After the 5.4 #earthquake in #okinawa I spent Wednesday walking #taketomi Island. #starsandbeach

Yes! Okinawa experienced a brief earthquake of a 5.4 magnitude shortly after midnight on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.

It was a bizarre sensation. As someone who lives in Vancouver, I have experienced mild(er) earthquakes before. In this instance, the bed was literally moving and off the floor – in a seventh floor room just across the street from the beautiful waters off the island.

The shaking ended as suddenly as it began, and I went ahead with plans to visit Taketomi Island today.

If you go, use common sense in terms of what you wear and bring, based on the season. Well, the forecast was for overcast skies, it was HOT and I kept reapplying sunscreen and whore a hat. I also packed a water bottle, and was able to refill it with wonderfully cold water at the Taketomi Island ferry terminal.

You can rent bikes on the island, yet I chose to walk – and took more of a meandering route than intended to see see #kaiji Beach, known for its star sand (check it out with an internet search) and Kondoi Beach.

That worked out well, as I saw some interesting, four legged creatures, lovely birds, beautiful flowers and many butterflies who are clearly drawn to the island’s flowers.