Kabira Bay

The lookout in Kabira Park gives the classic view, with the islets in the middle of the bay and the floats of the black pearl farm off to the right. The glass-bottom boats pull up on the white sand to the left. The city's tourism site explains the colour as coral sand on the bottom throwing back the light, and it recommends the hours around midday when the sun sits overhead. A path runs through the park under the trees, past the 17th-century Kabira Kannon-do temple on its stone steps.

The water drops off fast and the current runs strong, so Ishigaki City bans swimming in the bay and bans SUP and kayaks from the park; walking the waterline is fine. The glass-bottom boats leave every 15 to 20 minutes from the beach, and tickets are sold at the Kabira community building next to the car park. In winter the bay opens north into the cold-season wind, so expect a ruffled surface on grey days.