Taiwan is an incredible home base if you want easy, quick, affordable access to much of the Asian Pacific. In our first two years in Taipei we flew to Okinawa (Japan), Kota Kinabalu (Malaysian Borneo) and Phuket (Thailand) each for less than $500USD per person. And this year, we added Ishigaki to that list!
Where is Ishigaki?
Ishigaki is a Japanese Island in the Yaeyama island group. This is a small cluster of islands so far south of Japan’s main islands it’s actually closer to Taiwan than even Okinawa.
How do you get there?
Unfortunately, even though Taiwan and Ishigaki are actually quite close to each other, there are no ferries currently connecting the two. There is a cruise line out of Taiwan that stops at Ishigaki, but only for a half-day excursion before continuing on to Okinawa. So if you want to base a vacation in Ishigaki or one of the other Yaeyama Islands, you have to fly there. A direct flight from Taipei to Ishigaki only takes 50 minutes! But there are only a few direct flights to choose from each week, currently offered through China Airlines. So even though Ishigaki is closer, it’s currently cheaper to fly to Naha airport in Okinawa with a low cost carrier. Although, who knows! That might change. Ishigaki is growing in popularity, so we can always hope a budget airline will pick up a Taipei to Ishigaki route.
Getting a flight from Taipei
One of the options that has worked well for us it using Expedia. Lots of Asian airlines have versions of their online booking sites in English. But we have found excellent package deals with hotels through Expedia. Normally, when we are traveling internationally, we travel from area to area. Being based in Taipei has opened up another style of travel for us. Going someplace for a week, and basing ourselves out of a hotel that we got for a screaming deal through Expedia. Ishigaki was a perfect example of this. We found a great hotel that was the perfect center for our adventures. And the price meant that we were able to afford some extra diving.
Why go to Ishigaki?
Of course, the fact that there aren’t a ton of flights to Ishigaki is part of what makes going there intriguing. It’s less well-known than Okinawa and a little more off the beaten path. But like Okinawa, it boasts stunning beaches, incredible snorkeling, world class diving. Not to mention waterfalls, mangroves and charming Ryukyuan red-tile roof villages, complete with shisa-guarded stone walls.
I was first drawn to Ishigaki for the snorkeling. While I love diving, I also love finding cheap or free ways to enjoy nature. Last year in March my parents visited and we went to another Japanese Island, Zamami, to do whale watching. It was great, and we also ended up snorkeling right off the beaches there. It was such a fantastic experience that I’ve been itching to do more ever sense. Researching online, Ishigaki came up again and again as a fantastic spot for off shore snorkeling. But then I read that you can dive with manta’s in Ishigaki! I have wanted to see a wild manta in the water for years. It turns out Ishigaki is one of the few places in the world where you’re almost guaranteed to see them if you go in the right season. (Although, we didn’t end up going during right season, but we STILL saw them!) So yeah, if exotic ocean animals in exceptionally clear and warm water with next to no current sounds exciting to you – you might want to check out Ishigaki and it’s surrounding islands. We’d go back in a heartbeat!