Thanks for all the tips! My boyfriend and I are going to Japan and we are undecided whether to stay in Ishigaki or Okinawa (+/- 3 nights). Which do you recommend more?
You're welcome! That's a tough one! I asked Will and he immediately said "Ishigaki" but it definitely depends what you want to do! Ishigaki is more island vibes and feels more remote. You can still have that remote feeling in Okinawa, but you'll have to drive a lot farther to get to it. We think if you're already doing (or have already done) mainland Japan, that going to Ishigaki would feel super different. If you're wanting more "things to do" then Okinawa has a ton of options.
PS= I forgot to say THANK YOU for highlighting star gazing as a bucket list activity. Yaeyama islands have SPECTACULAR night skies, if you're lucky enough to have no nocturnal cloud cover when you're there. Absolutely incredible to see. You're the only vlogger I've EVER seen include this in their video. I cannot understand why it's totally overlooked by people visiting and filming the island for professional commercial purposes as it's totally free and an unusually impressive thing to see and experience.
@@willandalextravel Yes! The best places I've experienced and thus highly recommend are: Western Australia (you'll need to drive for a while outside of Perth) or anywhere in 'the bush' in Australia, a few hours north of Melbourne is spectacular. Then a more organised experienced would be Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii as it involves some research, booking and organising. I remember Joe Rogan talking about how disappointed he felt driving to the summit for viewing, seeing the clouds until suddenly POP, out the car came ABOVE the clouds to be greeted by the most stars he's ever seen in his life. The one place I've never been but would LOVE to hear a personal review of is the Elqui Domos stargazing hotel 'pods' near Coquimbo in Chile. Love to know if it's worth flying all the way there, if the sky is even better than WA, Hawaii and Ishigaki (which was truly awesome when we went; we drove far into Banna Park area and pulled up next to a field where the port lights were no longer polluting the vision.)
@@willandalextravel Mauna Kea, Hawaii; Rural Australia (all states-- don't fall for the overhyped insistence on WA); Elqui Domos, Chile. Ishigaki is by far one of the best.
I'm heading back later this year and remain vigilant when it comes to deadly marine life (or avoiding it, to be more literal and specific). How common is it in reality to encounter jellyfish (Habu especially, I'm concerned about) on the popular snorkelling beaches of Ishigaki, I wonder? Sea snakes? And lastly, rip tides. The signs on every single beach there are so terrifying it's a wonder anybody swims in the waters at all. What do you think? Any reassuring 'pro tips'? Loved your video and wrote down your beef dinner recommendation. Thank you.
Hi! I'm sorry I don't know much about the wildlife there or how common it would be to see the habu jelly, even though summer is their "season". When we were there we were lucky not to see one, and I think we only saw one sea snake (super poisonous and curious, but usually not aggressive). Have you looked into the netted beaches? Like Sukuji Beach or Sunset Beach? I'm also seeing that Maezato Beach (open to non-visitors of the ANA Intercontinental) also has a net. You might have to look at reviews for other popular beaches to see if they have nets.. I agree the amount of poisonous marine life is kind of crazy! If you haven't yet, I would look up snorkel safety and how to identify a rip tide. You might already know this, but some things we do are: always snorkel when the tide is coming IN, never when it's going out. We also use a compact flotation device or a flotation belt (lots on Amazon). We usually carry a bit of white vinegar with us in case of stings.. and we wear reef guards for the sun protection as well as if we have a run-in with a stinger. And yessss!! Native Deli is the best, we still talk about it!
@@willandalextravel Thank you for leaving such a thoughtfully composed reply crammed full of interesting suggestions and good advice. I'm currently shopping for a lightweight stinger suit/rash guard and wonder how thick the material REALLY needs to be to prevent nasty jellyfish tentacles from doing their worst. And lastly, we DID check out Sukiji beach but it's laughably shallow. I suspect that will be the trade off with every single beach on Ishigaki that has reassuring jellyfish protection nets in place; we'll be safe but we'll also be swimming in a gigantic bathtub essentially. Still, I'm grateful they have some places where even nervous swimmers and young children (and their parents) can feel safe. I'm glad I found your channel. I wish you every success with it.
Would want to go to Okinawa because of your video!
Kudos! 🙌
Thanks for all the infos! We are going there end of October :)
Nice, informative, easy-watching video. Thanks.
Thanks so much for your comment, glad it was helpful!
thank you . I have taken a few of you recommendations as we are heading there next week. ..
We hope you had a good time!!
Thanks for all the tips! My boyfriend and I are going to Japan and we are undecided whether to stay in Ishigaki or Okinawa (+/- 3 nights). Which do you recommend more?
You're welcome! That's a tough one! I asked Will and he immediately said "Ishigaki" but it definitely depends what you want to do! Ishigaki is more island vibes and feels more remote. You can still have that remote feeling in Okinawa, but you'll have to drive a lot farther to get to it. We think if you're already doing (or have already done) mainland Japan, that going to Ishigaki would feel super different. If you're wanting more "things to do" then Okinawa has a ton of options.
PS= I forgot to say THANK YOU for highlighting star gazing as a bucket list activity. Yaeyama islands have SPECTACULAR night skies, if you're lucky enough to have no nocturnal cloud cover when you're there. Absolutely incredible to see. You're the only vlogger I've EVER seen include this in their video. I cannot understand why it's totally overlooked by people visiting and filming the island for professional commercial purposes as it's totally free and an unusually impressive thing to see and experience.
You're welcome! It is so beautiful there! Do you have any stargazing spot recommendations? Or it's just everywhere?
@@willandalextravel Yes! The best places I've experienced and thus highly recommend are: Western Australia (you'll need to drive for a while outside of Perth) or anywhere in 'the bush' in Australia, a few hours north of Melbourne is spectacular. Then a more organised experienced would be Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii as it involves some research, booking and organising. I remember Joe Rogan talking about how disappointed he felt driving to the summit for viewing, seeing the clouds until suddenly POP, out the car came ABOVE the clouds to be greeted by the most stars he's ever seen in his life. The one place I've never been but would LOVE to hear a personal review of is the Elqui Domos stargazing hotel 'pods' near Coquimbo in Chile. Love to know if it's worth flying all the way there, if the sky is even better than WA, Hawaii and Ishigaki (which was truly awesome when we went; we drove far into Banna Park area and pulled up next to a field where the port lights were no longer polluting the vision.)
@@willandalextravel Mauna Kea, Hawaii; Rural Australia (all states-- don't fall for the overhyped insistence on WA); Elqui Domos, Chile. Ishigaki is by far one of the best.
I'm heading back later this year and remain vigilant when it comes to deadly marine life (or avoiding it, to be more literal and specific). How common is it in reality to encounter jellyfish (Habu especially, I'm concerned about) on the popular snorkelling beaches of Ishigaki, I wonder? Sea snakes? And lastly, rip tides. The signs on every single beach there are so terrifying it's a wonder anybody swims in the waters at all. What do you think? Any reassuring 'pro tips'? Loved your video and wrote down your beef dinner recommendation. Thank you.
Hi! I'm sorry I don't know much about the wildlife there or how common it would be to see the habu jelly, even though summer is their "season". When we were there we were lucky not to see one, and I think we only saw one sea snake (super poisonous and curious, but usually not aggressive). Have you looked into the netted beaches? Like Sukuji Beach or Sunset Beach? I'm also seeing that Maezato Beach (open to non-visitors of the ANA Intercontinental) also has a net. You might have to look at reviews for other popular beaches to see if they have nets.. I agree the amount of poisonous marine life is kind of crazy! If you haven't yet, I would look up snorkel safety and how to identify a rip tide. You might already know this, but some things we do are: always snorkel when the tide is coming IN, never when it's going out. We also use a compact flotation device or a flotation belt (lots on Amazon). We usually carry a bit of white vinegar with us in case of stings.. and we wear reef guards for the sun protection as well as if we have a run-in with a stinger.
And yessss!! Native Deli is the best, we still talk about it!
@@willandalextravel Thank you for leaving such a thoughtfully composed reply crammed full of interesting suggestions and good advice. I'm currently shopping for a lightweight stinger suit/rash guard and wonder how thick the material REALLY needs to be to prevent nasty jellyfish tentacles from doing their worst. And lastly, we DID check out Sukiji beach but it's laughably shallow. I suspect that will be the trade off with every single beach on Ishigaki that has reassuring jellyfish protection nets in place; we'll be safe but we'll also be swimming in a gigantic bathtub essentially. Still, I'm grateful they have some places where even nervous swimmers and young children (and their parents) can feel safe. I'm glad I found your channel. I wish you every success with it.