Ishigaki (ISG): get to the ferry terminal, because that is where you are going
Most people landing here are heading to Taketomi, Iriomote or Yonaguni. The direct bus to the remote island ferry terminal is 30 minutes and about a tenth of the taxi fare.
- The bus you want is the direct service to the bus terminal via the ferry terminal. Azuma Bus route 14 and Karry Kanko route 55 both do it.
- About 30 minutes to the Ishigaki remote island ferry terminal, for roughly 500 to 550 yen.
- A taxi to the ferry terminal is about 3,500 yen and 25 minutes by the airport's own estimate. The bus is a seventh of that.
- Azuma Bus also runs routes 2, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 covering the west loop, the airport line via Hirae, Ohama and Shiraho, the Hirano line, the hotel line and Yonehara campground.
- Route 10 is the hotel line, calling at the ART Hotel and the ANA InterContinental.
- Airport taxi estimates: 2,900 yen and 20 minutes to the ANA InterContinental, 5,600 and 40 minutes to Kabira Park, 7,100 and 45 minutes to Hirakubo.
- Azuma Bus is on 0980-87-5423, Karry Kanko on 0980-88-0117.
- This is the Yaeyama gateway. Taketomi, Iriomote, Kohama and Hateruma are all ferries from that terminal.
- The ferries stop early. Check the last sailing against your arrival before assuming you can island-hop the same day.
- Kabira Bay is the famous view and it is 40 minutes and 5,600 yen away by taxi, so build it into a day rather than a stopover.
The one bus that matters
- Most people who land at Ishigaki are not staying in Ishigaki town. They are going on to Taketomi, Iriomote, Kohama, Hateruma or Yonaguni, and all of those are ferries from the Ishigaki remote island terminal.
- Two operators run a direct bus to the bus terminal via the ferry terminal: Azuma Bus route 14 and Karry Kanko route 55.
- About 30 minutes, roughly 500 to 550 yen.
- A taxi to the same place is about 3,500 yen on the airport's own estimate, and 25 minutes. Unless you are four people with luggage, take the bus.
The rest of the network
- Azuma Bus route 2 is the westward loop line.
- Route 4 is the airport line via Hirae, Ohama and Shiraho, along the south coast.
- Routes 5 and 6 run the Hirano line up the island.
- Route 10 is the hotel line, calling at the ART Hotel and the ANA InterContinental.
- Route 11 goes to Yonehara campground on the north coast.
- Azuma Bus 0980-87-5423, Karry Kanko 0980-88-0117.
Taxi estimates from the airport
| Destination | Time | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| Ishigaki Port ferry terminal | 25 min | 3,500 JPY |
| ANA InterContinental | 20 min | 2,900 JPY |
| Kabira Park | 40 min | 5,600 JPY |
| Hirakubo | 45 min | 7,100 JPY |
- These are the airport's own estimates and it says so: they vary with route and traffic.
Timing the ferries
- The ferries to the outer islands stop in the early evening. A late arrival at Ishigaki means a night on Ishigaki, which is not a hardship but is a hotel booking you need to have made.
- Check the last sailing for your island against your flight arrival, plus 30 minutes for the bus, before you assume you can go straight on.
The island itself
- Kabira Bay is the picture everyone has seen, 40 minutes from the airport, with glass-bottomed boats and no swimming because of the pearl farms.
- Ishigaki is the largest of the Yaeyamas and the practical base, with the restaurants and the supermarkets that the smaller islands do not have.
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