For snorkelers, there's perhaps nothing better than hanging out underwater with a hawksbill sea turtle. Safer than sharks, they are graceful and beautiful, ancient and wise. But sightings are rare. Of my hundreds of snorkeling adventures, I've only seen turtles, from a distance, in Palau and Koh Tao in Thailand.
YouTube, however, has videos of people wading into waters teeming with turtles off Tokashiku Beach on the west side of the Okinawan island of Tokashiki, famed for its coral reefs and white-sand Aharen Beach.
The idea seemed irresistible: wake up in Tokyo, fly three hours to Naha, ride the monorail 15 minutes, walk 10 minutes to Tomari Port, take a 35- or 70-minute ferry to Tokashiki, ride the ¥400 island bus up and down the mountains, and then spend the afternoon playing with turtles.
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