Join glass boat tour in Miibaru Beach, Okinawa

Glass boat tour at Miibaru Beach (Photo by Shoji Kudaka)

On Nanjo City’s southern coast, Miibaru Beach was a regular swimming spot for me as a kid. Today, it is a major draw for tourists seeking a natural beach minus the resort vibes. Its sandy shore runs a kilometer long, including the neighboring Hyakuna Beach.

A refreshing swim is, of course, a great way for some fun, But a glass boat tour offers a change of pace. I tried this tour for the first time in decades, which brought me back to my childhood memories.

After departing from the pier, it took only several minutes for a large school of fish to appear below the boat’s glass bottom.

I spotted what I thought were familiar faces like the spangled emperor and yellow-brown wrasse, but those fish came by one after another to the point where it was difficult to tell one from the other.

At one point, the boat came to a stop, letting us observe a spot populated by many fish.

Then I noticed a sea turtle resting at the bottom of the sea. It did not show signs of movement, so it seemed to be snoozing and reminded me of when I snorkeled around the Kerama Islands.

The boat tour ran just 20 minutes, but it let me enjoy memorable scenes without getting wet.

Once I was back on the shore, I felt thirsty under the strong sunshine so I grabbed a refreshment at the eatery by the boat ticket counter.

To cool off, I had an ichigo kakigoori premium (premium strawberry shaved ice) for 950 yen.

It felt a lot more like sherbet or gelato thanks to its extremely fluffy texture. And it came in a large size. I took my time digging into the sweet, icy mountain as I enjoyed the beautiful view of summer before me, thinking back to the time I spent eating shaved ice at the same location when I was a kid.