One of the rarest forms of sand, star sand, is both a beautiful sight and a scientific marvel. Found on the Taketomi, Hatoma, and Iriomote islands of Japan, star sand is exactly what the name implies — small, millimeter-sized pieces of sand in the shape of stars. Let’s uncover the truth behind each Okinawa star sand beach.

At first glance, the beaches look like any other. Only when visitors take a closer look at the beach they stand on does it become clear that this is no ordinary sand. Despite the small size of the sand particles, beach-goers have no problem seeing this incredible five-pointed star shape with the naked eye.

Unlike most beaches, the sand on Hoshizuna Beach and other surrounding Japanese beaches is made up not of rocks and minerals, but rather of the remnants of previous organisms. Each little star is the exoskeleton of small, single-celled organisms known as Foraminifera. This means that, though the sand is no longer alive, it once was part of a living organism in the Pacific Ocean.

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