What to do in Okinawa (6 full days)

Me and my girlfriend are thinking of going to the Okinawa prefecture for a holiday in August. Currently been living in Nagoya for a year, wanna see something less city. Including flight days is 8.

All I've managed to decipher so far is that the better attractions (regarding nature/beauty/beaches) are not on the main island, but seem to be on the islands to the south.

Is 4 days on the southern Yaeyama Islands/Miyako Island and 2 on the main a good ratio? Or 5/1? Where should the base hotel be? Or are one day trips to each of these islands not enough?

What I'd really appreciate is to read peoples experiences travelling to Okinawa, specifically your thoughts on what each island had to offer/if it was worth it etc etc

And any general tips or things you didn't expect? Or highly recommended places to go?

I don't even know how to ask one of these literary threads properly so forgive me!

Any advice greatly appreciated!

For beaches I recommend Miyako or Yaeyama.
For jungle and nature I recommend Iriomote.
For history (both traditional and recent) I recommend the main island.

The distribution of days fully depends on what your interests are and how fast you like to travel.

If you like a slow pace and do not need cities, I recommend to spend you entire time in the Yaeyama Islands.

If you are interested in the attractions of the main island, then I recommend to spend three days in the Yaeyama Islands and two days on the main island. Plus one transit day.

Highlights of the Yaeyama Islands:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7200.html

Highlights of the Yaeyama Islands:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7101.html

Highlights of Miyako Island:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7300.html

Day trips to the Yaeyamas from the main island are really not a good idea. You will spend a lot of money on flights, and lose a lot of time.

FYI I'm also planning a trip to Okinawa soon (Yaeyamas and Miyako only, not so much interested in the main island), I'm going to stay at these places

http://www.oohamaso.com/index.shtml on Ishigaki island, near Kabira bay (which seems nicer that the "downtown" area around the harboe)
http://taketomijima-kohamasou.com/ on Taketomi island
http://kuroshima.net/ on Kuroshima island, as the URL implies :)
http://www.pukinoie.com/ on Miyako island, on the northern peninsula also somewhat remote from the most populated areas

Thanks for the advice Uji and Firas. Appreciate the replies!

Firas; I meant day trips to the islands from a base hotel on one of the Yaeyama Islands, not the main island! :) Such as Ishigaki Island, where the airport is? An take boat rides to the other islands?

Or have a nights stay on each of the other island you guys have recommended? As a day is not enough?

I'm spending a night on both Taketomi and Kuroshima but that's just me, day trips from Ishigaki is what most people do. If you want to make daytrips, you will probably want a hotel near the harbour, because buses are infrequent.

Also, the airport is on the east coast, relatively far away from the harbour area (about 45 minutes by bus).

Is 4 days on the southern Yaeyama Islands/Miyako Island and 2 on the main a good ratio?

We spent 4 days 3 nights last Oct visiting ISHIGAKI, KOHAMA, IRIOMOTE, YUBU AND TAKETOMI ISLANDS, and 3 nights in Okinawa.
Your option of "4 days and 2" should be fine. However, you could easily add extra day in Okinawa if you'd like to explore more.

Hi
I'm now in Ishigaki jima, staying here during 9 days. I leave tomorrow...
Due to a typhoon, I lost 3 days of diving and snorkeling... Bad chance.
I stayed on Ishigaki island during main times. Only one time in Taketomi and one in Hatoma island, near Iriomote.
If you want to follow what I see:http://www.soleilrouge.org/ete-2014-premiere-partie-osaka-ishigaki

The lasr two years, I stayed one week in Miyakojima. For me, i's better for snorkeling but Ishigaki is the best for diving!
My experience in Miyakojima:http://www.soleilrouge.org/articles/miyako-jima

I've staued three days in Okinawa honto, to visit the most interesting places of the island:http://www.soleilrouge.org/articles/l-ale-de-okinawa

Have a nice trip in those wonderful islands!

I've been to almost all of Okinawa's major islands (only Kerama's are still missing).
I loved Miyako and the Yaeyama Islands:
http://zoomingjapan.com/travel/yaeyama-islands/

If you plan to stay on the main island, I recommend about 4 days there with 2 days driving around in a rental car.

For the Yaeyama Islands to fully enjoy it, you should have enough time to visit all the smaller islands by boat as well. I stayed there 2 weeks and it was just about right. :)

For Miyako 2 days would be enough, but you might want at least a full day for snorkeling / diving there.

Have you decided how you are going to travel between the islands? Regular airfare can be very stiff, but you might be interested in JAL's Okinawa Island Pass - see:
http://www.churashima.net/jta/company/islandpass_en.html
Please note that there are some blackout dates, and you must be ticketed before arriving in Japan. Also if you are not on a Landing Permit you can't use it either - but your girlfriend can if she is visiting Japan.
A possible alternative is Skymark which does fly from Naha to Ishigaki and Miyako Is. See:
http://www.skymark.jp/en/

Not that stiff actually if you book sufficiently long in advance, I paid "only" 5100 yen for my flight from Ishigaki to Miyako in late October. And of course, use Skymark whenever possible, I paid only 3900 for Miyako to Naha (then I'm flying onwards to Sendai with ANA).

What are the options from Yonaguni to Okinawa? Is it possible to fly directly or you have to stop in Ishigaki first?

It is possible to fly directly, but it might be expensive. A cheaper option would be to fly with Skymark to Ishigaki, and then take a ferry to Yonaguni.

(Or the other way around. ;) )

Taking a connecting flight at Ishigaki might also be significantly cheaper than a direct one.

I already booked the flight from Osaka Kansai (KIX) to Ishigaki with Peach.
I intend to go to Yonaguni, either by flight or by ferry. But to save time I need to know if any of these airlines, JAL included, have flight from Yonaguni to either Okinawa or Tokyo. I'm struggling to get infos on the companies websites because I'm going in March so still a long way to go.

JAL has direct flights from Yonaguni to Okinawa, but it's not clear that they would make you save time because there is only one flight per day, so it would depend on how well it connects with your outbound flight.

As long as I can avoid going back to Ishigaki, it would be helpful to me. I wouldn't mind spending some time in Okinawa, even if just one day.

And currently, direct flights from Yonaguni to Okinawa are really expensive: 16,000 yen, with no discount available (no, not even the JAL discount fares, because the flights are operated by RAC). So you should really consider doing Yonaguni-Ishigaki-Tokyo instead of Yonaguni-Okinawa-Tokyo. Of course the prices may change until March, but currently you really don't want to use the direct Yonaguni-Okinawa flights.

Okay guys I'm interested in your opinions on this quick itinerary;

10th Nagoya – Miyako (travel day)
11th Miyako
12th Miyako up until 4:30pm – Ishigaki
13th Ishigaki BASE HOTEL
14th Ishigaki - Taketomi
15th Ishigaki - Iriomote
16th Ishigaki - Hateruma
17th Ishigaki - Nagoya (travel day)

ANY opinions are welcome. Looking at how many smaller islands there are, and how much there is to see and do it looks like 6 days isn't reaaalllly enough? What do you think?

I included Miyako as it seems highly rated? If we didn't go there that would free up time (and save money due to flight) for day trips to islands such as Kuru/Kohama or an additional day on Iriomote.