Diving at Hedo: East of Oku

Our final dive of the day with North of Nago & Cap'n Chuck was just to the east of Oku Port (where we stopped to grab the 3rd tanks for each of our group of 7 divers) & included some wonderful underwater scenery & life. There were huge cuts, crevasses, caves & channels thru the rocky formations & all kinds of life from the 80-90 foot sandy bottoms to the 15-20 foot tops of the reef. Unfortunately, being technically our 4th dive of the day, we were quite worn out (Josh with a head ache & Betsy with motion sickness) & the fast approaching night (we got in only shortly before sunset) limited our dive to just half of an hour (one of our shortest ever). Hence, the small amount of photos we snapped. We did see a young turtle just before the end of the dive, but the lighting was too poor for the camera to capture his image before he decided to leave our presence very quickly (a skill & decision that will hopefully serve to afford him a very long life). Thanks for facilitating some great diving, Chuck!

Photos taken east of Oku:

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Diving at Hedo: The Dome

The highlight of our dive day was the Hedo Dome just SW of Hedo-misaki a bit north of the Ginama port (which is the last part of Hwy 58 that's up against the water before entering a tunnel & coming out up on cliffs near Hedo Point). We entered the cave system around 50 ft below the surface of the water above, and in about 10 minutes or less, all 7 of us (Josh bringing up the rear) were inside the air pocket at the surface of the water inside of the dome (technically ending our 2nd dive of the day). There we were able to turn off our air regulators & breathe in fresh air. We spent about 25 minutes inspecting the dome from that surface before descending underwater again (dive #3, technically) & slowly investigated more of its nooks & crannies before making our way out. The stalactites & stalagmites were quite impressive, both above & below the water's surface in the caves (indicating they had at one point all been above). Very little life was seen in the cave or in its brackish water (which indicated that a source of fresh water was meeting the sea) although we did see some crustaceans fairly well into the cave. We highly recommend this dive to any divers that spend any amount of time on Okinawa!

Photos from Hedo Dome:

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Diving at Hedo: The Point

For our first dive of the day with Cap'n Chuck of North of Nago, we left the port in Oku & made our way just off the Hedo Point visitor's center cliffs. We descended just as it started raining nice & hard (we're sure that Cap'n Chuck must have had a lovely time trying to stay dry on the boat). We had a lovely first dive ever in the far northern reaches of Okinawa & it was grand indeed!

Photos from our dive at Hedo Point:

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More info on checking out Hedo-misaki:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7113.html
http://www.virtualginza.com/okinawa.htm?diving.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedo-misaki
http://www.straycompass.com/video_page.php?recordID=1

Diving in Onna-son: Diamond Beach

Our final dive of the day took place in fairly shallow waters (max depth was only around 40-45 feet) just off of Diamond Beach (also commonly called Turtle Beach) in Onna-son. It was just a bit further north/east along the western coastline from the previous Seragaki spot, as we made our way towards the small "port" (really just a boat launch) from which we had departed. We enjoyed all of the variety of life among the reef patches & white sandy bottoms. We were escorted nearly the entire dive by at least one & at times as many as a dozen large batfish (specifically of the Ephippidae family & Platax genus, there are a few totally different fish that get commonly called "batfish"). We assume that were probably very used to dives being led by dive masters doling out chummy treats for them to nibble upon, so you'll see below that they're featured very prominently in several of our photos. One of the highlights was a white stingray that we spotted trying to disguise itself on the sandy bottom. Once he realized that we weren't being fooled by his attempt to conceal his presence, he decided to move on (which he showed us that he could do VERY quickly) but not before we managed to snap a pretty decent shot of him. We got out of the water just before 6 PM, so it was nearly dark by the time we pulled into port & called it a dive day. Thanks, Captain Dave of OkiDiving.com!

Photos from the Diamond/Turtle Beach dive:

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Diving in Onna-son: Seragaki

For our second dive of the day, Captain Dave took us a short distance further to the north there off Onna-son's shore to a dive spot just off the north side of Seragaki Island (at the time we went, & probably still, it was closed for renovations or some other valid-sounding excuse). There we enjoyed a very nice dive that featured a shallow cave, many crevasses & some steep vertical reef walls to explore. We eventually got down to about 95 ft below the surface & while we didn't see anything spectacular (we had every finger & toe crossed for a white-tip shark that normally hangs out near the cave), it was a very worthwhile dive nonetheless.

Photos of the Seragaki dive:

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Diving in Onna-son: Manza Dream Hole

For our first of 3 dives on the day with a group organized by our Aussie English teaching friend Bradley Worland, this time booked thru OkiDiving.com & Captain Dave, we were privileged to check out the highlight of our day, the Manza Dream Hole, just NE of the Manza Resort in Onna-son. The weather was pretty good (cool but not overly & only a little bit overcast) & the seas were calm. We moored right near the entry to the "hole," really a natural underwater cave formation in the reef with a fairly narrow shaft extending down to a level cavern & large opening to open water. Shortly after our initial descent underwater, we took turns entering. The 2 of us waited until all but 1 of the other 10 divers had entered before following ourselves, Betsy just ahead of Josh. It was quite cool & very bubbly descending into the darkness of the cave. At the bottom, we found the diver-sized opening leading out to a nice large cave mouth where thousands of fish congregated among the bubble-filled water. We proceeded out of the cave mouth to the left (SW) at around 95 ft below the surface. We slowly worked our way along the vertical reef walls to shallower water. We ended the 45-minute dive hanging out around 15-20 ft for about 20 minutes (like the good no deco divers we are!).

Photos that we captured on the dive:

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Koya-san

For our final days & 1 night in mainland Japan, we chose a very impressive & unique Japanese experience at Shojoshin-in, a fully working Buddhist temple which accepts lodgers (for more than we normally spend but the experience was worth it). It's actually the 2nd largest temple of about 100 (about 53 of which offer overnight lodging to travelers like us) on Mount Koya (or Koyasan) in Wakayama Prefecture, which turned out to be a very scenic & intensely cultural experience of Japan. We especially enjoyed the delicious vegetarian shōjin ryōri cuisine (2 meals were included in the price of the lodging) that they served. A side perk was the nice crisp mountain top air (especially at night from our comfy, fluffy futon bedding). It was good for us to feel the cool-to-cold fall weather & get us ready for life back in the U.S. that was fast approaching!

Yes, that's right! We took a LOT of photos of Koyasan:

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Nara, home of the Kusumi-sama

After thoroughly enjoying our visit to Hiroshima, we spent 2 nights in the home of our dear friend Masayo's parents in Nara, just outside (biking distance as we proved) the former capital of Japan, actually very well known for their giant Buddha statue & the many free-roaming Sika deer in the parks & temple grounds. We felt thoroughly at ease & very welcome in their home; we were definitely honored guests. Aaron & Masayo showed us all around & delivered excellent weather to go with the many fantastic sights, sounds & tastes that they had to show off. We were very glad that we had saved a visit to this city for a time that they could be there to rendezvous with us! Thanks again, guys!!

Photos from our fun-filled 3 days in Nara:

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Miyajima / Itsukushima - Shrine Island

On the 2nd morning that we awoke in Hiroshima, we decided to venture to the renowned Miyajima Island, home of one of "Three Views of Japan," the "floating" torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. After catching the cheap & convenient cable car near our hostel, the very comfortable Business Ryokan Sansui, to rendezvous with the local train that took us to the ferry port for the short trip across the Seto Inland Sea to the picturesque island, we were soon avoiding the deer & looking for monkeys along with the rest of the many tourists. Having plenty of time after strolling thru the town & then viewing the famous shrine, we decided to inspect the peak of Mount Misen also. But we decided to skip the uber-expensive ropeway (cable car) & hike the steep kilometer instead. With our hearts pumping quickly, we did manage to catch glimpses of monkeys (thru our camera's 10x optical zoom) begging for food outside of a cable car stop that we didn't feel like hiking out of our way to. Instead we admired & inspected the shrines, temples & lookout point at the summit before making our way down the other side right to the very gorgeous Daishō-in at the foot of the mountain. All in all, a very full day of sight-seeing but WELL worth every minute!

Photos of our day & plenty of 'em:

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Hiroshima, our first time in Chugoku

The next stop on our western Japan tour was in Hiroshima, known by most of the planet as the first city ever subjected to an atomic bomb detonation. The Ryokan Sansui where we lodged was located within a nice walk of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park so it was, of course, a highlight for us. After first approaching its southern side, we were approached by a kindly woman who in very good English offered her services as a tour guide FOR FREE!!! We'd like to believe that our understanding & appreciation of the site's significance could have been nearly what it was even without her, but we just don't see how that would be possible. She made sure to detail every one of the highlights of the site & her own personal story (at the tender age of 8 at the time, both of her parents perished in the aftermath while she survived living with her grandmother not far outside the city). Honestly, this was not just a highlight of our trip, but of our lives. The sentiments clearly expressed were not condemning or biased in the least, but rather presented a very clear picture of the history & all factors of the conflict that preceded & the devastation that proceeded the nuclear bomb. We add our desires along with many others in hoping that our planet never again sees the death & devastation of such a device.

Of coure, we took a lot of photos:

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Himeji castle in western Kansai

For our final beyond Okinawa travels of our time living in the subtropic Pacific, we visited mainland Japan for a final tour. Our very first stop was in Himeji (of Hyogo Prefecture) to marvel over the much-lauded & extolled feat of history, Himeji-jō, an official Japanese National Cultural Treasure & a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of Japan's "Three Famous Castles" (the other 2 being Matsumoto-jō & Kumamoto-jō), and is the most visited castle in Japan.

It was very ornate, grandiose, impressive & photos do not do it full justice (do they ever?) but here is a slideshow of the hundreds that we snapped during our day in Himeji:

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Shikina-En Royal Gardens

Since we found ourselves in in Naha city anyway (after having dropped off Aaron & Masayo at the airport to embark upon their new adventures beyond Okinawa), we decided to make a day of it & explore some new sights. So we made our way around Hwy 329 (becoming 82 & then turning left onto 222) & we had soon arrived at the lovely & picturesque Shikina-En Royal Gardens:

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We were thoroughly impressed with the natural beauty of this very historically significant site. A blurb from Wikipedia (on the Shuri Castle page):
"Built in 1799, the royal gardens and villa were not only where the royals relaxed but was also used to host the investiture envoys who came from the Great Empire, China. The garden's circle layout resembles plans used in modern Japanese gardens, but the Villa itself with its red tile is uniquely Ryūkyūan, and pond and bridge to the miniature island is in the Chinese style. This is a rare, historically valuable example of Ryūkyūan landscape gardening, and Shikina-en is also registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, separate from Shuri Castle."

Photos of our excursion that day:

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More info & multimedia related to the gardens from other sites:
http://www.okinawaindex.com/index/?tid=3&cid=75&id=2
http://www.straycompass.com/video_page.php?recordID=75
http://okinawa.com/content/view/145/101/lang,en/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denysokinawa/2554706113/

Naha Tsunahiki Tug-of-war Rope

After having bid farewell to Aaron & Masayo), we were on our way to find something fun to do in Naha (since we were there anyway). As we were driving away from the Naha Airport along the access road that runs along the military harbor towards the city center, we noticed a HUGE rope, mostly covered by tarp, in the usually empty paved lot of the military port facilities. Curious cats that we are, we quickly u-turned around to investigate the scene. And we were delighted to discover & behold the giant rope that was being prepared for use at the annual world-famous Naha tsunahiki tug-of-war (pitting eastern Okinawans vs westerners, for bragging rights & good fortune in the coming year), which we did not attend during either of our years in Okinawa (not being fans of how incredibly crowded Naha gets during such events). We enjoyed watching the workers preparing sections of the massive rope for several minutes before continuing on to Shikina-En.

Photos of the rope:

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More info & multimedia about the Tug of War event:
http://www.okinawa.usmc.mil/public%20affairs%20info/Archive%20News%20Pages/2006/061013-naha.html
http://www.ocvb.or.jp/card/en/0600001264.html
http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=7138
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildvinephoto/3372062550/
http://okinawa.com/content/view/59/36/
http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2008/10/the-naha-tug-of.html
http://gillbertbu.blogspot.com/2007/10/o-tsunahiki-great-naha-tug-of-war.html

Horseback Riding

After a rainy week we took our friends Masayo, Sayaka (visiting Okinawa from her Kansai home) & her young son Haruto to Toma-san's stables in Onna-son (where we volunteered with the weekly hippotherapy program run by EDIS) to have some fun playing with the horses. We were not surprised to find & clean up some very dirty (with dried mud) equines & stalls. But after quite a bit of brushing & currying of Luca & Karen, we enjoyed some fun riding!

Photos of the equestrians:

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Surprise Party

As an early & pleasant surprise for our good friend Masayo's birthday (only 2 months away), her loving husband Aaron organized a group of her close friends to gather at one of her favorite restaurants on Okinawa (Bistro Cyrano, in Ginowan, serving a DELICIOUS Japanese take on French cuisine) for a celebratory evening together. We were delighted to assist & attend. Masayo was truly surprised & equally delighted at the thoughtfulness of all of us who will dearly miss her & her actual birthday when she's too far away from us in San Francisco, CA.

Photos of the surprise fun:

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Omedeto Gozaimasu, Ma-chan!

Keramas B'day Dives

As our birthday gift to Aaron, we treated him to a day of boat diving almost anywhere around Okinawa & several neighboring islands. To our delight, he chose the Keramas! So we spent yet another gorgeous day around the islands of Zamami (for the first 2 dives) & Tokashiki (for the final dive, a drift). We also gave the dive camera to Aaron to capture the sights & memories of his day & we're impressed with what he had to show us! Enjoy!

The full photo set:

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LD Adventure, Day 2: Pacific Snorkeling

After our refreshing picnic lunch, we stopped along the NE coast (once Hwy 70 came down from the hills) at a nice beach with a great bay for snorkeling (we had been there before). We were impressed to discover that toilet facilities (including a shower room) had been erected near a mobile unit (some sort of organization headquarters perhaps?) beside which we parked. A 2nd area of parking & beach access, right beside 2 large Shisa Lion-dog statues, lay just down the road a few more meters. The waters were lovely, despite the shallow tide, & we saw some very cool marine life. Robin got her first full snorkeling experience (the early morning few minutes shouldn't count) on Okinawa while Ana, Betsy & Josh had yet another!

VERY long & snakelike sea cucumber (or holothurian), Synapta maculata, feeding on the sandy bottom (Betsy stepped on it & almost soiled her suit, thinking it was a snake; can you blame her?):

Large & very ornately colored lionfish swaying back & forth in the incoming tide's surge:

Large school of small fish that blended impressively well with the sea grasses growing heavily in certain shallow areas:

Pair of bright, bobbing Clownfish & their large anemone home:

Small juvenile black boxfish with white spots escapes my scrutiny into a large coral:

Pair of Wedge-Tail Reef Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus rectangulus) roaming the area:

Dog-faced or Black-spotted Pufferfish (Arothron nigropunctatus):

Squid, a pretty rare sighting for us:

LD Adventure, Day 2: Picnic Lunch

After checking out dams & views & hiking at Aha Falls & lifting the van's front tires out of a hole, we were ready for a nice picnic lunch in a small village (Sosu?) along the NE coast, where they were doing some land reclamation in the bay using some large heavy machinery.

Just before our lunch stop Josh was turning the van around in the yard of a community building & simultaneously reading a map, he managed to find the only 2 broken drainage ditch covers with the front tires of the van. That got the van firmly stuck in the ditch! So while Betsy drove in reverse, Ana, Robin & Josh lifted the front wheels with all their might. Fortunately, it worked & the van was successfully freed. Here is a photo of the mock re-enactment for the camera:

LD Adventure, Day 2: NE Coastal Views

We saw several lovely pieces of the NE Okinawa coastline, including an exploration at the large windmills (where we stopped on our bike ride around the area a few months back & saw the whale crest). We were getting pretty hungry for lunch though!