Japan
Ishigaki
Mangrove kayaks at dawn, manta cleaning stations by noon, Yaeyama soba by sunset.
The reef begins where the sand ends. Ishigaki is the gateway to Japan's Yaeyama islands, a subtropical cluster closer to Taiwan than to Tokyo, where the coral begins in ankle-deep water and reef mantas return to the same cleaning stations year after year. The island runs on a different clock — closer to the tropics in temperature, pace and attitude.
Kabira Bay is Ishigaki's most photographed water: white sand, green-blue shallows, coral and islets seen from glass-bottom boats, because swimming and snorkelling are not permitted in the bay itself. Off the north coast the reef's cleaning stations are where dive boats look for mantas, and on the south-east shore the blue coral of Shiraho Reef forms the largest such colony north of the equator. The Yaeyama islands keep traditions distinct from both mainland Japan and Okinawa — their own language, sanshin music and textiles — and Ishigaki's airport takes direct flights from Tokyo and a one-hour hop from Taiwan, yet the pace stays unhurried.
Couple
Glass-bottom boats over Kabira Bay, a manta dive, and a beachside dinner of Yaeyama soba — Ishigaki is tropical Japan at its most polished.
Friends
Diving, snorkelling, island-hopping ferries and Ishigaki town's night-time izakaya give groups a week of activity without running out of options.
Family
Snorkelling over shallow reef at lifeguarded beaches, glass-bottom boat tours and an island with proper infrastructure make Ishigaki the easy tropical choice for families.
- Kabira Bay's green-blue shallows and white sand are seen from glass-bottom boats — the bay itself is closed to swimmers.
- Reef mantas use the cleaning stations off the north coast, and the dive boats know exactly where they lie.
- Shiraho Reef holds the largest community of blue coral in the northern hemisphere.
- Yaeyama soba, a turmeric-tinted noodle soup topped with stewed pork, is the island's signature comfort food.
Ishigaki beef — wagyu raised on the island's pastures — seared at a yakiniku counter, rich enough to stop conversation.
Yaeyama soba with pork ribs and a shake of kōrēgusu, the island chilli steeped in awamori.
Great Barrier Reef
Australia
Turtles thread through a coral world stretching 2,300 kilometres along Queensland.
Ras Mohammed
Egypt
The Sinai desert drops into the Red Sea here, mangroves clinging to the last ledge.
Archipiélago de las Perlas
Panama
The pearl that dazzled a Tudor queen and Elizabeth Taylor was pulled from these waters.
Marsa Alam
Egypt
Dugongs grazing on seagrass in shallows so clear you watch from the surface, desert silent behind.
Niseko
Japan
Powder so dry and deep that falling into it feels like sinking into cold silk.
Kawayu Onsen
Japan
Dig your own hot spring in the riverbed — hot water seeps up wherever you scrape.
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route
Japan
A road cut through snow walls twenty metres high, towering above the bus roof.
Tottori Sand Dunes
Japan
Wind-rippled dunes rise above the Sea of Japan, with camel rides across the sand.