This article covers every beach and stretch of shore in Uruma City.
Uruma City sits in the central part of Okinawa’s main island, and has plenty of beaches on its eastern, Pacific side.
On Okinawa’s main island the best-known beaches tend to be on the western, East China Sea side around Onna Village, but Uruma City has a great many too, and the small islands of Ikei, Miyagi and Hamahiga in particular are full of lovely beaches with plenty of nature about them.
*Ikei, Miyagi and Hamahiga are islands, but bridges connect them to the mainland, so you can drive there
Here are 20 beaches and shorelines in Uruma City.
- Ikei Beach
- Hamahiga Beach
- Uken Beach
- Odomari Beach
- Muruku Beach
- Kaichu-doro Beach
- Tonnaha Beach
- Tomai Beach
- Uku-no-hama
- Akuna-hama
- Shirumichu Beach
- Janedo Beach
- White Beach
- Ishikawa Beach
- Gushikawa Beach
- Itsukuma-no-hama
- Kaneku Beach
- Hamasaki Beach? A nameless beach on Miyagi Island
- Katsuren Haebaru Coast
- Katsuren Henna Coast
- What’s nearby
- In summary
Ikei Beach
Ikei Beach is a beach on Ikei Island, a small island in Uruma City in the central part of Okinawa’s main island.
It is an island, but a bridge connects it to the mainland, so you can simply drive there.
Ikei Beach is a lovely beach known for clear water and white sand.
There is a good range of marine activities on offer too, from jet skis to island tours around Ikei and snorkeling.
Note that there is an admission charge, so do check before you go.
Adults: 400 yen Children: 300 yen
| Access | About 80 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | 405 Yonashiro Ikei, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | Yes |
| Parking | Yes (paid, included in admission) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Hamahiga Beach
Hamahiga Beach is a beach on the small island of Hamahiga.
It is man-made, but it is known for blue water and lovely sand, with people swimming and having BBQs.
It is never especially busy, so it suits anyone who wants a slow afternoon by the sea.
| Access | About 75 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | 80-4 Katsuren Hama, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | Yes |
| Parking | Yes (free) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Uken Beach
Uken Beach is a well-kept man-made beach much loved by locals.
There are BBQ facilities on site, and plenty of residents come every year to swim and cook out.
It is well equipped for swimming, with showers, changing rooms and restrooms, plus a good range of activities.
It has a jellyfish net and lifeguards on duty, so everyone from adults to children can relax here.
| Access | About 70 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Uken, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | Yes |
| Parking | Yes (paid: 500 yen) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Odomari Beach
Odomari Beach is a natural beach known for roughly 400 metres of sand and beautifully clear water.
It is well equipped, with restrooms, changing rooms and more.
Taster dives, snorkeling and BBQs are all available, so there is plenty to do beyond a swim.
| Access | About 80 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | 1012 Yonashiro Ikei, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | Yes |
| Parking | Yes (paid, included in admission) Adults: 500 yen Children: 300 yen |
| Restroom | Yes |
Muruku Beach
Muruku Beach is known for beautifully clear water and white sand.
Large slabs of Ryukyu limestone lie across the sand and shallows, which gives the place a distinctly Okinawan feel.
There is a good range of marine activities, from snorkeling to jet skis.
Muruku Beach is never especially busy, so it works whether you want to get out on the water or simply sit on the sand.
| Access | About 75 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | 202 Katsuren Higa, Uruma City |
| Activities | Yes |
| Parking | Yes (paid: 500 yen) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Kaichu-doro Beach
At Kaichu-doro Beach, a road called the Kaichu-doro runs along a 4.7 km causeway, with open water on either side.
It is called a beach, but the sand is narrow and what really opens up in front of you is a vast shallow flat.
It is well equipped, with restrooms, changing rooms and parking all provided.
Marine sports such as wakeboarding and BBQs are available too, so it draws plenty of locals and families with children.
| Access | About 80 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | 405 Yonashiro Ikei, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | Yes |
| Parking | Yes (paid, included in admission) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Tonnaha Beach
Tonnaha Beach has beautifully clear water and lovely white sand.
There is a good range of marine activities such as snorkeling and banana boat rides, plus a shop, BBQ equipment hire and swim gear rental, so the beach is well equipped.
Plenty of greenery surrounds it too, which gives the place a distinctly Okinawan feel.
| Access | About 65 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | 8203 Yonashiro Uehara, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | Yes |
| Admission | Adults (15 and over): 500 yen Children (elementary school age and up): 300 yen |
| Parking | Yes (paid) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Tomai Beach
Tomai Beach is a beach on Tsuken Island, a small island in Uruma City.
It is the only properly laid-out white sand beach on Tsuken Island, and the spot where visitors to the island tend to gather.
You can enjoy marine activities such as snorkeling and SUP, and during the summer swimming season a jellyfish net goes up and lifeguards are on duty.
It is about 30 minutes by ferry from Heshikiya Port, then roughly 15 minutes on foot from Tsuken Port.
| Access | About 30 minutes by ferry from Heshikiya Port (about 60 minutes by car from Naha Airport to Heshikiya Port) |
| Address | Katsuren Tsuken, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | Yes |
| Parking | Yes (free) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Uku-no-hama
Uku-no-hama is a natural beach where you can enjoy Okinawa at its wildest.
Lovely sand and beautifully clear water are the draw, and the surroundings remain untouched.
Nothing around the beach has been developed. You can drive in along a farm track, but the drive itself is hard going.
You may run into a handful of other visitors, but for the most part it is an empty, beautiful beach.
| Access | About 80 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Yonashiro Miyagi, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | None (there is an unpaved open area) |
| Restroom | None |
Akuna-hama
Akuna-hama is an untouched natural beach where Okinawa’s wilder side really comes through.
It has become well known lately as a filming location for the NHK drama Chimudondon.
A beach this undeveloped is rare even in Okinawa, and it sits somewhere that takes a bit of effort to reach by car.
You may run into a handful of other visitors, but for the most part it is an empty, beautiful beach.
| Access | About 80 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Yonashiro Miyagi, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | None (there is an unpaved open area) |
| Restroom | None |
Shirumichu Beach
Shirumichu Beach is a natural beach known for beautifully clear water and white sand.
Kuba Island sits just offshore, close enough to walk across to at low tide.
Hamahiga Island is also known in Okinawa as an island where the gods live, and legend has it that the two deities Amamichu (male) and Shirumichu (female), along with others, are enshrined here.
| Access | About 75 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Katsuren Higa, Uruma City |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | Yes (free) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Janedo Beach
Janedo Beach is a stretch of shore on Yabuchi Island, an uninhabited island in Uruma City.
The Yabuchi Ohashi Bridge connects it to the mainland, so you can drive across even though nobody lives there.
It opens up right in front of the Yabuchi Cave Site (Janedo), where some of the oldest pottery in the prefecture was found, and all there is here is sand, rocks and quiet water.
With no shop and no restroom, it really is a hidden gem in the truest sense.
| Access | About 75 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Yonashiro Yakena Higashi-Yabuchi, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | None |
| Restroom | None |
White Beach
White Beach is an entirely natural shore in Katsuren Heshikiya, Uruma City.
It lies on the southern side of the Katsuren Peninsula, facing Nakagusuku Bay, and is not a managed swimming beach.
With no signboard and no car park, it is a genuine hidden gem, and even in summer the crowds never arrive.
Tsuken Island sits out on the water, which makes this a fine place to look at the sea in peace.
| Access | About 60 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Katsuren Heshikiya, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | None |
| Restroom | None |
Ishikawa Beach
Ishikawa Beach lies inside Ishikawa Park and serves as a place for local residents to relax.
A clean stretch of sand runs for about 300 metres, with gazebos and other rest areas on hand.
It is a good choice if you want to take it slow by the shore.
| Access | About 60 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | 11 Ishikawa Ishizaki, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | None |
| Restroom | Yes |
Gushikawa Beach
Hardly any tourists come to Gushikawa Beach; it is a local beach where residents turn up for a walk.
As Okinawan beaches go it is not the prettiest, but it suits anyone who wants to sit on a bench and let the afternoon pass.
There is no rule against swimming, but there are no facilities either, so do take real care if you go into the water.
| Access | About 70 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Gushikawa, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | Yes (free) |
| Restroom | Yes |
Itsukuma-no-hama
Itsukuma-no-hama is a small beach with hardly any tourists.
The water is wonderfully clear and very beautiful.
It is a local spot where residents come to swim and fish.
| Access | About 80 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Yonashiro Ikei, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | Yes (free) |
| Restroom | None |
Kaneku Beach
Kaneku Beach sits between Muruku Beach and Shirumichu Beach.
It is a natural beach known for beautifully clear water and white sand, where you can take in Okinawa at its wildest, almost entirely untouched.
A few people were swimming when we visited, but there are no swimming facilities, so please take real care of your own safety in the water.
| Access | About 75 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Katsuren Higa, Uruma City |
| Marine activities | None |
| Parking | None |
| Restroom | None |
Hamasaki Beach? A nameless beach on Miyagi Island
We call it Hamasaki Beach, though there is no sign at the beach itself. Google Maps lists it as “Hamasaki Beach”, so that is the name we have gone with.
Hamasaki Beach is completely natural, with no paved paths.
When we visited, a few foreign visitors were down on the sand.
| Access | 70 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Yonashiro Uehara, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | None |
| Restroom | None |
Katsuren Haebaru Coast
Katsuren Haebaru Coast is a stretch of natural shoreline in Katsuren Haebaru, Uruma City.
It is only a short drive from the World Heritage Katsuren Castle Ruins, yet because it is not a managed swimming beach you will hardly see a tourist here.
There is no shop and no shower, just the sea, the sand and the rocks.
It is ideal if you fancy looking out over an empty stretch of sea while you are up at Katsuren Castle anyway.
| Access | About 60 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Katsuren Haebaru, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | None |
| Restroom | None |
Katsuren Henna Coast
Katsuren Henna Coast is a stretch of natural shoreline in Katsuren Henna, Uruma City.
It sits roughly halfway along the Katsuren Peninsula, right beside a village, and has never been laid out as a tourist destination.
As a result very few people come, and the mood is calm, with locals fishing at their leisure or out for a walk.
The wider area has plenty to see as well, including the Katsuren Castle Ruins, the Kaichu-doro sea road and Heshikiya Port, where the ferry to Tsuken Island departs.
| Access | About 60 minutes by car from Naha Airport |
| Address | Katsuren Henna, Uruma City, Okinawa |
| Activities | None |
| Parking | None |
| Restroom | None |
What’s nearby
Activities in Uruma City
Uruma City offers all kinds of marine activities.
You can book diving, snorkeling, SUP and more.
If you would like to enjoy diving or snorkeling, why not see what is available on Viator or GetYourGuide?
Ikei Island Onsen AJ Resort Island Ikei
Ikei Island Onsen AJ Resort Island Ikei is a resort hotel on Ikei Island, one of Okinawa’s smaller islands.
Every room has an ocean view, and there is an outdoor pool and hot spring on site.
A rental car is the way to go in Okinawa
A rental car is by far the best way to get around the main island of Okinawa.
Shuri Castle in Naha, the beautiful beaches up north, American Village in Chatan and the rest are scattered all over the island, so having a car lets you explore at your own pace. Buses are infrequent and rarely run to time, so whether or not you have a car makes a real difference to the trip.
Popular seasons book up quickly, so reserve early once your dates are set.
The beaches of Hamahiga Island
Four of the best beaches on Hamahiga Island brings together Muruku Beach, Hamahiga Beach and the rest of the island’s shoreline.
Hamahiga Island is known as an “island of the gods”, with sacred places such as the Shirumichu shrine and the tomb of Amamichu.
It is a small island just across the Kaichu-doro sea road, so do have a look.
The beaches of Ikei Island
Four of the best beaches on Ikei Island brings together Ikei Beach, Odomari Beach and the rest of the island’s shoreline.
The island has everything from resort beaches where visitors gather to small, quiet hidden gems.
Some of them are good for snorkeling and BBQs too, so do have a look.
What to see on Tsuken Island
What to see on Tsuken Island covers the sights you can take in on a day trip.
Beyond Tomai Beach there is plenty that is particular to the island, from Hotogaa to the Carrot Observatory.
It is about 30 minutes by ferry from Heshikiya Port, so do have a look.
In summary
This article introduced the beaches of Uruma City.
Uruma City has everything from resort beaches where visitors gather to popular snorkeling spots and quiet hidden gems.
Each beach has its own character, and they are all lovely in their own way.
If you are heading to Uruma City, do make time for the beaches.
We hope this article has been of some use.
Thank you for reading to the end.
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