Yonaha Maehama stretches along the southwestern tip of Miyako Island for seven kilometres — one of the longest beaches in the Ryukyus, and by most measures the finest. The coral sand is fine and white, the water a luminous turquoise that deepens to sapphire in the channel between Miyako and Kurima Island. On clear days, which in Miyako is most days, you can see the Kurima Bridge from here.
The beach hosts the All-Japan Triathlon Miyakojima each April, which starts on this shore and puts it briefly on the national sports calendar. For most of the year it is quieter — beach chairs for rent, a car park, changing rooms and showers, and a handful of small restaurants at the northern end. Bathing season officially runs late March to October, though the water is swimmable well outside those dates.