Glass-Bottom Boat & Textile Factory

Behold Ishigaki’s brilliant marine life on a glass-bottom boat and then learn how cotton textiles are woven and dyed for traditional items such as kimono sashes.

Enjoy a scenic drive around ladle-shaped Ishigaki Island, a natural paradise of secluded coves, beautiful beaches and subtropical vistas rarely associated with Japan. The attitude throughout is exceptionally laid-back and friendly, especially in the countryside on the way to Kabira Bay, home to the island’s finest beach.

Your guide will brief you on what you can expect to see during an approximately 30 minute glass bottom boat ride. Board your glass-bottom boat on the beach and begin cruising through the bay. Your boat driver will find the best possible spot in the bay to see brilliantly colored fish, giant clams and coral reefs in the turquoise waters where black pearls are cultivated primarily for export. Of all the destinations on Ishigaki, Kabira Bay is among the most photographed and with good reason.

Following your cruise, you will enjoy a traditional Japanese lunch at a local restaurant. Next, you will discover how traditional cotton sashes are woven at the Mineya Minsa textile factory. For hundreds of years, brides-to-be have created patterns on sashes to express their love for their future husbands, and the factory is known for re-creating the most time-honored ones. During the tour, you'll have the opportunity to create your own patterned handkerchief using dyes from the island's indigenous plants. The pattern is up to you.