Taketomi

Start your tour by dropping into the visitor center right next to the dock, which can give you a free rough map or sell you a better one ¥200. Most sights in the village are of fairly minor interest and it's generally more rewarding to amble around randomly, popping into little village shops and cafes.

Star Sand Beach

星砂の浜 Hoshizuna-no-hama. Taketomi is one of only two islands in Japan the other is Iriomote that accumulate this 'sand' formed from the shells of thousands of tiny crustaceans. There are in fact two star sand beaches here, namely Kaijihama カイジ浜 on the southwestern coast and Aiyaruhama アイヤル浜 on the eastern coast. Try your luck at finding your own, or take the easy way out and head to the nearest souvenir shop. Bear in mind that people are not allowed to take the sand, you must pick the individual stars.