Kerama Islands (Zamami)

photo by hashi photo · CC BY 3.0

photo by ja:User:Si-take. · CC BY-SA 3.0

From December to April the humpback whales come back here to give birth: the boats keep 300 metres away.

About forty kilometres west of Naha, an archipelago of smaller islands looks out over a sea with a name all its own, ‘Kerama blue’ (ケラマブルー), for the clarity that comes from clear water meeting shallow coral seabeds. From late December to April, humpback whales 13–15 metres long return every year to breed and raise their young: the whale-watching boats follow a protocol that requires a distance of at least 300 metres. When the sea is rough and the boats do not go out, you watch from land: the Inazaki platform and Mount Takatsuki on Zamami, the Teruyama platform on Tokashiki.

Kerama Islands National Park was established in 2014, separated from the larger Okinawa park: it covers the sea and some thirty islands, only some of which are inhabited (Zamami, Aka, Geruma and Tokashiki among the main ones).

ℹ️ The ferry to Zamami leaves from Tomari Port in Naha: about 50 minutes by hydrofoil or 2 hours by the slow ferry. Diving, snorkelling and whale watching are booked with local operators, with times and prices that vary by season.

🚉 Zamami Ferry Terminal · 1 min walk

Sources: env.go.jp · env.go.jp

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