Sueyoshi Park & Shrine

Sueyoshi Forest is located in the heart of Naha city and yet you can drive right past it and not even notice that it is there.  Which is a shame really.

O and I went there to wander the forest and see the Sueyoshi Shrine.  I had heard about it on Map It Okinawa and was eager to go.  I think the amount of walking he mentioned was down-played... he said be prepared to do a lot of walking.  That's it.  What he meant was this is a HUGE park in the city and be prepared to do TONS of walking.

It's a beautiful park though.  A river runs straight through the middle of it and you can see some pretty nice waterfalls.  O is currently obsess with snails and we were able to see some huge ones on the bottom of the overgrown flaura.  There were lots of birds flitting about as well.  And O's favorite discovery were the "shiny bugs", you know, those bugs that have exoskeletons that are like opal colors.  Well, even if you don't, they were really neat.

O and I stuck to the main walking trail.  This means we didn't get off of the winding flat route once.  No stair diversions, no side routes, nothing.  Just the path that, if it weren't made of uneven rocks, I would say was the handicap accessible path.


Even still, by the time we crossed through the forest (all parking lots are a ways away from the shrine... I think we parked at the one farthest away), we were ready for a snack and a rest.  Luckily, there was a playground and a bathroom to be found just below our chosen route.

The playground structure is completely made of wood but was in very good condition.  I was worried about splinters at first but was pleasantly surprised to find it a minimal concern.  It is obviously geared towards older children, but O (3) was doing pretty well on it.

After a little R&R, we went back up the hill to this nice monument.  I'll have to do a little research to find out what it's for.  But I really like the detail.  This basically marks the end of the winding flat trail.  Just after it is a set of stairs that leads you into the wildlife protection area.  It's unsure footing and greenery all the way to the shrine from there.

Luckily for us, they had recently swept through and cleared the paths to the shrine.  Even still, a nice Japanese man we talked to said he saw 2 mongooses while he was there and to make sure not to let O near any of the rock crevices because of the chance a habu was hiding in there.  We didn't see anything ourselves.

He also kindly escorted us up the hill as he had gotten lost himself several times trying to find the shrine and was tired.  I had O on my back, so he didn't want the same thing to happen to us.  Really, this was so thoughtful of him I can't express how grateful I was for this gesture.

Anyways, you make a right at the top of the stairs and continue straight until you find a white obelisk.  Make a left here and you'll see stones for the Sueyoshi Shrine.  Continue straight up, up, up until you see a shrine like structure on the right.  This building is where you buy shrine items.  It and the shrine were closed, but you can walk around.  The shrine itself is just past here.

Do NOT go through the stone tunnel.  If you look up, you'll see the shrine.  Take the stairs to the right of the tunnel and follow the steps up to the main shrine.

We climbed up to the shrine itself instead of stopping at the collection box.  The view from there was well worth the climb just to take it in.

We really enjoyed sitting there eating some bread and just looking out over the forest and past the city in the background.  A nice breeze coming over the hill also took the edge off the heat of the day.

By this point, it was nap time and we were still far away from the car.  Going back was much quicker since we were going down the rugged terrain and then I carried O up the winding path.  Still, juice and Anpanman cookies were a much appreciated treat at our arrival to the car.

Overall, we were hot, sweaty, sticky and tired at the end, but the beauty and peace of the morning was well worth it.  I hope you are able to visit this park sometime.