Hirakubo peninsula to the northern lighthouse

North of Ibaruma, Ishigaki shrinks to a long ridge of pasture, and Prefectural Route 206 follows it up past the hamlets of Akaishi and Kubura to Hirakubo village. The city puts the drive from town to the lighthouse at about 80 minutes, so we start this ride at the Tamatorizaki lookout. By our route data the 388 m of climbing comes in rises of up to 54 m, and the road never strays far from the sea on one side or the other.

Hirakubozaki Lighthouse stands at the very end, first lit by the Ryukyu government in 1965, with reef and open ocean all round. The ride out faces the north-north-east winter wind almost head-on, and in February our route data has nearly half the ride heading into it. Turn round and it pushes you home.

Akaishi Shokudo on the way is the one lunch stop, known for its heaped vegetable soba, and Pottering Okinawa warns of a queue. It opens only three days a week, so on other days pack food from town.