Peaceful Aka Island is one of four inhabited islands of the Kerama island group off Okinawa - in Japan's subtropical South. There’s only one small village. And there’s a colony of sika deer (shika) who came here with settlers from Kyushu from mainland Japan in the 17th century and have developed into a sub-species endemic to the Kerama Island group. “Occasionally I have bumped into a deer standing in the middle of the village when I came home from the bar” Sarah of the Seasir dive base on Aka Island says. “So now I take a flashlight when I go out late”. Read in this travel blog article about sika deer and tropical diving on the Kerama Island. And about lonely beaches, cute villages, and whale-watching from the shore.
