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For some reason the highest mountain in Okinawa is not on the main island, but rather far to the southwest on the less-visited island of Ishigaki, a summit by the name of Mt. Omoto. The mountain itself is not famous — people usually don't go to Ishikawa for hiking — but you can if you care to.

The last time I visited this place was in late 2019. Certainly things have changed in the last six years. If you read the newspaper, they'll tell you that things are changing faster than ever in the modern world. But that's not what it feels like down here. The things that make this place nice to visit — friendly people, scuba diving, nature, Okinawan food — feel similar to my previous visit.

For three days I went scuba diving. The dive boats leave from the port on Ishigaki, and there are dive sites around all of the nearby islands — Taketomi, Iriomote, Kohama, Kuroshima, Aragusu, and Ishigaki itself. Scuba diving is a magical thing, difficult to describe in words. It's a lot quieter under water, for one. And then the colors are all kinds of exciting — blue tends to dominate, especially at depth, but brilliantly colored coral and fish are all around as well. One neat thing about Ishigaki is the small things to find, and if you're with a knowledgeable dive buddy or dive master, they'll point to something, you come over and stare at it for two minutes, and finally you will see a little shrimp smaller than your pinky nail, or translucent tubes that look like tiny smiley faces, or who knows what it might be. Sometimes you'll stare for two minutes and can't figure it out, and they'll tell you when you're back on the boat. Anyway, there's some nice diving down here.

Mt. Omoto was next on the list. A quick bus ride and a 1-hour walk brought me to the top of the mountain. The summit is covered with shrubs, so there aren't any panoramic viewpoints, but it's still an enjoyable way to spend a morning. After the hike, rather than wait two hours for the return bus, I took a 10 kilometer stroll through the hills, past the pineapple farms and sugarcane fields, back to downtown Ishigaki. The next day, my last full day on the island, I went to a different one. Taketomi is a 20-minute ferry ride, and walking down the beaches and up the dusty roads is a scenic way to spend time... And that's it, a week down here. Scuba diving, hiking, scenery, books, sure thing. Happy holidays!

There must be something precious here, that no textbook can teach you. That's the islanders' treasure. —BEGIN (2002)

For some reason the highest mountain in Okinawa is not on the main island, but rather far to the southwest on the less-visited island of Ishigaki, a summit by the name of Mt. Omoto. The mountain itself is not famous — people usually don't go to Ishikawa for hiking — but you can if you care to.

The last time I visited this place was in late 2019. Things have changed a lot in the last six years. If you read the newspaper, they'll tell you that things are changing faster than ever in the modern world. But that's not what it feels like down here. The things that make this place nice to visit — friendly people, scuba diving, nature, Okinawan food — feel similar to my previous visit.

For the first three days I went scuba diving. The dive boats from here leave from the port on Ishigaki, and there are dive sites around all of the nearby islands — Taketomi, Iriomote, Kohama, Kuroshima, Aragusu, and Ishigaki itself. Scuba diving is a magical thing, difficult to describe in words. It's a lot quieter under water, for one. And then the colors are all kinds of exciting — blue tends to dominate, especially at depth, but brilliantly colored coral and fish are all around as well. One neat thing about Ishigaki is the small things to find, and if you're with a knowledgeable dive buddy or dive master, they'll point to something, you come over and stare at it for two minutes, and finally you see a little shrimp smaller than your pinky nail, or translucent tubes that look like tiny smiley faces, or who knows what it might be. Sometimes you stare for two minutes and can't figure it out, and they tell you when you're back on the boat. Anyway, there's some nice diving down here.

Mt. Omoto was next on the list. A quick bus ride and a 1-hour walk brought me to the top of the mountain. The summit is covered with shrubs, so there aren't any panoramic viewpoints, but it's still an enjoyable way to spend a morning. After the hike, rather than wait two hours for the return bus, I took a 10 kilometer stroll through the hills, past the pineapple farms and sugarcane fields, back to downtown Ishigaki. The next day, my last full day on the island, I went to a different one. Taketomi is a 20-minute ferry ride, and walking down the beaches and up the dusty roads is a scenic way to spend time... And that's it, a week down here. Scuba diving, hiking, scenery, books, sure thing. Happy holidays!

There must be something precious here, that no textbook can teach you. That's the islanders' treasure. —BEGIN (2002)

For some reason the highest mountain in Okinawa is not on the main island, but rather far to the southwest on the less-visited island of Ishigaki, a summit by the name of Mt. Omoto. The mountain itself is not famous — people usually don't go to Ishikawa for hiking — but you can if you care to.

The last time I visited this place was in late 2019. Things have changed a lot in the last six years. If you read the newspaper, they'll tell you that things are changing faster than ever in the modern world. But that's not what it feels like down here. The things that make this place nice to visit — friendly people, scuba diving, nature, Okinawan food — feel similar to my previous visit.

For the first three days I went scuba diving. The dive boats from here leave from the port on Ishigaki, and there are dive sites around all of the nearby islands — Taketomi, Iriomote, Kohama, Kuroshima, Aragusu, and Ishigaki itself. Scuba diving is a magical thing, difficult to describe in words. It's a lot quieter under water, for one. And then the colors are all kinds of exciting — blue tends to dominate, especially at depth, but brilliantly colored coral and fish are all around as well. One neat thing about Ishigaki is the small things to find, and if you're with a knowledgeable dive buddy or dive master, they'll point to something, you come over and stare at it for two minutes, and finally you see a little shrimp smaller than your pinky nail, or translucent tubes that look like tiny smiley faces, or who knows what it might be. Sometimes you stare for two minutes and can't figure it out, and they tell you when you're back on the boat. Anyway, there's some nice diving down here.

Expect updates over the next few days here.

For some reason the highest mountain in Okinawa is not on the main island, but rather far to the southwest on the less-visited island of Ishigaki, a summit by the name of Mt. Omoto. The mountain itself is not famous — people usually don't go to Ishikawa for hiking — but you can if you care to.

The last time I visited this place was in late 2019. Things have changed a lot in the last six years. If you read the newspaper, they'll tell you that things are changing faster than ever in the modern world. But that's not what it feels like down here. The things that make this place nice to visit — friendly people, scuba diving, nature, Okinawan food — feel similar to my previous visit.

In progress. Expect updates over the next few days.