East Transportation Co., Ltd., 東運輸株式会社 in Japanese, provides sightseeing buses. Every morning, there is a so-called circle sightseeing tour “定期観光バスＡコース（石垣島一周観光）”, and in the afternoon is a semi-circle one “定期観光バスＢコース（石垣島半周観光）”. The reason why I say “so-called” is because the circle one has skipped an important sight in the northern part of Ishigaki, Hirakubozaki 平久保崎 in Japanese. So I chose semi-circle sightseeing in the afternoon to cover the western scenic spot.
Please arrive at the bus terminal of East Transportation before 13:45, and the location near the ferry port. The fee is 3,300 yen for adults and 2,460 yen for children. Departure at 14:00.
The bus will pass the Torin Temple but won’t let you off, then get off at the Toujin Tomb. The Toujin Tomb is related to an important historical event related to the Chinese coolies. For details, please refer to the Wikipedia (Japanese) record.
After that, the bus will go to Kabira Bay, 川平湾 in Japanese. Here you can use a glass boat to watch the underwater flora and fauna. The cost of the glass boat is not included in the sightseeing package, and the guide will lead you to pay if you required. 850 yen for adults and 450 yen for children.
There will be a short afternoon tea. Then visit the palm native forest “米原のヤシ原生林”.
The last, bus will take you back to the bus terminal. If you need it, you can also ask for a guide to let you get off at hotel named ANAインターコンチネンタル石垣リゾート.
There is a free opened beach at ANAインターコンチネンタル石垣リゾート that can be reached through the hotel. Watching the sunset here is a good choice. But in the winter, because the position of the sun will be blocked by terrain, it is not recommended to watch the sunset here. However, it is very close to the AEON shopping area. It is recommended that you get off the bus here and take a short while on the beach and then go shopping and dinner. After that, return to the hotel by bus.
