Exploring Ie Shima, Okinawa

Ie Shima has beautiful beaches, coastal views, caves to explore, and a mountain worth hiking. Plain and simple, Ie Shima has a lot to offer and deserves a full day of exploration. 

Once we got off the ferry, we rode our bikes in a clockwise direction. Our first stop was the Ernie Pyle Monument. After a brief stop at the monument we stopped at our first couple beaches on the south side of the island. 

Based on Google Maps, the beaches were called GI Beach and イシヤラ.  イシヤラ is written in Romaji as Isuyara Beach. I found Isuyara Beach to be the nicer of the two as it was secluded, had white soft sand, and clear turquoise water. 

About two minutes from イシヤラ, we found ourselves at the Niya-Thiya Cave. The Niya-Thiya Cave was much bigger then I anticipated. I expected to see maybe a maybe a small opening made by a few rocks leaning against each other. Instead we found ourselves walking in a cave large enough to fit hundreds of people. 

Locals call the cave “Sen-nin Gama,” which translates to “The Cave of 1,000 people.” When American forces arrived on Ie Shima during WWII, it is said that over 1,000 locals used this cave as shelter. Although both sides knew of the cave, they did not attack the area and left it in peace. Thankfully, no lives were lost here due to war. 

After exploring the Niya-Thiya Cave, we stopped along one or two more beaches along the southern coast of Ie Shima. The beaches and water here were absolutely spectacular. 

Unfortunately, due to the military base on the western side of the island, you can’t completely go around the island. We had to snake our way up north, heading through farm fields and dirt roads before arriving at the Wajee Viewpoint. The Wajee Point is located on the northern side of Ie Shima. This observation deck is a great place to take a breather, have a snack, and enjoy the beautiful views of the cliffs above the ocean. 

At Wajee Viewpoint, there was a restroom and vending machines. There even appeared to be a small shack serving up food. I assume this is seasonal as they were closed when we were here. I always hear about places around the world that have beautiful cliffs, like the Cliffs of Moher or the White Cliffs of Dover in England. I never hear about the beautiful cliffs in Okinawa but I guarantee that they are just as impressive! 

After taking a short break at Wajee Viewpoint, we hopped on our bike and continued around Ie Shima. Since the island was semi flat and Mt. Gusuku is the highest point on the island, we got glimpses of the mountain throughout the journey. 

Looking at the picture below of Mt. Gusuku, had I not wrote about it in this post, most people would think this is somewhere in Africa. The farm fields look like savanna, the tall thin trees resemble Acacia Trees on the savanna and the mountain in the background appears to be something out of the Lion King. It was crazy to think that this was just an island in Japan off the coast of Okinawa. 

We stopped at the Hibiscus Gardens on the North-East side of the island. We saw wild hibiscus flowers on the island, so we were hoping the gardens would have been in full bloom. Maybe we missed their planting season but here were hardly any hibiscus flowers at the garden. I’d give this attraction a hard pass. 

After passing more beaches along the way we completed our goal of cycling the island. We still had time to ride to Mt. Gusuku and trek to the top. 

Mt. Gusuku or Tatchu, is a mountain that stands 172 meters (565 ft). At the base of the mountain there is a parking lot, restroom, and shop selling local goods. From here, there is a maintained trail to the top. The majority of the trail consisted of steep stairs, I would suggest being in decent shape. Depending on your physical fitness I would say the hike can take anywhere from 15-40 minutes. We made it to the top and admired the view for about 10 minutes. Seeing the island from above was amazing. You can see   Cape Hedo from here, Izena and Iheya Islands, southern Okinawa, and oceans as far as the eye can see. 

The trek down from Mt. Gusuku was fairly quick, I’d say 10-20 minutes. But do watch out as the stairs are steep. Thankfully, there were chains on the side of the trail to hold on to. 

Mt. Gusuku wrapped up our tour of Ie Shima. We rode our bikes back to the ferry port and took the 30 minute ferry ride back to Motobu Port. 

I plan on visiting more of the islands off of the main island of Okinawa. We’ve been to  Zamami Island and  Iriomote Island. This year (2022), we plan on visiting Izena and Iheya Islands, which can be seen from Ie Shima.