Ikei Beach — Attraction in Uruma

We had a strange experience here. The place is nice in itslef. The water and the surroundings a pretty, we got what we expected. But there are strange rules on the beach. You are not allowed the go any further of the swimming area despite the fact that the size of the place is almost the double with a lot to see. I walked only a few meters out of this area and two guys were running after me blowing whistles, and shouting no, no, no! The other annoying limitaiton is that you are not allowed to snorkel unless you rent a life jacket for 500Yen. But if you don't use the pipe, just the glasses, than it is ok, no need for life jacket. I don't see the security considerations behind this rule, only the money. You have to pay also for the shower, 200 yen. That is also annoying. What can't they include it in the entrance fee? The restaurant was closed in the middle of a working day and we were not allowed to buy icecream neither. And also there was a terrible and loud music played on the beach, no escape of it. Not recommended to...

The man running the place was very adamant about me paying admission when I showed up. It was 4:30 pm and they closed at 5:00 pm. It was only 400 yen, so I paid it so I could have a look around. He and his coworker reminded me of the closing time after that. Once I got onto the beach there was a sign saying "no swimming", I assume because it was pretty windy. He forgot to mention that when I was about to put money into their machine. It's not a nice area. There is an old broken down Jeep sitting there. There is an ugly concrete tower with bad sounding bullhorn type speakers blasting strange music. I work in sound and this is torture to me. I think it's annoying to most people who want to enjoy the beach and the sound of the sea. You can't escape from the tinny sound of their system anywhere on the beach. I disagree with the concept. I expect better from Japan. I recommend avoiding this...

Drive on and go to one of the other great beaches nearby that are not shameless money making machines!

What you cannot see on most of the pictures are the gigantic installations of the Okinawa Oil Base, which ruin the view.

More importantly, the staff is super rude. As soon as you enter the water with a snorkel in your hand, they come screaming at you and force you to rent a life vest.

What exposes the absurdity of it all: (1) The water is so shallow you can stand. (2) If you just go swimming without a snorkel, they do not force a life vest upon you. (3) Their life vests are so old and rotten that they for sure do not safe your life!

Also note that they do not actually allow you to go to the nice snorkeling spots around the rocks near the beach.

Summary: Shameless money making with something that is open and free for...