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The Star Sand Beaches of Japan

Sep 20, 2017 | 3:15 PM

Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!

star sand

Star Sand

You don’t have to look to the sky to see stars in Okinawa, Japan—just visit the islands of Taketomi, Hatoma, and Iriomote, where star‑shaped sand sprinkles the beaches! The stars are actually the exoskeletons of tiny organisms known as Foraminifera. When Foraminifera die, their shells remain in the sea and are washed ashore by the tides.