Okinawa has always been on my list of places I wanted to visit and with some Japanese knowledge after living in Yokohama for three years and loving the country, I thought I had better get it ticked off my list.

I visited a friend in the main island of Okinawa then caught a short ferry over to Zamami, my chosen island. It was wonderful there. Zamami was a cute island with beautiful beaches and short ferry trips to other stunning beaches.

Aka Island was one of those. I walked from the ferry terminal over to Nishibana beach, a decent walk but made more exciting by the small deer and hermit crabs along the way. I had a quick snack, got some snorkeling gear and went down to check out the beach. It was stunning. Beautiful white sand and clear water rolling in. I knew I was somewhere very special. I took lots of photos and headed out for a snorkel in the swimming area. I could have stayed there for weeks, it was just so beautiful, but I had snorkeling to do elsewhere, and a walk back to the ferry.

Zamami village is an adorable little town with a mixture of old and new buildings. One which we visited had missed being bombed during WWII and is over 100 years old. It was a little restaurant and accommodation, it was adorable.

There are quite a few restaurants in Zamami village, so you won’t be short of a good meal.

Buses take you to the main beaches/towns on the island, so it is very easy to get around. All of the beaches are lovely, so getting in as many as possible was my plan.

The snorkeling was fantastic, we went to an area which was filled with table coral. It was popular with the divers but from the surface snorkeling you could still see a lot of coral and fish.

My last planned day of snorkeling was cancelled due to an earthquake in Chile which meant the beaches were closed and most snorkeling or diving companies were not running. I thought it was a bit over the top but Japan is very wary of potential tsunami threats which is understandable.

I would love to go back to Okinawa, I loved Zamami but would like to explore more islands.

I would suggest you put it on your bucket list too if you like beautiful beaches, great food, and friendly people.

Selfie with my Telesin GoPro 6″ dome at Nishibana beach on Aka Island.

Using my dome on Aka Island.

Beautiful Nishibama Beach, Aka Island.

One of the cute streets on Zamami Island.

Zamami Port.

Stunning colours surround the island.

Deserted beach on Zamami island which was closed due to the tsunami threat.

A traditional Okinawan meal served at Emi no mise in Ogimi.