best characteristic roads in Japan in front of you. In addition, Kuroshima Island is flat, so you can see the ocean beyond the meadows.
Business Hours
Always (Free)
Toilets
None
Map No.
About 10 minutes by bicycle from the port
Map No. 9
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Recommended tourist attraction map
Not only the main tourist attractions on Kuroshima Island, but also restaurants, accommodations, and toilet information are written on the map.
If you rent a bicycle to visit the tourist attractions on the map, it will take 4 to 5 hours.
