The beaches of Iki island are true paradise! Two of them are in Japan’s top one hundred beaches, and it’s not hard to see why.

Tsutsukihama is a 500m beach of white sand with a glorious turquoise sea, not tarnished in anyway. Behind the beach is a pretty pond and stretch of green parkland. Backing onto this is a large white shrine gate, so the overall effect is pretty spectacular!

I spent an afternoon reading, musing, and dancing away the time on this beach whilst Dan played golf. I was near enough alone for the entire afternoon and I very much enjoyed time on my beach! Dan’s golfing trip was also a success as he took on a rather challenging nine hole course in the centre of the island. His view wasn’t quite as pretty as mine though…

We also spent another relaxing afternoon at Twin Beach. We sat on a lovely shaded veranda overlooking the ocean and enjoying a nice cold beer. However, we didn’t realise we were actually gatecrashing a family barbeque…What we thought was a little cafe, turned out to be closed for the day for the family to enjoy sometime together! They didn’t seem to mind, rather I am certain we provided some light entertainment with our blissful ignorance!

Our final beach trip was to a deserted island. We enjoyed a Robinson Crusoe style day exploring an island with no one else on it, but the little old man that makes the boat arrive to collect you when you are ready! We climbed the mountain to a viewing spot that seemed to be on the end of the earth. The blue ocean stretched out beneath us and we celebrated our climbing success by eating strawberries on the top of the world, and then hastily running back down the mountain as all the world’s bugs joined us for our tasty treat!

We were able to explore more of the glorious coastline in an afternoon of sea kayaking. The going was tough as it’s been a long time since Dan and I worked those shoulders! However, it was peaceful and meant we could explore little coves and clear waters. We also took a breather on a small island with lots of rock pools, where we looked in on the small world of its inhabitants. Tiny crabs clipped at seaweed and sea slugs made their way slowly along the stones.

Iki island’s beaches and coastline are extremely beautiful, plentiful, and peaceful. I am certain we will be back!