Head to Kaiji Beach, a small beach located on the northern tip of the island. With its name translating as "Star Sand Beach," the stretch of coastline has become known for its many tiny, star-shaped forms, which look like sand. In fact, those forms are the exoskeletons of one-celled organisms called Baclogypsina sphaerulata, a kind of coral that lives in sea grass. Washed up in large numbers onto the beach, the strikingly shaped forms have long been the subject of myths among the local populace, who believe the star shells to be the tiny children of the Southern Cross and the North Star, slain by a serpent offshore. Use our Taketomi-jima trip planner to add Kaiji Beach and other attractions to your Taketomi-jima vacation plans.
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Kaiji Beach reviews
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This is the famous beach with the star-shaped sand. They are really tiny and it takes good eyesight and fine motor dexterity of the fingers to pick up. But there are plenty of them. Fun to try to...
This is the famous beach with the star-shaped sand. They are really tiny and it takes good eyesight and fine motor dexterity of the fingers to pick up. But there are plenty of them. Fun to try to... more »
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This is an ok beach. Not too crowded. But you can’t really swim here. It’s known for star-shaped sand. I didn’t find any but I didn’t look very hard. There are several swing sets around and a vendor..... more
This is an ok beach. Not too crowded. But you can’t really swim here. It’s known for star-shaped sand. I didn’t find any but I didn’t look very hard. There are several swing sets around and a vendor..... more »
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This beach is famous for star shaped sand. Hordes of tourists spent time digging hard for souvenirs in the sand. Wonder how long they can allow tourists to keep doing this without hurting the ecology.
This beach is famous for star shaped sand. Hordes of tourists spent time digging hard for souvenirs in the sand. Wonder how long they can allow tourists to keep doing this without hurting the ecology. more »
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Amazing place to just relax and walk around. It’s famous for its star shaped sand. Def should visit!
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I have never visited such a beautiful beach before. I was even able to find star sand.
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Star shaped sand is cool. Also during low tide (around noon) many sand bars show up and you can walk far into the ocean. Just be aware that it is very rocky so not good for swimming.
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Very nice beach. It's not possible to swim here but it is a great place to hang out on the beach and enjoy the starshaped sand and the small crabs etc that are crawling around. It's only a short walk away from kondoi beach. The beach was not crowded at all and was very well preserved.
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Don't forget to bring a magnifying glass with you Stars sand (Foraminifera) are so tiny and hard to find without. You can also buy a small bottle of Stars sand at the shop on the beach (300Yen) but know is more cheaper in many Souvenir Shops (100Yen) in Ishigaki Town, as Ishigakiko Rito Terminal, Ishigaki City Public Market etc... We bought just a ferry ticket (Round Trip 1330Yen) have a Bus Shuttle (Round Trip 300Yen) from Taketomi Port to Kaiji Beach
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