Tokashiki Island

Tokashiki is the largest island in the Kerama archipelago, rising from water so clear and deeply blue that the Japanese government designated it a national park in 2014 partly to protect the colour itself — Kerama Blue is now an official designation. From January through March, humpback whales enter the sheltered channels between the islands to calve and nurse, allowing divers to descend quietly and listen to full-length whale songs resonating through the reef. Green and hawksbill turtles nest on the beaches and feed on the reef year-round, while the exposed outer walls deliver encounters with grey reef sharks and schooling pelagics driven by the Kuroshio Current.