Japan
Miyako Island
Coral limestone bridges spanning to tiny islands across water so blue it hurts to look.
The sand squeaks. Yonaha Maehama Beach stretches seven kilometres along Miyako Island's western coast, the sand so fine and white that it produces an audible squeak underfoot. Miyako sits in the Okinawan archipelago, connected to neighbouring islands by bridges that span reef-flat turquoise so vivid it looks digitally enhanced. It is not.
Miyako Island is unique among the Okinawan islands for its complete absence of habu snakes — the venomous pit vipers found across the rest of the archipelago — making it the only major island in the chain where walking barefoot carries no herpetological risk. The Irabu Bridge, at 3,540 metres, is the longest free bridge in Japan, connecting Miyako to Irabu Island over a reef flat that changes colour with the tide. SUP and kayak routes cross the shallow reef flats to uninhabited islets, and the island's relatively flat terrain makes cycling a practical way to explore. Miyako's annual triathlon, one of Japan's oldest, draws international competitors to its coastal course.
Couple
Seven kilometres of empty beach, bridge drives over turquoise reef flats, and the absence of resort mega-developments — Miyako is tropical Japan for couples who prefer space.
Friends
SUP trips to uninhabited islands, beach barbecues, and the bridge drives between islands give groups a varied itinerary with minimal planning.
- Yonaha Maehama Beach stretches seven kilometres of white sand so fine it squeaks underfoot.
- Three bridges connect Miyako to neighbouring islands — the longest spans 3.5 kilometres over reef-flat turquoise.
- No poisonous habu snakes exist here, unlike the rest of Okinawa — the entire island is safe to walk barefoot.
- SUP and kayak routes cross the reef flats to uninhabited islets with nobody but sea turtles.
Miyako soba with pork and kamaboko fish cake, lighter than Okinawan soba.
Mango from Miyako's greenhouses — dripping, tropical, eaten over the kitchen sink.
Niagara Falls
United States
Six million cubic feet of water per minute plunging into mist you feel a mile away.
Santa Maria
Portugal
The Azores' oldest island hides a red clay desert and golden beaches the other islands lack.
Santa Maria
Cape Verde
Trade winds blast a long golden beach where kitesurfers trace arcs above turquoise Atlantic rollers.
Jericoacoara
Brazil
Windswept dunes where the sun melts into the sea from a natural stone arch.
Nikko
Japan
Gold-encrusted shrines hidden in cryptomeria forests where a sleeping cat guards the gate.
Narai-juku
Japan
A kilometre-long wooden post town where the street narrows until the Edo sky disappears.
Yakushima
Japan
Ancient cedar forest wrapped in mist where roots swallow granite boulders whole.
Naoshima
Japan
A fishing island where pumpkins glow yellow and museums burrow underground.