Driving in Ishigaki island

Hi there,
I went to Yakushima two years ago renting a car for a few days.

This time I want to visit Ishigaki island and rent a car for a day or two. But I hear the traffic is more dense and dangerous in Ishigaki due to many tourists visiting, at least during high season. Drivers not paying attention, driving too fast, etc.

I have no idea when high season is actually though.

I remember people often drove faster than allowed, I often had to pull over to let cars pass as I wanted to keep to the speed limit avoiding speed tickets of course.

Maybe these are just rumors about Ishigaki traffic, just wanted to know what I am getting myself into.

Hi Roi,

I can't confirm exactly, but I normally find that it's the locals who tend to drive over the speed limit most in country areas. By this I don't mean Japanese people - but people who live here and know the roads well. It's a common fact the speed limits in the whole of Japan in most places are ridiculously and at times dangerously slow. I've seen beautiful double laned expressway quality roads have a speed limit of 50 kms with the vast majority of people going 70-80 km/h.

I'm visiting Ishigaki in a couple of days but have decided to just do a bus day tour of this island and then drive around Iriomote island instead as there is more to do on that island.

I see. Well I guess it is the same about everywhere. I never found driving on the left side any problem really, not even the wildling mountain roads but instead finding somewhere to park in short notice to let cars behind pass.

Is the bus tour worth it really? I get the feeling it would be very stressful stopping only a short time at each place. Couldn't find any tour with only Ishigaki.

What more is there to do in Iriomote than Ishigaki,? Does it really need rental car for the single road crossing the island?

I observed in Japan that Okinawans are generally among the slower drivers in Japan, and the locals on smaller islands like Ishigaki are the slowest of them all. Also, traffic in Ishigaki is generally light. High-season is mid July to August. But generally, I would expect the traffic on Ishigaki to remain relatively light even during the busier months. I consider it one of the easiest places in Japan to drive.

Hi Roi,

Iriomote is meant to be much more wild than Ishigaki, from what I have heard. Uji will know more about the local traffic conditions than I do, even though I will be there in 2-3 days.....

We drove in Ishigaki last March/April.
It was very quiet- few other cars, and no problems.

Not sure what you mean by wild, wild as in wilderness surrounding or wild as in wild driving...

I went to Yakushima in late March which I think was low season. But there were still a lot hikers on the popular routes, but on the west side and the mountain roads I barely saw any car at all. Perhaps the bus network is better than on Ishigaki not sure.

I would prefer checking out the island at my own pace rather than relying on buses or tours.

According to G Maps driving to the north would take about 1 hr or 1.5 if passing the Kavita bay area.

I guess the bus or tours doesn't allow for any odd off the beaten path visits though.

I plan on staying near the ferry terminal. Not sure what about parking in case I return late to the city. All I know is there is no free parking in the city.

I also agree with one of the post, the highway says 50, but almost every driver goes 70-80, Just december I was driving from tokyo to fukushima, I was going according to the stated speed, and every driver was just overtaking me, so I just follow the crowd. most of the time I was driving about 20-40 over the speed limit.