Aka Island in the Kerama Islands, with Geruma and Fukaji

Aka Island lies roughly five kilometers south of Zamami and is connected by bridges to the neighboring islands of Geruma and Fukaji.^8,1 That one detail changes how you explore. Instead of a boat hop for each island, you can cross by road or on a bicycle, and a day on Aka can include a walk through Geruma village and a look at the beach on Fukaji without ever touching the water. That freedom is the reason many visitors spend a night here instead of rushing for the afternoon boat.

Aka is the diamond-shaped island and the smallest of the three main islands of the Keramas, with a population around 300, which is half that of Tokashiki and Zamami.^9,10 Geruma is the smallest inhabited island, with a circumference of just five kilometers and a population of roughly 60 people.¹¹ Fukaji is uninhabited, flat, with the local airport on about half of it.¹² Each island has a different character, so it pays to decide which of them you want before you step off the boat.

Together they form the southern part of Zamami village, whose three inhabited islands are Zamami, Aka and Geruma.¹³ The pace here is slower than around Zamami port, and visitors who want long beach hours, a few lookouts and a village to wander through tend to find Aka a comfortable fit. Our page on Zamami Island covers the northern neighbor and how it compares, with its own beaches, lookouts and a busier harbor to match.

Forest covers much of Aka, and the island is home to the Kerama deer, a designated Natural Treasure of Japan.⁵ The Japan Tourism Agency also lists Geruma, covered with forests of Chinese fan palm, as an officially designated sanctuary for Kerama deer, like Yakabi to the northwest.²⁶ So the deer are part of the scenery rather than an attraction you pay for, and you meet them on forest edges and quiet roads.

The animals are a distinct group. Kerama deer are a unique insular subspecies of the Japanese sika deer, and they have smaller heads and antlers than the Japanese deer on Kyushu.^29,30 Visit Okinawa adds that they have darker fur, larger eyes and a smaller stature than mainland deer.³¹ Together these notes explain why a glimpse of one is worth stopping for, particularly if you have only seen mainland deer in parks before.

Treat the deer as you would any wild animal. Keep your distance, do not feed them and keep your voice down when you spot one among the trees. Walk slowly, avoid sudden moves, never block a path and give the animal plenty of room to leave. The national park asks visitors to treat the natural environment and the animals who live in it with care and respect, and that applies on land as much as in the water.³²

Fukaji is naturally flat, so it was chosen as the site of the local airport, which takes up about half the island's land area, the rest being forest.¹² It has no residents, yet the local sea turtle population comes to Fukaji to lay eggs on its shores.⁶ There is a single viewpoint on the island, which is fun to visit by bicycle, crossing the bridges.²⁷ Pedal slowly, watch for traffic near the airport road and bring water, as the stretch between the bridges is open and exposed to the sun.

On Geruma, peaceful Azanamui Beach is a place where you may have the shoreline to yourself, and a short hike from it leads to Azanamui Observatory, with views of nearby islands on clear days.¹⁶ Mukaraku, an island just south of Fukaji, is a popular diving spot.⁴⁷ Both places are easy additions to a bike ride, and each rewards a clear day with a view across the channel to the neighboring islands.

Fukajinohama Beach on Fukaji has a quieter side too. A World Peace Memorial there marks the landing point of US forces in Okinawa during WWII and memorializes the lives lost on all sides of the battle.¹⁷ US forces made their first landing on the Kerama Islands during the Battle of Okinawa, and old battle sites and war memorials are scattered across the group.⁴⁸ It is a place for a quiet pause rather than a photo stop.