Island hopping and camping in remote Ryukyu Islands - Japan

2020 ... the year my travel experience entered a new dimension, as i got locked up for 7 months in Japan. More precise, in Fukuoka - as traveling the country was out of question and flights between Asia and Europe were literally stopped.

But there's always a good surprise. The planned first visit of my siblings to Japan was cancelled, but I was rewarded to extend my time with my wife ... yep, she's living in the modern city of Fukuoka to take care for her elderly parents. 

2023 ... I'm back to Fukuoka ... the borders recently were opened to foreigners. And this time it's travel time - not only Japanese are keen to see spring and 'Sakura' arriving down south. Although with a closed airspace over Russia and Ukraine the route takes a large U-turn.

The Ryukyu Islands - a vast number of mostly tiny sub-tropical islands streching over 1000 km from Taiwan up to Kyushu - are on my agenda. Not for a short luxury holiday in Okinawa, but a 'trip into the wild' with backpack and tent ... on foot, from island to island by ferry.

Indeed, camping became also in Japan more popular - in search for nature, fresh air and less crowed entertainment facilities. But still, it will be not easy, nor convenient to organise, move and find a campsite in an absolute remote corner of the country, that is even for Japanese distant and strange with few people, exotic culture and local dialects.

Today it's from my side a quick introduction to my journey over the next six weeks only. But I tell you where I'm going to start: Iriomote-jima and Ishigaki-jima, surrounded by other small coral and sandy beach pearls in the blue ocean.

So stay tuned. My backpack is stuffed as spring is on its way!