Taketomi, Iriomote, Hateruma, Kuroshima — the islands you reach by ferry from Ishigaki or Miyako are a completely different situation in a typhoon from the main islands.
When the ferries stop, you cannot leave.
For flight cancellations see Will My Flight Fly?, and for general preparation see A Typhoon Is Coming. This page is about being on — or heading to — a small island.
Ferries stop long before flights do
This is the single most important fact. High-speed boats are vulnerable to swell and wind, and they stop running far earlier than aircraft.
The swell arrives before the typhoon does. It is entirely normal for the sky to be blue while every boat is cancelled. Do not use the weather outside your window as your guide.
Anei Kanko’s service status page shows each route — Hateruma, Uehara, Hatoma, Ohara, Taketomi, Kohama and Kuroshima — as normal, partly suspended, or all cancelled. Note that the status differs by route: exposed open-sea routes such as Hateruma stop while others are still running.
Check the ferry operators’ own websites for current status. Taketomi Town’s typhoon information page links to the operators serving the Yaeyama islands.
The decision is always “go earlier”
If a typhoon is coming while you’re on a small island, you really only have two options.
A. Leave the island — choose this if unsure
Return to a hub island such as Ishigaki or Miyako, or move on to the Okinawa main island or beyond. The longer you wait, the fewer options remain.
- Don’t wait for the last boat. Rather than “it’s still running, so I’m fine”, consider taking the next one
- On a hub island you have vastly more choice of accommodation, hospitals, shops and an airport
- To make your flight home, you generally need to be off the small island while boats are still running
B. Stay on the island — follow local instructions
Do what your accommodation and the islanders tell you. On a small island, local judgement is the most reliable there is. If you stay, prepare as below.
If you stay, know this
Small islands are not like the hub islands.
- Few shops. Some islands have no convenience store. They close before the typhoon, and stock is not replenished until the boats run again
- Limited medical care. There may be only a clinic, or no doctor on some days. Serious cases wait for evacuation by air
- Limited ATMs and currency exchange. Carry more cash than you think you need
- Meals at your accommodation may stop, because supplies cannot be delivered
Before the typhoon, secure your own water and food. Ask your accommodation — they will know what to expect.
How information reaches you
Taketomi Town issues typhoon information via its website, disaster radio broadcasts, and official LINE account. On some islands the outdoor radio broadcast is the fastest source.
Even if you don’t understand Japanese, ask someone nearby when a broadcast starts.
For multilingual information, the JMA’s multilingual service covers 15 languages.
If you need to evacuate
Taketomi Town designates different evacuation sites for different hazards — tsunami, other major disasters, and voluntary evacuation sites for smaller events. A visitor cannot reasonably work this out alone.
Ask your accommodation where the island’s evacuation site is — ideally at check-in. If evacuation information is issued, follow the town’s instructions and the islanders’ judgement.
Before you travel to a small island
In typhoon season (roughly summer to autumn), check these before you go:
- The last ferry of the day and what you would do if it were cancelled
- Your accommodation’s phone number
- Whether you are carrying cash
- Whether you have enough of any regular medication (island shops may not stock it)
- Whether the island has a clinic
What this page does not cover
This site does not carry live ferry or flight status, or typhoon positions. Check the operators’ own announcements, and official sources for weather and evacuation information. Follow the evacuation information issued by the municipality you are staying in.