Miibaru beach

N26°08.442' E127°47.637'

Overview

Miibaru beach can be found in Tamagusuku village, on the southeast coast of Okinawa main island. It is a spot well frequented by tourists, which explains the vast amounts of glass-bottomed boats touting for business there. They offer trips to the outer reef, where visitors can admire the aquatic fauna without getting wet. Of course, kitesurfers can get to the outer reef much quicker and for free!

car park owner The main kitesurfing spot isn't actually at Miibaru beach itself where the boats are, but just to the east at Hyakuna beach. A small rough track winding through sugar cane fields takes you there. There is a car parking area marked by a small hut. During peak times ('Golden' week and summer holidays) a charge of 500 yen is levied per car for the day. The land owner, an amicable elderly gentleman, usually comes aroung to collect the fee and records car registration numbers. During the rest of the year he kindly allows the public to use his land without charge, on the condition that no litter is left behind. Couldn't be fairer than that.

There are no facilities at the site but toilets and drink vending machines can be found just up the road in the main tourist area.
Walk down the small slope through the trees from the car park and you will find yourself on a relatively wide, sandy beach stretching in both directions for several hundred metres.

Conditions

Wind. The beach faces the southeast and works from east northeast through to south southwest. Unfortunately the cliff behind the beach affects the wind from certain angles, particularly when it's onshore. It tends to weaken the wind on the inside and it's hard to get out away from the beach. Once out 100 metres or so the wind usually gets stronger. It is sometimes possible to kitesurf in a northeasterly but in this case expect very gusty conditions.
The best wind direction is usually from the east, meaning slightly cross-on and a direct reach to the outer reef, where the waves are. However, a nice south southwesterly allows a direct run to Kodama jima, a small uninhabited island about 8 kilometres away. If you go that far beware of strengthening winds as you approach the island!
Tides. It is necessary to keep an eye on the tides... although the lagoon doesn't dry as low as Nashiro, it does have many shallow areas and sandbanks. On a neap tide it is possible to ride all day without too much concern, however during spring tides, rocks start appearing about 2 hours before low water. The outer reef also gets very shallow at low tide so if waveriding be careful not to ding your board or to take a tumble. That said, at the right state of tide the water in the wave break zone is glassy and jsut waiting to be shredded!
Hazards. There are several buoys, steel poles and ropes put in place in the lagoon by local fishermen, who grow mozoku seaweed in this area. In addition to the above mentioned shallow areas, there are also glass-bottomed boats and fishing boats to avoid. In summer expect to share the sea with swimmers, snorkellers, kayaks and jetskis. Windsurfers are also ubiquitous all year round. The lagoon is wide and can accomodate plenty of riders, but be constantly vigilant on where you and your kite are.
Launching from the beach is pretty safe as it has plenty of unobstructed space, but please launch away from the beach entrance and away from members of the public. There are some semi-submerged rocks at the shore around 50 metres east of the beach entrance (visible in the middle photo below), so you don't want to start off from there.
A paragliding school often practices at this spot so again, keep your distance.

A view of the lagoon on a windless day.

Looking east...

Looking southwest...