Ai Nishimura
Administrator of the blog "My Diary," which began in 2004. A writer who has traveled to all 47 prefectures and loves local culture and history.
Author of Shimane's "Geography, Place Names, and Maps" Mysteries (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha), My Town is the "Number One in Japan" Dictionary (PHP Institute), and Prefectures Explained in Neko Neko Japanese History (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha). Official blogger for Suntory Gourmet Guide, official top user for Retty, and official platinum blogger for Excite.
First time in Kumejima. Enjoy a trip to the remote islands of Okinawa with transfers from Haneda to Naha to Kumejima. There are also direct flights from Haneda only during the summer!
This is my second trip to Okinawa this year, and I'm heading out to a remote island! Of course, I won't be renting a car on this "Go Go Trip."
The rainy season has already begun in Okinawa, but this year it was a completely dry rainy season. Despite the rain forecast until a few days before we left, we cycled under blue skies every day!
I had about an hour and a half of layover time, so I went outside at Naha Airport and enjoyed some airport food. Layovers are great too, they really make you feel like you're on a trip.
From Naha Airport, I changed to RAC and headed to Kumejima. By the time I arrived, the emerald green world that spread out before me from the plane was already spreading out before my eyes. I felt the "blue earth" on a scale that far exceeded that of Okinawa and its islands.
During the summer tourist season, you can fly from Haneda to Kumejima in a flash. Not only are there direct flights available for a limited time, but some of the aircraft are also "AMURO JET" planes, a collaboration with singer Namie Amuro!
To head to Okinawa during the rainy season, we boarded the first flight from Haneda! In search of the blue sea! It was sunny when we took off from Tokyo! It seems that Tokyo was also hot that day.
It took 2.5 hours to get to Naha Airport. The weather was nice so it went by in a flash. I'm glad I got a window seat. When I went to Okinawa for the first time as a student, I was also impressed by the beauty of the ocean from the plane (a long time ago).
In Naha, go outside and enjoy some time before your connecting flight!
Naha Airport is beautiful, and it's a great spot for taking Instagram photos. I feel like I'm an advanced traveler who enjoys the airport. This time I had a connecting flight, so I was backpacking.
I had breakfast at Pork Tamago Onigiri Main Store on the first floor of Naha Airport.
Famous as "Oni Po", this is Okinawa soul food made of rice balls with tamagoyaki (rolled egg) and pork in between. There was so much pork and egg prepared that it was almost like a mountain of rice. This is a very popular restaurant, but the rice is made by hand after you order. On this day, I also had "Aburamiso" (fried miso paste) in between! It's big, so one is enough. It's freshly made and delicious!
I also ordered mozuku soup. The ginger added really warmth.
With our bellies full, it was time for our flight to Kumejima! We walked to the plane without a boarding bridge and boarded. Ryukyu Air Commuter (RAC), part of the JAL Group.
The blue of Okinawa makes it hard to believe it's the rainy season. The guy sitting next to me said, "I'm glad it's sunny." The Naha area had beautiful gradations, but from here on out it was even more amazing!
Wow, Geo! Words like "Earth" and "continent" come to mind. I bet there are dinosaurs there (lol)
Wow, that's amazing. This is "Hatenohama" where we decided to go on the second day.
The black square is probably "mozuku". 99% of mozuku in Japan is produced in Okinawa. Natural mozuku from Kumejima is especially popular. It is also widely cultivated.
It's a beautiful sunny day at Kumejima Airport! Our journey is about to begin.
Hotel Kume Island on Eef Beach is a resort hotel that also has a pool.
Upon arrival, we checked in to our accommodation, Resort Hotel Kume Island.
The island is roughly divided into two towns, but we based our trip around Eef Beach, where the hotels and restaurants are concentrated.
Since I wasn't using a rental car this time, I chose my accommodation area taking into consideration the location of bus stops and pick-up services at tourist spots.
Of course, it's hot, so the golden rule at resorts is to plan your travels around the hotel, such as returning to the hotel after your activities to rest before heading out again!
I headed from the airport to the hotel to drop off my luggage. The island buses are generally scheduled according to flight times, so there are few buses. I had booked a hotel near Eef Beach.
"Resort Hotel Kume Island". From here, we will travel around the island on foot and by bicycle (the temperature is 30 degrees every day, lol).
It was a hotel with a resort feel. However, the hotel itself seemed to have quite a long history and felt old.
The room was quite simple and the bed was quite hard.
It feels like being overseas! The spacious balcony is connected to the neighbors and you can see everything. I could see Eef Beach in the distance! Ah, the sky is so wide.
The gardens and flower beds are well maintained, giving off a tropical vibe. The average temperature in Kumejima in May is around 24°C, which is the rainy season. However, during my stay, there was not a single drop of rain and the temperature was over 28°C for several days in a row.
For your enjoyment, the hotel offers tennis courts, a swimming pool, a rest house, and more. It was so hot that we decided to go into the pool, but the water was already warm.
The building is made of concrete and combines Okinawan-style red tiles and bricks.
The area is far from the airport, but the bus pulled up to the hotel's driveway so it wasn't a problem at all.
If I were to rent a car and stay somewhere, I would choose Cypress Resort Kumejima. This hotel is located on the west side of the island, close to the airport.
I visited to use the lounge. The hotel was comfortable with lots of light coming in through the windows and was quiet.
Although it wasn't on the menu, they accommodated me with an iced cafe au lait. I was surprised that there was no service charge.
The infinity pool is the symbol of this hotel. Unfortunately, it was low tide, but it's a dramatic pool that seems to continue all the way to the sea. I took this photo when there were no people around for a moment. There was always someone there, so it was a busy poolside.
Yonner Cycle's electric assist bicycles are very stable and quite good.
The bicycles I used for this trip were rented from Yonner Cycle.
I often ride electric assist bicycles, and the electric bicycle I rented here was very good in performance. It was extremely stable even on narrow roads and over bumps, and it had 8 gears and a long battery life, making it a very comfortable bicycle trip.
I want to apologize to myself for thinking, "Even with 8 gears, it's too much to handle..." Kumejima had so many ups and downs that I used up all the gears from 1 to 8.
However, the reason it was so easy was thanks to the electric assist bicycles from Yonner Cycle. You can get a discount if you reserve a Yonner Cycle bike, and some hotels have bikes available at some accommodations, so it's a good idea to think about this before you go to make things smoother.
I rented an electric assist bicycle from Yonner Cycle in Eef Beach. It was a high-performance bicycle that was easy to ride and had a smooth start.
With the sugar cane fields. It feels like my own car. It looks cool and photographs well.
The roads on Kumejima are not easy to drive on as they are overrun with vegetation on both sides. Please drive safely!
There were quite a few ups and downs so I was worried about charging the battery, but there were no problems at all.
With 8 gears, you can easily handle the ups and downs of the island! In fact, you can pick up speed more on the downhill sections, so be careful!
But it was really hot! I drank plenty of water and didn't take my hat off. The water became hot in no time.
They sell frozen sports drinks, which was helpful while cycling (although they melt quickly).
Read the second part here
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
