CONTRIBUTED BY RYAN P. BURGER
Looking for a beach that isn’t Toguchi or White Beach? How about someplace a little less crowded and a little more scenic? If you don’t mind a gorgeous drive to Hamahiga Island, then Muruku Beach is for you!
This beautiful spot is hidden on the east side of Hamahiga-jima, down a dirt path sandwiched between the ocean and a cliff face. At the end of this mysterious road you’ll find a small clearing that has been fashioned into a grass parking lot. The fee is an affordable 500 yen, payable at a small surf shop in the clearing. Stairs in front of the lot will take you down to the beach and to a small slice of paradise.
The beach is littered with shells, bits of coral, massive fallen boulders from the cliffs above, and a fair share of mushroom-shaped rocks carved by the sea. The beach is fairly long and wide, giving you plenty of room to stretch out and explore. I highly recommend taking a blanket and picnic with you as you’ll probably be hungry by the time you reach it.
My wife and daughter (toddler) loved sticking their toes in the water, and checking out all of the debris from the sea scattered about the beach. I would highly recommend visiting this beach at low-tide as this beach is fairly shallow. I use Tides4Fishing to check low/high times before planning a visit to any beach. Based on the debris line marking high-tide, almost half of this beach disappears twice a day. This leads to a lot of “stuff” being deposited by the tide from the mundane shell/coral to the WWII brass US Army coat button my wife found.
The drive out can be a bit long depending on traffic and your origin point. If you know your way out to the Henzajima causeway, you’ll be able to find Muruku Beach without any trouble.
Payment: 500 yen cash for parking, collected by attendant
Directions from Kadena Gate 2:
- Head straight out Gate 2 and continue down Route 20 (pass over 330/Koza Music Center)
- Dead-end into Route 85, hang a left
- Dead-end into Route 37 (at the Kinbu Bay seawall), hang a right
- Follow Route 37 and hang a left on to Route 10. This will take you across the iconic red Henza-jima bridge
- Hang a right on to Route 238 towards Hamahiga-jima, you’ll cross over another long bridge
- 238 dead-ends as soon as you cross the bridge, hang a left and follow the seawall around the east side of the island
- You’ll end up at the entrance to Hamahiga Resort (up a steep hill), DO NOT go right towards the resort, go LEFT towards the ocean. There will be a small sign with red lettering stating “Muruku Beach”
- The road will get a little rough (unpaved) and narrow, our small Honda Spike Mobilio with a low ground effects kit made it with no issues
- There will be a small clearing at the end of the road – pay your parking fee and enjoy!
For those of us blessed with phones smarter than we are, I have an alternative mapping solution for you…GPS coordinates! The following coordinates are to the entrance of the dirt road that will take you back to Muruku Beach: 26.321797, 127.966883
I’ve tested them out on my device on both Apple Maps and Google Maps.
Coordinates for Muruku Beach itself (GPS navigation does not “see” the dirt road as a valid option): 26.319662,127.965848
There’s a great (free) beach on the other side of the island. When coming off the bridge, turn right. Follow the road past the fishing boats and housing area. Continue down the road until you reach the end. There will be a public restroom and parking on your left. You can also park along the road next to the trees/bushes bordering the beach. There are no lifeguards. Busy times are weekends, and it appears the late afternoon during the summer work week. Many locals cookout here, sometimes Japanese tourists have their wedding photos taken here, and an occasional local dog may come sit with you during your visit. Cool place.
Looking forward to checking this place out! Did you go in the water? Any issues with sealife/etc? I doubt it’s netted since it’s so secluded but just wanting to make sure it’s safe for my son (4 yrs old) and I!
We have been 3 times with our kids and never had any problems with sea life. The water is great for them because it is pretty shallow. The beach hasn’t been busy any of the times we were there either.
How long would you say the drive is from Kadena?
At least 30 minutes.
30 min with no traffic.
Realistically closer to 50 min.
I just wanted to thank you for this post. This is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, and I never would have found it without your info. I am excited to spend many days here.
Thanks Margaret! I had a blast there and I hope you do too!
We found this one a few years ago, have only been the one time but it was beautiful. We found so many great shells and it was perfect.
We loved the beach and awesome drive there
Thanks for the article! I’ve been looking for a beach just like this! THANK YOU!
No prob! I scout out beaches all the time and couldn’t keep this one to myself!
Are there nets in the water? Or is it just open water?
We went there today on accident and it was gorgeous. There was no parking attendant to collect money, the shop was closed (it was a Wednesday). We left KAB through gate 3 and took 329 (right at the split) to 8 and then just followed the signs to the island. It was incredibly easy and traffic was light.
Thank you for this post! We went today and had a blast! We had the whole beach to ourselves, it was our own little piece of paradise!
Pinning it now to my phone!!!
Lovely photos! Great beach.