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.

Hiking Nago Mountain

Nago Mountain is located within the Nago Castle Ruins Park. This area offers many trails, picnic/scenic view areas, camping, and more.  We were here to do some hiking.

Picture this:  2 pregnant women, a toddler, a baby, a dog and 4 other adults hiking a mountain in the middle of an 86 degrees F, 94% humidity day.  What were we thinking???  We were thinking a family friendly, beginner hike on winding, sloping trails and shade from trees that's what... well, that's what the description led us to believe anyways... WE WERE DECEIVED!

Although a fun trip with great people and an awesome workout, I hate to report that the term to describe the Nago Mountain trail should have been this:  STAIRS.  Yep, that pretty much sums it up.  Up and down stairs 98% of the time.  I haven't done that much cardio in ages!  I also happened to be one of the pregnant women helping tote around my toddler, lol.  I don't think I have ever been so happy to hit a summit in my entire life.

The view was well worth the effort, however, I honestly did prefer the view from the picnic area further down the mountain.  This area also had  a large open space for the kids to run, restrooms, and various workout/training equipment.

Between the picnic area and the trail head was also the camping grounds which looked like they'd be an excellent place to camp with a group of friends.  We may come back and try it sometime.

You'll find I am short on words for this trip.  I spent most of my time attempting to breathe, downing water, and swapping my toddler with my husband (who was also very tired by the time we got to the top).  Thus, I recommend families try some of the other available trails and go on a cooler day than we did.

Blue Seal after the hike is also a splendid treat!  Nothing like splitting an all vanilla ice cream with strawberry topping banana split with your daughter after a good workout.  ;)

Cape Maeda

O and I started the morning off at Cape Zanpa.  Although we had a great time exploring there, I was not ready to head back to the real world again for the day.  On the way there, I saw a sign that said Cape Maeda was about 6 km down the road from the Zanpa entrance.  So hey, why not go check it out?

We only did a quick hike around since I had brought 300 yen with me for the day and the Cape Maeda parking lot charges 100 yen per hour.  However, I was able to hike the entire trail with the kid on my back and do some rock climbing in the process in just under an hour.

Along the hiking trail, there were many viewpoints of the cliff sides cut through the thick shrubbery and even a gazebo where one could stop for a picnic and view the scenery about halfway down the trail.  I liked that the majority of the area was stroller accessible, but I found it odd that none of the actual viewpoints were.  They had flattened out areas at each one, but the actual paved path did not lead up to them.

Back at the main entrance, there was a building with food and souvenirs shops and restrooms.  We didn't go in, so I can't tell you much about it.

I plan on going back and exploring this place further in the future.  Or at least taking in the beautiful views when I have a little more time and yen on my hands.  But it was time for a well-deserved nap, so we headed back home.

Related Post:
Cape Zampa Lighthouse (Zanpa)

PAC Wall (aka: The Determined Fisherman Trail)

This weekend I decided to drag my husband out of the house (lately he's been all "I'm tired, I don't wanna do anything!") and join this awesome new group I found on Meetup.com .  The Weekend Adventure Group.

We metup at the Hansen USO and joined a caravan to go way up to the Northern part of the island.  We somehow missed that the site was so far away or I never would have gotten my husband to go along.  Dont get me wrong, he likes to get out and do stuff once you get him out and this type of outing is right up his alley.  He ended up having a fantastic time.  We all did.  :D

We took 329 N to 331 to 70.  About 1 1/2 hours North of Hansen, we finally reached our destinations.

We stopped at Aha Dam to meet up with those who were going to be late or come on their own.  The dam was massive and had a great view of the rivers paths coming in.  It was a gorgeous stop and looked to be like a great place to do some family water recreation and hiking.  We may end up going back up just to tour the area a little more.

From here we headed just down the road to the PAC Wall trail.  It was something like 2 roads down on the right-hand side.  Here's a description from the Okinawan Mountaineers Club about the trail:


The description is misleading.  We had about 70 people go on this hike and many had to face some serious fears of heights, narrow-trails on uncomfortable ledges and rock-climbing with hand-ropes.  A few even had to turn back because of physical limitations.  This was a tough route and in no way a medium hike. You'll need some upper body strength and good shoes.  Also be aware that the red clay NEVER washes out of your clothes.  So wear clothing that you don't mind getting dirty.

The scenery is absolutely fantastic though and the terrain and vegetation varied.  Their are hand ropes scattered along the trail in particularly slippery, steep and/or tricky spots.  There are also several rope routes to take down the rock cliff.  We had O along with us and I'm not gonna lie, if daddy hadn't been there to take her down the cliff, we would've turned around and went back up cause momma was all worried about the safety of her harness and potentially falling out.  But daddy was confident she'd be fine and heeded my request to put her on his front side so I wouldn't freak out.

Back to ropes... The blue rope will take you all the way down but has barely any foot holds and takes you straight through the brush.  I took took the thin white rope which is frequently knotted to help with grip and takes you half-way down a nice rocky-path and then switches you to the thicker white rope to finish up.

Be aware that a few of the larger rocks are loose and may give way when you step on them.  Always make sure your footing is secure before continuing up or down the cliff.  We had one head-sized rock come loose and almost take out another members head on our way back up.  So just be mindful of your surroundings at all times.  Once you reach the bottom, you'll find the hike was well worth all your effort.  You can walk around freely on the cliff side and take in the surrounding views.

Personally, by the time we drove up there and hiked down we were starving.  I was so glad I packed a picnic lunch cause we only saw like 3 of those tiny, hand written, wooden cafe signs on the way up and like 1 gas station.  It was lovely eating our honey turkey, baguettes and cheese on the cliff side.

A couple of our companions found a place you could easily climb down into the water.  DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WHEN YOU GO.  They are this week's special edition of the safety brief.  It was easy getting in but not getting out.  We had quite the rescue mission going on and blood was shed in the form of some lovely scrapped up arms and legs.  I have no doubt they were stopping at the hospital later to make sure nothing got infected.

Quote of the day: "Blood was shed but none were lost!"


After we got back up the trail, the rest of the group headed down the road to Aha Falls.  This little family headed back home cause we were exhausted and it was rounding bedtime fast.  It was a fantastic day with some great memories and new friends.  Can't wait to join this group on more of their adventures!