Miyako Island: Private Tour with a fluent English-Speaking Guide

I highly recommend this tour, especially for solo travelers or anyone who wants to see a lot of Miyakojima without renting a car. My guide was excellent with communication before the tour and very accommodating throughout the day. He knew so many beautiful places around the island that I probably never would have found on my own, and it was wonderful not having to worry about navigating, parking, or planning how to get from one place to another. The tour also felt flexible and personalized. When I asked if we could stop at a supermarket, he was happy to accommodate me even though it wasn't part of the regular itinerary. He also adjusted our starting time because of the weather, which worked out perfectly. We ended up having beautiful weather and seeing some absolutely gorgeous scenery. One of my favorite parts as a solo traveler was having someone to take photos of me throughout the day. I came home with not only wonderful memories and beautiful scenery photos, but also lots of photos of myself enjoying the island. Having a local guide who could drive, translate when needed, recommend the best places to visit, and take photos made exploring Miyakojima incredibly easy and enjoyable. This was one of the highlights of my trip, and I'm very glad I booked it.

I highly recommend this tour, especially for solo travelers or anyone who wants to see a lot of Miyakojima without renting a car. My guide was excellent with communication before the tour and very accommodating throughout the day. He knew so many beautiful places around the island that I probably never would have found on my own, and it was wonderful not having to worry about navigating, parking, or planning how to get from one place to another. The tour also felt flexible and personalized. When I asked if we could stop at a supermarket, he was happy to accommodate me even though it wasn't part of the regular itinerary. He also adjusted our starting time because of the weather, which worked out perfectly. We ended up having beautiful weather and seeing some absolutely gorgeous scenery. One of my favorite parts as a solo traveler was having someone to take photos of me throughout the day. I came home with not only wonderful memories and beautiful scenery photos, but also lots of photos of myself enjoying the island. Having a local guide who could drive, translate when needed, recommend the best places to visit, and take photos made exploring Miyakojima incredibly easy and enjoyable. This was one of the highlights of my trip, and I'm very glad I booked it.

We booked the island tour in advance, about a few weeks ago. We wrote Ken a list of places we wanted to visit, and Ken explained to us that even in 6 hours we wouldn't be able to visit all the spots, but we managed to visit Cape Higashi and all the places on Irabu island. Ken also showed us a couple of hidden spots from tourists that are hidden from people - it was very cool! The island is very beautiful and Ken speaks English well, we had no communication problems and liked everything. 😊 Ken also took us wonderful photos with his camera, it was convenient 😅 Ken also took photos of us on our disposable film camera at every location, it was nice that he agreed 😁 I recommend taking this tour of Miyako and Irabu if your driver's license is not valid in Japan, because it will be difficult to get to remote places by taxi. The car had air conditioning and it was comfortable to drive. I recommend it!

Great time with Ken. Super knowledgeable guide, tour was customizable, visited a lot of different places.

I couldn’t have asked for a better day on one of the most beautiful tropical islands on Earth. It was a lot of fun! Ken, the owner and guide of English Miyako Tours, was fantastic and genuinely an amazing person to spend the day with. He customized the tour around my interests, especially photography, and helped me find some incredible places to shoot that I probably would have missed on my own. I also really appreciated the stops at local markets, where I got to browse products unique to southern Japan and get a little more of a sense of everyday life on Miyakojima. And the mangoes alone were worth the stop. The whole day felt personal and relaxed rather than like a standard tour with a fixed itinerary. He was kind, funny, knowledgeable, and seemed to genuinely care that I was having a great experience. Between the scenery, photography, markets, and good company, it ended up being one of my favorite days in Japan.

I couldn’t have asked for a better day on what has to be one of the most beautiful tropical islands on Earth. What made the tour memorable wasn’t just Miyakojima itself, although the beaches, impossibly blue water, and scenery are spectacular. It was having someone show me the island who genuinely seemed to care that I was enjoying it. The owner and guide of English Miyako Tours, Ken, was kind, funny, incredibly easy to spend the day with, and never made the experience feel rushed or overly structured. Stopping by local markets to buy mangos was a highlight. We were able to linger when somewhere was particularly beautiful, change things up along the way, and visit places I almost certainly wouldn’t have found on my own. It felt much more like exploring Miyakojima with someone who loves the island than being shuffled through a list of tourist stops. Miyakojima ended up being one of the highlights of my trip through Japan, and this tour was a huge part of why. I would absolutely book with English Miyako Tours again.

Fantastic day out with Ken, the kids and family had a wonderful time out. We got to see lovely beaches and landscapes. I took some amazing photos and swam in some lovely parts of the islands. Highly recommended !

We loved our English speaking tour with Ken! He had suggestions on where to take us and he was also open to our suggestions. He was very knowledgeable about the island and took us to similarly amazing spots. He also brought his camera and took photos for us. Highly recommend!

Ken made our honeymoon in Miyakojima truly unforgettable. From the moment we met him, it was obvious that he has a genuine passion for the island and for sharing it with others. What set this tour apart was that it went far beyond the usual tourist stops. Ken gave us a real insight into Miyakojima’s history, culture, and way of life, helping us understand the island beyond its beautiful beaches and postcard views. His knowledge, combined with his own travels and life experience, made every conversation interesting and engaging. He was incredibly easy to talk to, kind, and generous with his time and stories. Despite already giving us a full day, Ken happily went well overtime just to make sure we had the best possible experience. One of our favourite moments was when he took us to a local supermarket to pick up authentic souvenirs and seasonal produce. The mangoes we bought there were so incredible that I still think about them almost every day! The cherry on the cake was the wonderful pictures he took of us and sent us after the tour. If you’re looking for an authentic, thoughtful, and memorable way to experience Miyakojima, I couldn’t recommend Ken more highly. Thank you, Ken, for making our honeymoon so special.

We booked a private tour with Ken for June 2026. Initially I was really worried about the date because it was raining heavily the days before - luckily Ken was very flexible over WhatsApp with scheduling and allowed me to change the date to a day that ended up being sunny and beautiful. It was a very special tour because I planned ahead of time to use it to propose to my girlfriend (now my fiance). I let Ken know ahead of time and he ended up picking several places on the island. In the end we found the perfect beach and I popped the question, Ken even brought his camera along and took professional pics that he shared with us so we could remember the moment forever. I really appreciate all the hard work and planning Ken went through to make our special day perfect. He really went above and beyond. The tour itself was a lot of fun, we went to several beaches and cliffs with perfect view points of Miyakojimas crystal blue waters. We ate delicious food and got to see so much of the island and even visited a mango farm. It just so happened that there was a festival going on the day we visited (a festival to celebrate fishermen) and Ken took us there as part of the tour even though it wasnt planned, it was really cool and nice to have such an experience with the locals. I mention it because it shows how flexible Ken is and how he works around things you may be interested in to make sure you have a good time. Also dont be worried about language barriers, Ken speaks really good English and taught us a lot about Miyakojima and answered all our questions. 100% I'd recommend booking a tour with Ken.