Hawaiian-style experience in Ishigaki: stand up paddleboarding/canoe tour

Ishigaki Island is the main island of the Yaeyama Islands and the region's transportation hub. Ishigaki City, Japan's southernmost city, is the only urban center of the Yaeyama Islands and the site of the region's major airport and ferry terminal, as well as of lots of hotels, shops, restaurants and bars. Ishigaki offers several nice beaches and good snorkeling and diving in the surrounding coral reefs. Snorkeling can be enjoyed at nearly every beach on the island, while diving is offered through the numerous dive shops with tours available for all experience levels. If diving, be sure to check out the island's famed manta rays which congregate in large numbers around Manta Scramble near Kabira Bay. Ishigaki's rivers, while not quite as wild as those of nearby Iriomote, also offer a jungle like scenery and are nice to explore by kayak. Ishigaki also has the highest mountain in Okinawa Prefecture, as well as various hiking trails throughout the island's hilly interior.

Miyara River is the biggest river on the island flowing through the southern part of Ishigaki Island. A lot of natural riverbanks remain, and plants grow well on the mangrove damp ground in the lower area of the river and it is designated as the natural monument of the country as “Plant Forest of the Miyara River”. In addition, in recent years the tour by canoe extends to the river entrance. It is a good experience to have such a leisurely tour.