Kabira Bay

photo by Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0

photo by RitikaPahwa4444 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The world's first cultured black pearls were born here: there is no swimming in the bay; it is forbidden.

Nine islets dot the mouth of the bay, and the water is so clear that you can see the coral without going under. The way to see it is the glass-bottom boat (thirty minutes, departures every quarter of an hour from 9:00 to 17:00), because beneath the calm surface the tide creates currents too strong to swim in safely. The rafts of the pearl oyster farms that have been producing the world's first cultured black pearls here since 1963 still float on the water today.

A bay on the north-west coast of Ishigaki Island, in the Yaeyama Islands. Pearl farming here dates back to the Taisho period (1912–1926); the local company Ryukyu Shinju, which still has a shop on site, presents itself as the first in the world to have successfully cultured black pearls (黒蝶真珠). The coral seabed and the clarity of the water make it one of the most photographed landscapes in Okinawa; some commercial sources (not the official tourism board, which does not mention it) credit it with three stars in the Michelin Green Guide.

ℹ️ The glass boats leave from the Kabira community, usually from 9:00 to 17:00 with departures every 15 minutes, for a trip of about 30 minutes: with Kabira Marine Service adults ¥2,300, children 4–11 ¥1,200, under 3s free, disability discount ¥1,700 (source: kabiramarine.jp, the operator's official page, opened). ⚠️ Other operators in the same bay (jalan.net lists at least two) charge different prices, about ¥1,300–1,700: it is not a single price for the place but the price of the operator you choose. Suspended for typhoons or rough seas. Limited free car park (10 spaces) plus a paid municipal car park nearby. Swimming prohibited in the bay itself (currents + the presence of the farms).

🚉 Kabira Park · 3 min walk

Sources: kabiramarine.jp · okinawastory.jp · ryukyu-shinju.co.jp

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