UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
KUROSHIMA / HEART ISLAND
Seen from above, the island traces the shape of a heart — it is called the Heart Island. Around 220 people live here, alongside more than 3,000 cattle. About 25–30 minutes by high-speed boat from Ishigaki Port; the moment you step off the pier, time slows down.
Touch the water: ripples open
THE HEART-SHAPED ISLAND OF CATTLE
Kuroshima belongs to Taketomi Town, Okinawa. Because its outline seen from above resembles a heart, it is called the Heart Island (Taketomi Town; Okinawa Story). Around 220 people live here against more than 3,000 cattle — an island introduced as having “more cattle than people” (Okinawa Story).
This page walks the faces of the island worth knowing before you cross — the hours lived with cattle, the tide pool of Nakamoto Coast, the old Iko Pier reaching into the sea, and the quiet nights. From Ishigaki Port it is about 25–30 minutes by high-speed boat.
HEART-SHAPED ISLAND / TAKETOMI TOWNMORE CATTLE THAN PEOPLE
01 / ISLAND OF CATTLE
On an island of around 220 people, the cattle number more than 3,000 — “more cattle than people”, as Okinawa Story introduces it. Pastures open on both sides of the road, and eyes meet across the fences. The pace of this island's time is, most likely, decided by the cattle. Inside the fence is a place of work — watch from outside, quietly.
Okinawa Story on Kuroshima ↗02 / NAKAMOTO COAST
Nakamoto Coast is the island's most popular beach, known for the clarity of its water (Taketomi Town Tourism Association). About 10 minutes by bicycle from the port; around low tide, the inside of the reef becomes like a natural pool (Okinawa Story). The time to swim is the two hours around low tide, and wearing a life jacket is recommended. Before your watch, check the tide table.
The tourism association on Nakamoto Coast ↗03 / IKO PIER
On the island's north, the Iko Pier runs straight into the shallow sea. This old pier of about 354 meters, where boats from Ishigaki once called, was registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property in 2005 (Taketomi Town Tourism Association). No boats arrive now. What arrives instead is the time of those who walk it. Going to the end and simply turning back — on this island, that alone is a feast.
The tourism association on the Iko Pier ↗04 / QUIET NIGHTS
When the sun goes down, the island lets go of its sounds one by one. What remains is the waves, the wind, and the presence of cattle. What opens overhead belongs to that night alone — so this page makes no promises. Only, pack some time for looking up. For the hours after dusk, see “The island at night”.
The island at night — from dusk onward →BEFORE YOU GO
About 25–30 minutes by high-speed boat from Ishigaki Port — the nearer the island, the more the tide takes the leading role. A Kuroshima day is built with two clocks: the boat times and the hour of low tide.
High-speed boats connect Ishigaki Port and Kuroshima in about 25–30 minutes (Taketomi Town Tourism Association; Okinawa Story). Even on a short route, times and sailings are decided by the day's sea. Both ways, check the day's official service status.
Connections and the night before, on Ishigaki — the gateway → The tourism association on Kuroshima ↗Nakamoto Coast is about 10 minutes by bicycle from the port (Okinawa Story). The roads between the pastures are also the roads of island life. Keep your speed and voice low, and do not startle the cattle.
Okinawa Story on Kuroshima ↗The swimming hours at Nakamoto Coast are the two hours around low tide, and wearing a life jacket is recommended (Taketomi Town Tourism Association). On a day you swim, look up the hour of low tide first, and build the day around it.
The tourism association on Nakamoto Coast ↗ISLAND TIME
Ride the pasture roads by bicycle, swim the reef pool at low tide, walk the Iko Pier to its end. At the Kuroshima Research Institute you can learn about the lives of sea turtles (Okinawa Story). To choose when, “The island calendar”; how to cross, “Yaeyama ferry routes” — a day on the island of cattle grows richer the less you hurry.
The island calendar — choose by season → Yaeyama ferry routes — how to cross Find another journey on UMI YAIMA COMPASSSTAY
Here are island inns we confirmed via official information on 2026-07-19, introduced as an unofficial concept. Rates and availability change, so for booking and details always confirm through the official site or by phone.
Confirmed on the official site (2026-07-19). A small inn with seven rooms. Rates vary, so for details and booking use the official site or phone/email.
Minshuku Nakatasou official site ↗Confirmed on the official page and Okinawa Story (2026-07-19). About a 5-minute walk to Nakamoto Coast. Rates vary and the number of rooms is not published, so for details and booking use the official page or phone.
The Okinawa Story listing ↗The Taketomi Town Tourism Association's “Stay” list also introduces the island's inns. Confirm the latest status with each inn officially.
The tourism association's “Stay” list ↗STAY ON KUROSHIMA
Two unofficial concepts sketch what it is to stay on Kuroshima: “Sleep at the end of the pasture lanes”, inspired by Minshuku Nakatasou, and “By the Inoh, living with the tide”, inspired by Minshuku Kuroshima.
See the stay concept → Another stay proposal — By the Inoh, living with the tide Find other journeys on UMI YAIMA COMPASSThis page is an unofficial, independent work. That the island's heart-like shape gives it the name “Heart Island” rests on Taketomi Town's island introduction and Okinawa Story; the roughly 220 residents against more than 3,000 cattle, the Kuroshima Research Institute and part of the Nakamoto Coast description on Okinawa Story; the high-speed boat time from Ishigaki (about 25–30 minutes) on the Taketomi Town Tourism Association and Okinawa Story; the swimming hours at Nakamoto Coast (two hours around low tide) with the life-jacket recommendation, and the Iko Pier (about 354 m; national Tangible Cultural Property, 2005) on the Taketomi Town Tourism Association (all confirmed on 2026-07-19 via search-result titles and summaries, at summary level). For the inns, Nakatasou was confirmed on its official site and Minshuku Kuroshima on its official page and Okinawa Story, on 2026-07-19. Rates vary, however, and the number of rooms at Minshuku Kuroshima is not published, so confirm the latest details and booking via each official site or by phone. Scenery descriptions and passages on how to spend the day are editorial. Always confirm sailings, sea conditions, tide times and inn status officially at the time of travel.