Asia Central y Extremo Oriente: Los destinos de sol y playa

Okinawa, Japan

Okinawa challenges the Japanese stereotype of cherry blossoms and cobbled roads as white-sand beach paradise with swaying palm trees. Despite centuries of mainland exploitation and horrific destruction during the closing months of WWII, Okinawa is becoming increasing popular. Today, Japanese mainlanders, both young and old, are flock to the islands for its year-round balmy climate and sunshine. Okinawa and the Southwest Islands, or the Nansei-shotō, are the perfect destination for beachcombers, hikers and marine sports–lovers alike.

Okinawa, Japan

Its coastlines are dotted with beaches that run the spectrum from powder-white sand to hoshi-suna or ‘star sand’, which consists of the skeletal remains of tiny animals. Okinawa and the Southwest Islands were also the centre of the Ryūkyū kingdom, and there are still traces of this rich cultural heritage in the region’s architecture, language, music and cuisine.

Okinawa and the Southwest Islands comprise a string of subtropical islands that stretch for more than 1000km from the southern tip of Kyūshū to about 110km from Taiwan. Nansei-shotō is one of the top domestic tourist destinations for Japanese people unfortunately it is rarely explored by foreigners.

Top places to visit:

• Yakushima 
Commune: with millennia-old cedar trees on the Unesco World Heritage island of Yakushim 
• Ishigaki-jima: 
Take a deep breath through your regulator as you swim alongside schools of manta rays on Ishigaki-jima 
• Miyako-jima: Soak up the sun by day and kick it in the bars by night with an alternative cast of characters on the laid-back island of Miyako-jima 
• Kokusai-dōri and islands near Okinawa-hontō:
 Enjoy the tropical hustle and bustle of Naha’s Kokusai-dōri before ferry-hopping around the islands near Okinawa-hontō 
• Iriomote-jima: Trek through virgin jungles in search of the elusive yamaneko (mountain cat) on the lush mangrove island of Iriomote-jima 
• Taketomi-jima: Admire the shiisa (lion-dog rooftop guardian) statues, red-tiled roofs and coral walls of the ‘living museum’ that is Taketomi-jima

Island of Hainan, China

Hǎinán Dao (Hainan Island) used to be known as a ‘gate of hell’, where recalcitrant officials were banished to a fate marginally better than death. More than 2000 years, later Hǎinán’s has undergone a transformation into what is now considered ‘China’s Hawaii’.

Excluding the disputed south sea islands, Hǎinán is the southernmost tip of China. Sānyà, in the south, is roughly on the same latitude as the southern reaches of Hawaii and Hanoi in Vietnam, so it can be relied upon to be warm even when the rest of China is freezing.

Top places to visit:

• Yalong Bay’s:
Soak up the sun, sand and cocktails in one of Yalong Bay’s plush resorts 
• Shimei Bay:
Ride a wave on the long and virtually deserted beaches of Shimei Bay 
• Sānyà’s Number 1 Market:
 Enjoy delicious, cheap seafood and wonderful people watching at Sānyà’s Number 1 Market 
• Haikou Park: 
Watch the Chinese having fun as they run, kick and dance their way around Haikou Park 
• Wǔzhǐshān:
 Explore the minority villages around Wǔzhǐshān