YOU’VE heard of the pink beach in Crete and the bioluminescent bays of Puerto Rico, but have you ever heard of the beach where stones look like stars?
On one tiny island, one popular activity is collecting the beautiful souvenir – although they’re not easy to spot.
Off the coast of Taketomi Island in Japan is Kaiji Beach, also called “Hoshizuna-hama” which translates to star sand beach.
Along with regular sand on its shore are tiny star-shaped fragments.
They might look like magical trinkets, but actually they are exoskeletons of microscopic marine organisms called Foraminifera.
As microscopic suggests, these stars are incredibly hard to find with many visitors saying “they’re really tiny”.
But that doesn’t stop visitors from trying to find them – but there’s still a chance to see them as nearby stalls allows beachgoers to see them with a magnifying glass.
The beach itself is very pretty with white sands and bright blue waters.
On Tripadvisor one visitor called it a “beautiful beach with great views of Iriomote and Kohama islands.”
Another called it one of the “best Instagram spots in Okinawa“.
The only downside to the beach is that swimming is not allowed because of the strong currents.
If you do fancy a dip, head to nearby Konoi Beach on the western side of the island which has a huge beachfront and soft white sand.
The island itself is off the southwestern coast of mainland Japan and is actually closer to Taiwan.
Other spots to explore is its preserved Ryukyu village with lots of hibiscus and colourful bougainvillea flowers.
It’s essentially a small, open-air museum where visitors can look inside old Japanese houses with lots of traditional souvenirs and even eisa performances.
For anyone wanting to stay on the island, most accommodations are guesthouses or family-run B&Bs called minshuku.
There are regular high-speed boat rides to Taketomi Island from nearby Ishigaki which take just 10-minutes.
That’s the best way to visit as Ishigaki is linked to Tokyo by plane which takes under three hours.