The South East Botanical Gardens

What a hidden gem we found!

This one plus Bios were on my list to visit because I hadn't been to either of them. I'm trying to start crossing off all the things that I have wondered about but haven't done yet. We still didn't get Bios done because of car trouble, but this one is really worth a visit.
It's about a 40 minute drive from Naha.
It is in Okinawa City- not far from the big new Rycom Mall.
The tickets are reasonably priced at just over 1000 yen per person- with a deal if you decide to do the buffet lunch too. We had just eaten with Sensei so didn't need to do the lunch.

The gardens are split into two sections- The first is a maze of trees and is much quieter than the big main section. We went over there first but only stayed for around 20 minutes there. 

Then we went over to the bigger part. I think we went around it a bit backwards but it really didn't matter.

The first thing we saw was all the staff putting up all the lights for when they will do evening illuminations of thousands of lights- If you are there at a time of year that they are doing that- staying until the evening when they light it up where possible would very likely be well worth it.

After that we came across some scary looking ducks who seemed to really like eating the fish food. We fed them a little and then continued on the journey to find the goats.

I like to feed the goats- although they have scary eyes- Habu sensei always made it really fun to feed his goats, they're pretty cute really and will eat basically anything and everything.

After the Goat Island, we found the monkey and capybara pen.

This was fun, the monkeys jumped all over you to get the food you had and the capybara was the most chilled giant rat- porcupine looking thing I'd ever seen.

After the Monkey, we had the rabbit and Tortoise section. There was Guinea Pigs there too. I really liked feeding the Tortoise.

We found the 'Dragon Blood' trees- which sap is bright red which is why it was given the name apparently. But there was no sap when we were there. 

The dragon trees were right outside the bird enclosure.

Little did I expect to be walking into a cage full of Peacocks, Flamingos, Big long beaked birds and a tufty headed Heron. You could take the food from the closed cupboard (and pay your money into the box) and just go ahead and feed them- the flamingos weren't interested though. 

It was really really good- but the birds did make me a little nervous. I'm not sure why because I've always thought my spirit animal is a heron. I still think it is. Not a tufty headed one, just a regular white one that lives in the wild. 

After the Birds section, you carry on walking and you make it to the area where you can colour in a giant plastic cow. I'm not really sure of the significance of this but it's there, if you want to spend some time doing this.

Then you reach the pigs! This was fun. There was one black piggy that was really hungry- the rest were sleeping. He was basically like a dog- standing up on the fence and wagging his tail when he got some cabbage!

The lake/ Pond and beautiful bridge is after this. In this area you can catch a fish (and release it again)
This of course will take time- it recommends at least an hour for the fish catching activity- but if you have the whole day it would be really fun to do. As just a side note- the cow painting and the catching a fish has separate extra charge, so does feeding all the animals. Just about 100 yen per food for the animals and a few hundred for the other ones. But it all adds up. We probably at least doubled the cost of entrance feeding all the animals. Maybe we got a bit over excited but it's definately worth the extra coins.

We wandered across the bridge and up to the ridge road - you can walk along and have a beautiful view of the park and see lots of different flowers.
The buffet restaurant looks out over the park from up here too. We didn't go in there so I couldn't tell you how it was. Looked nice though.

The Ice cream they sell in the gift shop isn't Blue Seal, but it is good. I had the strawberry and Sensei went for shiquasa. 

The gift shop itself was pretty standard, a few nice touristy things for sale, but nothing that's really unique.
There is quite a lot of craft options available at the Gardens though which is cool. You can do the cow painting, shisa and ornament painting, sand art and there's more too- I'm just not very good at describing it. 

I really enjoyed our time here and it really wasn't very busy at all. 

I hope I can make it back before the illuminations end. 

Steve Sensei's Trip - November 2019

We achieved a lot in 7 days.

I've done a separate post for Kume-Jima and I will be doing a separate post for the South East Botanical Gardens because that was such a good find it deserves it.

So on the first day i picked up the hire car and met sensei from the Airport. We had a quick coffee and then went back to the dojo because I had to teach the kids class.

After the kids we hopped back into the car and went to Arakaki Sensei's Shikina Dojo for training.

After training we went for Ramen before getting an early night.

Tuesday we got up early and went to two shrine sites- The first was Gusukuma (Shinpan) Shiroma's grave site and the second was a place where Itosu Anko maybe lived and/ or worked. 

Then we went to training lunch with sensei.

After that we drove north to Higashi Village where we were looking for the memorial to Kaneshima Shinsuke - The founder of Tozan Ryu Karate. 

I've looked for this one before but have never really had the right information or area- now I know that!

We had a rough map and 'park' it is in- However the park is enormous with many roads, forested parts and buildings. 

We eventually found it- But only with the help of the museum and the mayor. The part of Higashi that it is in is only open for one month of the year- when the flowers are in bloom. So if you want to see this one only March is your time window- unless you ask the Mayor very nicely. 

We took a picture of the Pineapple Bridge because we went across this bridge so many times in the search for the memorial. And it is a pretty good idea to make a bridge look nice. 

Again, we got so close but just needed a little help to get into the restricted section at the end. If you see the pineapple bridge- go straight across it. You are close! 

On Wednesday after morning training we went over to Ozato - Right near where Toshimune's Dojo is. Besides this being a beautiful site, there is a connection to the Ozato Dojo. 

This beautiful Painting that is on the wall, and one I've spent many many sweaty, difficult nights looking at is less than five minutes away from the Dojo- And right near where we did one of our group bonding days-  the Park Golf one. On a clear blue day, this is the exact image. 

We decided that here would be a really cool place to take a couple of pictures because we would always understand the connection. 

At this point, I'm feeling pretty sick and my cold is just getting worse. However- I had to teach the kids and work in the bar tonight so Steve Sensei will go to Shikina to train alone and borrow Hilda to get there. 

The next few days go by and we train and eat and visit the gardens and before we know it, it's Thursday night and we are having the group training and gathering- usually it is a goodbye party but sensei is busy preparing for his trip to Australia next week. 

Steve Sensei bought the dojo, group T-Shirts which everyone was very appreciative of, and we all look pretty cool 

Friday, we went to Kume-Jima which got it's own blog post- It really deserved it. 

Saturday was training in the morning (Which i missed because i was sick still) and then I had to teach the kids and work at the bar. 

Sunday, we had a little disaster with the hire car battery dying and having to get hold of the rental place and the rescue truck coming to jump start it. We were going to visit the botanical gardens and the Uechi Kanbun Sensei memorial but we lost so much time in the morning that we didn't make it to the other botanical gardens- only the Uechi Kanbun statue. That's good though, that area is always pretty and getting out of Naha is always good. 

We came back and dropped the hire car off before walking back from sensei's house. It's only 3.5 km away from the bar. isnt it amazing how the car and taxi journeys always make it seem so much longer than that?!

We had a rest for a while and then met Sensei in the bar for a final drink in the evening. 

Besides Monday morning where we went for French Toast and a walk around to do some final shopping, That was the week gone. It went by far too fast. 

Kume-Jima (Part of Steve Sensei's 2019 Trip)

On this trip we took the opportunity to take a day off of training (there actually ended up being more time off training than planned due to unforeseen things coming up and sensei preparing for his trip). Well, we had booked the trip to this island before Steve sensei even arrived here. 

I wanted to cross the memorial to Taira Shinken off of our shrine hunting list but this little island turned out to be so so much more than that. 

It's probably just become one of my favourite days ever in Okinawa--definately in my top five, I would say. 

Even though I was feeling so so sick with a nasty cold. 

It had all the elements-

A goal- All the recommended sites on the map. 

Nervousness - When we found the bones in the cave. 

Mystery - One- because of the ghost slope, but Two- because of the bones we found. 

Beauty- The Island is so rural and mostly untouched the views from the castles were stunning.

A Time Limit -From getting off the plane at 8am to getting on it to come back at 7pm.

Sadness- From the amount of trash on the beach that must have washed up there. 

Disappointment - The Tatami-Ishi rocks was something I wrote in my 'reasons for wanting to come to Japan' when I wrote my working holiday visa application and well- there wasn't really anything there. It was like that banana cake I ate once. Smelt incredible-tasted of nothing. 

Amazement - the beauty of the biggest pine tree and the relevance it has to us, made us going there and spending time there special. 

So before I just keep going with my dictionary of emotions, I'll actually put them in order of my best to worst 20 locations we visited in Kume-Jima: 

1- The Birds Mouth Rock 

They say that the rock off the edge of the cliffs looks like the beak of a bird when you look at it from a certain angle. I did see it, and it did look somewhat like a bird's beak. However what was more impressive about this site was the park that surrounded it. Tokujimu National Park was a beautiful surprise. We didn't have much time there but it looked like there was good trails to follow and a beautiful countryside to explore. I would love to go back and spend a whole day in the park discovering what is there. 

2- The Caves 

This one wasn't on the guidebook. We followed it from a small road sign towards the end of the day. 

Yajiyagama Cave System was most definately not what we were expecting when we walked down the wooden staircase to it. We ended up in the front of an enormous cave with what looked like human bones and broken pots all around. We had no idea what this location was all about and was quite confused. We walked into the caves a little but couldn't really see anything with our phone lights. you would definately need to go back with a proper torch and shoes to make it through this one. Flip flops and phone lights wont cut it. 

When we came back away from this one we researched about the cave- according to google- the history is that a long time ago a sickness hit the island and lots of people died from it- there wasn't enough graves to bury them in so they were all placed into the cave. Over the years Typhoons and Earthquakes have damaged the pots and now there are bones and pots scattered all over the cave. 

Again one i would like to return to and learn more about. 

3- The Memorial and Grave Of Taira Shinken Sensei 

This one was the first one we went to find because this was the primary reason we came to the island. Seeing this memorial means that I've almost completed visiting all the Karate Related memorials in the Okinawa Prefecture- that i know about. The more I find the more that keep popping up. But thats a story for another time. As we arrived there were local people setting up for the weekend seminar that was imminent. We waited for them to finish and went back to it. 

4- The five Roots Pine Tree 

This one is really high on my list. Maybe it should be higher than number four. 

It is absolutely stunning, no pictures do it justice from any angle. 

For us Pine Tree's have quite a significance because of the name of our style of Karate. Matsubayashi Ryu- Pine Forest Style. There are pine trees all around Okinawa's islands. They are strong and resilient to typhoons and useful for building things. 

This tree is recorded to have been planted in 1839, its roots have spread about 250 meters. You can walk right around it and under all the branches too. I think they have put the fence around it to stop people climbing on it or damaging it. 

We got some really special pictures here right as the sun was beginning to set. 

5- The Silk Making Factory 

This was close to the Taira Shinken Memorial so we made it next on our list. We were the only people in there when we went- in fact most of the day it seemed like we had the island to ourselves. 

When we arrived there were ladies making material outside. The first thing that happened when we went in was the lady made us watch a video about how the silk is made. This was very interesting but also made me a bit sleepy. It was far more interesting to walk around the factory and look at all the machines and equipment.

I have a whole new appreciation for why this material is so expensive. it is a very labour intensive task. 

6- The Tropical Fish Rock pools 

This one I really really enjoyed. It's basically just a beach of rock pools, I loved walking over all the rocks and not falling in, seeing all the different fish in all the pools and learning about them from the very handy sign that was at the front of the entrance to the beach. 

The downside to this one was as well as all the fish getting swept into the pools by the ocean, so was a huge amount of rubbish. There was plastic bottles and fishing nets all over the beach. It is a harsh reminder of what we are doing to our beautiful planet. 

7- The Mystery Slope 

Just a couple of weeks before our trip, my Dad did one of these somewhere on one of his drives to canada. I thought their video was really interesting and couldn't quite figure out how it worked. 

Apparently they are quite rare. We did it twice just to be sure. I'm still not sure how it works or what it is. I don't think it is a ghost, but who knows. 

The Idea of the slope is that apparently your car moves uphill by itself. You put it in neutral and take your feet off the pedals and it magically goes up the hill. I guess it has to be science.

8- The Castle 

Uegusuku Castle ruins was the first castle of the day- I didn't know there was multiple castles on the Island. This one was just a short walk up steps from the car park and had stunning panoramic views of the ocean. Sensei climbed over a wall to get a good picture of us and nearly fell off, but all was well. I liked this site and the views from here a lot. 

9-The Two Rocks with the Hole in the Middle 

This one made it to number Nine because it really is beautiful. Probably more beautiful than any picture can make it look. The Guidebook calls it Miifugaa which apparently just means 'rock formation' in Okinawan. Legend says if women pray here they will be blessed with babies (but there are lots of places to pray for babies in Okinawa) and for a few weeks of the year around July you can see the sunrise through the holes in the rocks.  

The rocks are made of Limestone and Tuff Breccia. It was far more impressive to me than Seifa Utaki on the mainland of Okinawa was. I guess they both are unique and not so comparable. 

10- The Old House Area 

The Guidebook calls this the Historic Uezu House. It was one of the last on our list and decided we didn't really need to go inside (you have to pay around 400 yen per person) so we just looked around the outside area. 

The house was supposed to have been built in 1754 and was the home of a deputy landlord of the Ryukyu Kingdom and has kept the traditional layout of that era. 

It was Just a really beautiful area and was 100% what I expected from Okinawa in my minds eye when I was deciding to come here. 

11- The 200 and something steps we walked up (and I felt like I was going to die)

These steps apparently lead down to the Tachijami Nature park. However we made it down to a beach which had a longer trail leading off of it. We didn't have much time and I somewhat regret not going further along the trail because it says that there is a cliffside waterfall further along. We didn't get that far but we did see the 'Tachijami' Rock formation that is 40 Meters tall and 70 meters wide. 

There seems to be quite a lot of rock related sites. But they are pretty incredible. I guess Geologists would love this place. 

Although the view is magnificent, the walk up about 250 steps- I forgot the actual number but I lost the bet! actually made me feel really unwell. With my cold already my lungs really struggled with this one and I needed to take the next couple of places a little easier. Would be good trail running practice if you weren't sick though! 

12- The Turtle Museum

This comes in at number 12 because I think it is a little bit mean. I think the turtles are rescued and can't be released into the ocean for their own good but it still feels a little bit wrong to see them swimming about in what is essentially a giant swimming pool when the great and beautiful ocean is right outside. 

The guide Map says it is built for research and environmental conservation of the turtles. This site is not so good for foreign visitors if you can't read Japanese. All of the information around the museum area is in Japanese only. I guess they are trying to stop the Extinction of the Turtles which is a good thing.  

I really liked the statue outside the museum of Urashima Taro- I knew I'd read a story somewhere about a man riding a turtle. It is a old Japanese fairy tale where a fisherman is rewarded for saving a turtle- the turtle carries him on his back to the dragon palace where he meets the princess. He stays a while and when he leaves he is given a box. When he gets back to land he realises he has been gone for more than 100 years. When he opens the box, time catches him and he becomes a old man. 

Well, the story goes something like that. You should read it, it's worth it. 

13- Castle Number 2 
Gushikawa Castle Ruins- We had the most Spectacular view of this one as we were driving towards it. Part of the side of it looks as though it is falling down the cliff side but it is stunning to see it perched on the edge of the cliffs. The Guide map says that these ruins are potentially from the 15th century. Being surrounded by the ocean, the castle gate was located on the steep south side. Research from excavations suggests trade with China, But we know this to be true with the Ryukyu Kingdom.

I didn't go up the steps to this one because I had just finished coming up the 250 steps of the other site and wasn't really feeling so good. I saw quite a lot from where the car was and that was better than killing myself to see another view. 

14- The Trees In the middle of the Road- Chura Fukugi

This one is right near the silk making factory and not far from Taira Shinken memorial. Its quite a nice change to bollards or road barriers in the middle of the road. 

It is a 40 meter long row of Garcinias - they were part of a larger windbreak for some apartment buildings and houses that was reduced to make room for a road expansion. 

It's a nice change to have more nature used instead of concrete and man made materials. I think these small things are part of what makes the Island so unique and beautiful. 

15- The Viewpoint 

Hiyajobanta Cliff Observation Deck- This was pretty but so so so windy. 

It was a quick stop- The view was good but there are lots of opportunities to get beautiful views from all over the Island. There is a little shop here where you can buy Ice cream and snacks though, which is good- because there arent so many places on the Island to eat - or at least we didn't find any so just stocked up on snacks at the convenience store near the Airport and ate those all day. 

16- The Sunset 

Technically not a location. But it was coming to the time where we had to go back to the Airport and we had crossed everything off of the list and had just finished some really nice time at the five roots pine tree.  We just about caught the sunset- which I had been trying to catch one all week so it was a good end to a really wonderful adventure day. 

17- The Museum 

The Guide map says visiting this museum is a must for anyone about to explore the Island- We did it backwards and just about caught it before it closed. The regular exhibits introduce the natural environment, history and culture of the Island. 

I think it was fine to go at the end too. It was a good end to the day and answered some of our questions we had along the way. 

And, as with the rest of Okinawa there are reminders of world war 2. 

It still astounds me how many lives and how much impact the war had on this entire population for so so long. As long as we remember it I think the ethos of kindness and peace will prevail above all because everybody knows the real effect of War- Nobody would ever want that to happen again and so everyone as a community strives to keep these little Islands from ever experiencing anything like that ever again. 

18- The Beaches 

There were about four beaches listed on the Guide map- 

Hatenohama Beach- This is a desert island is basically just a beach island. This Island takes about 20/ 30 minutes to get to via a separate boat ride and you need to book a tour to spend half a day or a whole day at this one. 

Eef Beach - this Beach is listed on Japans top 100 Beaches list. Fine White sand and calm shallow water. 

Ara Beach - This Beach Is surrounded by mountains- Also good for the Sunsets. 

Shinri Beach- This beach is popular for it's views of the sunset. 'Shinriru' in Japanese means to Slip in Uchinaguchi (Okinawan) and it is supposedly called this because the depth of the sand can make people slip and fall- so be careful at this one. 

We drove past a couple and saw the island one from the castles. 

We really didn't have time to stop and spend time playing on the beach- but if I was to have a few days here I would definately have a beach day. 

19- Tatami Ishi Rocks 

This one got a space at number 19 because I wanted to cross them off for so so long. 

I had seen some really beautiful pictures of this online and was really excited to see these. However it is a bit of a anti-climax. 

The stones were formed by andesite magma that cooled around six million years ago. Columnar joining has caused the rocks to form into pillars 1-1.5 meters wide and upwards of 100 meters tall- so they are pretty spectacular for this alone. 

It just doesn't look quite like the pictures unless you get really close and the tide is really far out. 

Sensei was trying to get the angle like all the google pictures have of these rocks. 

20- The Giant Old Trees (That we couldn't find or see) 

The Une Giant Cycads are Supposed to be near the trees in the road but we couldn't find them. 

We found a stone about them, but no big trees anywhere. 

Apparently it is one of Okinawas natural monuments. It has two trunks that are 4 and 6 meters tall and is said to be between 250-300 years old. It has more than 200 branches. 

We just couldn't find them. 

So, thats it. Kumejima in one day. It was totally worth the money to fly there in 30 minutes as opposed to the 3-4 hour ferry ride. 

100% Recommended. 

The Stars Are Always There - Even When You Can't See Them

Does time just speed up the older you get?
Seriously feels like the years are just flying by. I'm sure its gone- One, Two, Five.

With time going so fast we need to adventure more. Whenever Martin comes, there is no doubt there will be a couple of new experiences and places and of course lots of repeat locations but new experiences because we are always changing and always have new stuff to catch up on and new eyes to see it through. Nothing stays the same in oki for long. 

On the first Night when they came to the bar, they were very very jetlagged and tired - add beer and habu shots to that and we had quite the situation. 

The next morning - the weather was horrific and I had my Japanese Kanji test to take in the morning. I was nervous but practiced a lot. This test will decide if I achieve my goal of 8th Kyu by the end of the year. 

Once i had done it Martin met me and we all went to eat Ramen at the place near Rambo Sensei's house. It was good, and was worth the wait. 

The next couple of days were a bit of a blur with the amount of training and all the places that they were visiting. I jumped in where i could, and worked where i had to. 

After one of the morning sessions with Arakaki sensei we went for soba with him and then he dropped us at the entrance of Shikina gardens and sent us in. 

All because Martin has been so many times but has never been to the Gardens before. 

I think it was actually good fun. The flowers there were beautiful and we got there when there was basically nobody else in there. 

Just as we were leaving a bus of people showed up! 

This is the part where Martin is trying to persuade me to do something stupid off the bridge which would lead to me most likely falling into the water. 

I wasn't going to fall for that...

But then, he said the same thing to Joel, and of course- he did it. 

There are a LOT of selfies from the week with Joel's big head in them. 

Although a little annoying, he did bring a certain energy to each day with his excitement at everything. 

The next trip was with Guido and Michael to the peace park. I actually think that Shikina gardens was after the first peace park visit but this is what happens when i leave it so long before writing it- but now is better than forgetting it all together. Better late than never. 

The Peace park is still and has been one of my favourite places in Okinawa for a long time. We went for a good walk around it and although really quite limited on time because I had to be back to teach the kids we still had a fun hour or so. 

This picture is from the Friday night after the 100 kata event where we all went to the Tome dojo to train together. It was very sweaty, but really wonderful to see that there is consistency and some subtle individual differences throughout the Matsubayashi Ryu Dojo. It 100% brought out my sparkly eyes. 

On Martin's last day we went to the Chinese Gardens where we fed the fish and went across waterfall rocks. it reminded me a lot of my first trip here. Its nice to be brought back to the beginners mind in other ways- not just karate. This trip to the peace park and hanging out with Joel and Martin for the week totally brought back so so many memories of my first trip here. 

We also went back to the Peace Park to find the giant Buddha because when we went the other day it was being used for a school trip event and so we couldn't go into it. I had to see it before Martin left, and with him because they were the ones which taught me all about it. 

I've been to the peace park more than ten times and had never been in the building with the giant Buddha in it. It just goes to show how vast that park is. Every single time i go- i see something i didn't ever see before. Which is really nice. I wonder how much more there is to discover there.

As always the cornerstone of peace is the obvious attraction simply for its beauty and atmosphere but now i know there is many many more buildings and monuments and beaches and parts to see. 

Here i was explaining to Martin the 1000 Paper cranes grants one wish story. 

This time that Martin was here also marked my five year in Okinawa Anniversary. 

It made me quite emotional to think how long it's been, how far I've come, how far I've still have to go. 

What an incredible chance I've had to come here, its literally been my highest highs and lowest lows, this island and all that has happened here  has changed me in so many ways. Mostly good, I think. 

I don't know how long I'll be here for or what my future will be, but I'll take it as it comes and always do what I feel is right. 

There are so many people that have become more than friends to me on this little island and from all around the world, they treat me like family and make me feel loved. Really that's all that anyone needs. 

On my five year anniversary here I was surprise by Martin with the cutest fluffiest bear (Named Trevor) with a little plaque, then we went to karate to train together. After that we went North to Nago area where we took some gorgeous pictures on the beach - for my book I hope to write one day. We went to eat burgers together and then stopped at Kyan Chotoku Sensei's memorial and walked along the Hija River to where the Yara Castle ruins are. Then we were late back to Sensei's BBQ which sent Martin slightly crazy. Once everyone had eaten and drunk and the cake had quite literally disappeared, Guido took over the driving and we went to find the stars. We drove as far south as we could to as dark a place as we could find. Which was apparently not really dark enough. We saw a few stars but definately not the milky way, however - we must remember that even when you can't see them, the stars are always always there.