Japanese Islands with beaches?

[kiya]

I'm getting married in two months.. we're going on our honeymoon a couple of weeks after the wedding.

We were pretty much set on going to Bora Bora, but after some more thought, we'd love to experience what the beaches/islands of Japan have to offer because we're both so in love with Japanese culture, and are already quite familiar with the big cities of Japan, we'd like to see what the beaches and smaller islands have to offer.

I know it's not common for people outside of Japan to go to Japan for it's beaches, but i'm maybe somebody here knows some good spots to start looking into.

I've done many searches and haven't really found anything that actually looks like it might be a good replacement for Bora Bora..

Any ideas?

[mizanation]

kiya, okinawa has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world--some people say that okinawa has THE most beautiful beaches in the world.

okinawa is a chain of islands off the southern tip of mainland japan. it's the birthplace of karate and it has a very unique and beautiful culture that is different from mainland japan.

1/3 of okinawa is owned by the u.s. military. that's why you will see many americans there. in fact, you can use US dollars in most stores. some stores will give you a discount if you use dollars. the people on okinawa are very used to americans and are very american-friendly.

i highly recommend going to okinawa.

BTW, i've been to beaches on mainland japan, and they suck compared to okinawa. usually pretty crowded and littered with firework carcasses and cigarette butts.

[englandmj7]

Kiya -

I know the perfect place for you man. Right up your alley:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunkanjima

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/saiga/yuji/gallary/gunsu/gunsu-html/01.html

[cuddlysheep]

any sufu members invited to the wedding. can i crash?

[thomas_highstreet]

okinawa <3 looks awesome!

[mizanation]

Kiya -

I know the perfect place for you man. Right up your alley:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunkanjima

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/saiga/yuji/gallary/gunsu/gunsu-html/01.html

wow, didn't know about that island. i read the photographer's little essay, really cool. reminds me of ghost in the shell for some reason...

[mizanation]

here are some pics of okinawa. btw, you can actually go to one of the smaller islands and stay there practically by yourself. anyways:

[englandmj7]

wow, didn't know about that island. i read the photographer's little essay, really cool. reminds me of ghost in the shell for some reason...

I want to go there so bad it hurts. There's a bunch of other info./pics about it online.

On a side note regarding abandoned places, as a Japanese person you may like this:

http://home.f01.itscom.net/spiral/research.html

You may have already seen it; for some reason I am fascinated by these pics (Only the first 4 "Files" work).

[mizanation]

okinawa has a large brazilian population. many okinawans immigrated to brazil (and other south american countries) before the world war. in fact, many of the japanese-brazilians are from okinawa. some of them have come back.

[mizanation]

okinawa loves noodles, specifically something called "okinawa soba". it's awesome. it combines the worlds of udon and ramen into something delicious and very uniquely okinawan.

[mizanation]

another one of okinawa's beautiful beaches:

[mizanation]

oh, i almost forgot. okinawa has one of the ILLEST aquariums in the world. they have a part where they have one huge plate of glass and you can see whales and sharks right in front of you. one of the craziest things i've ever seen.

[thomas_highstreet]

awesome. i wanna go the that concrete mining island for my honeymoon.

that is the best thing i have ever seen.

pissed off they are redeveloping though, that could have been great to explore.

[mizanation]

these are the ruins of the old ryukyu kingdom. this is the area where at night, the ancient villagers would stand on the walls and look at the moon and the stars. this was many hundreds of years before television. now, they do performances here.

[englandmj7]

these are the ruins of the old ryukyu kingdom. this is the area where at night, the ancient villagers would stand on the walls and look at the moon and the stars. this was many hundreds of years before television. now, they do performances here.

Looks cool.

I heard there is also a massive Bape store there now though.

[mizanation]

[mizanation]

[mizanation]

a good site by someone who lives there:

http://johninjapan.com/

i met many americans who went there for the military and now just won't leave. they surf everyday and party every night.

[insomaniac]

okinawa is gorgeous, but if you want to take the less touristy approach, go to yakushima. it's an island off the coast of kyushu and is a part of UNESCO's world heritage.

it's kind of getting a bit popular lately, but it's not commercialized YET.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Yakushima

you get this:

and this: (this forest is what inspired miyazaki to create princess mononoke)

the best is for yu guys to do both. yakushima and okinawa..... that would be a trip.

[DJ2xTech]

Isn't there a man made indoor beach somewhere outside Tokyo?

Maybe you can try that out just for kicks.

After Japan you might wanna try out the Philippines - check out Boracay.

[mizanation]

man, can't wait to go back. probably this september or october...

[RAISED BY WOLVES]

I want to go there so bad it hurts. There's a bunch of other info./pics about it online.

On a side note regarding abandoned places, as a Japanese person you may like this:

http://home.f01.itscom.net/spiral/research.html

You may have already seen it; for some reason I am fascinated by these pics (Only the first 4 "Files" work).

awesome. i wanna go the that concrete mining island for my honeymoon.

that is the best thing i have ever seen.

pissed off they are redeveloping though, that could have been great to explore.

Covert-ops Sufu meet up in violation of international trade laws?

[fre-co]

Oh some really nice pictures here. My girlfriend and I are going to head to Okinawa next time we visit Japan, in the spring. I've wanted to go for ages. She is from Izu which also has some nice coast and countryside.

[cuddlysheep]

interesting miz, i love the japanesexbrazilian girls.

okinawa has a large brazilian population. many okinawans immigrated to brazil (and other south american countries) before the world war. in fact, many of the japanese-brazilians are from okinawa. some of them have come back.

[englandmj7]

Covert-ops Sufu meet up in violation of international trade laws?

Hell yes. I'll bring the Hello Panda.

[Appleseed]

Okinawa Honto (the main island) really ain't shit compared to any of the smaller Yaeyama's. You want nice beaches; look at Ishigaki, Taketomi, Miyako, etc..... Heading down there in a few weeks. Hopefully it'll pause in the typhoon season, heard it's pretty wicked right now.

[thelion1856]

yeah there is an indoor beach in a dome somewhere near tokyo. saw pics of it in a recent Adbusters magazine.

[cyberPUNK]

I want to go there so bad it hurts. There's a bunch of other info./pics about it online.

On a side note regarding abandoned places, as a Japanese person you may like this:

http://home.f01.itscom.net/spiral/research.html

You may have already seen it; for some reason I am fascinated by these pics (Only the first 4 "Files" work).

wow those places look awesome. i really wish i visit gunkanjima some day. for some reason abandoned places are really interesting.

[sybaritical]

Haven't made it to Okinawa yet. Looks glorious.

Where's Red? He lived there for ages. Should be able to point you in the right directions.

[Appleseed]