Day Trip To Cape Hedo, Okinawa
Cape Hedo, is Okinawa’s Northern most point. Cape Hedo is a dramatic sea coastline with high rugged cliffs overlooking beautiful turquoise water. Once at Cape Hedo looking toward the north, the East China Sea is to the west and the Pacific Ocean is east. Northern Okinawa north of Nago is located in Yambaru National Park which is an expansive subtropical forest that is home to many critically endangered endemic species. A day trip to Cape Hedo does take all day but there are many other natural sites to see in the area that make the trip worthwhile. Besides visiting Cape Hedo, other attractions in the area include a visit to Daisekirinzan National Park, the Rail Observation Deck, the Tomb of King Gihon, and why not stop at some of the beautiful nearby beaches. We’ve driven up to Cape Hedo a few times now, here are some of the recommended sites that are not to be missed while on a day trip to Cape Hedo.
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Cape Hedo is the northern most point on the main island of Okinawa. Cape Hedo is a popular tourist destination offering phenomenal views of the ocean, coastline, mountains, and forests.
Access to Cape Hedo is free to include parking. On the grounds, there is a tourist information center with a café, restrooms, vending machines, and a small restaurant.
The parking lot is spacious and once parked visitors can freely and safely walk the grounds. The views from the look out points are incredible. The black jagged rocks give way to beautiful turquoise water below. If you are lucky, you might spot fish swimming amongst the coral reef below.
There are a few monuments and statues at Cape Hedo. As always, be respectful as they are most likely memorials and religious sites. There is an oddly placed chicken statue where tourists lined up to get photos of, I’m guilty of it as well!
While at Cape Hedo, you can see Yoronjima (“jima” meaning island in Japanese). Yoronjima belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture.
I would say a solid 30 minutes to an hour is more then enough time to walk around Cape Hedo and take a couple of photos, unless you plan on eating here, then allow for more time.
Additional Attractions and Sites Around Cape Hedo
A day trip to Cape Hedo generally turns into an all day event. There is so much more to Northern Okinawa then just visiting the tip of Cape Hedo. After all, the drive can take several hours to reach Okinawa’s northern most point. Might as well break up the drive and stop at a few sites to and from Cape Hedo. Below are some of the sites around the Cape Hedo area that are a must.
Daisekirinzan National Park
Our first stop on our day trip to Cape Hedo was Daisekirinzan National Park. This National Park is said to have been created by the Gods! There is even a sacred stone at the park that visitors can touch and it releases a powerful energy! I tried it, but didn’t receive the energy I was expecting.
Entrance to the park was a bit steep ¥1,200, so about $12 USD, but it was nicely maintained so I guess it was acceptable. For the most part entrance prices in Japan are ridiculously cheap, so once in a while I don’t mind paying a higher price for an attraction.
In total, there are four hiking trails in the park, we hiked all four of them in a few hours. They weren’t to long but man were they scenic. There is the Yellow, Blue, Red, and Green trail. The Red and Green trails were my favorite. The red trail had amazing overlooks of the surrounding area and Cape Hedo. The green trail (Yambaru Forest Trail) had the famous Banyan Trees. I’ve been fascinated with these trees since first seeing them in Puerto Rico. They exist here in Okinawa and the famous one at Daisekirinzan National Park is called Ugan Banyan and it is the largest banyan tree in Japan.
Banyan Trees are a ficus or fig species of woody tree. Banyan trees start as a seed usually on other trees. As the Banyan tree grows it strangles its host as the roots make their way to the ground. The roots become thick and look like other trees. It’s hard to tell where the main trunk is, especially with some of the bigger ones because the roots are all over the place.
Okinawa Rail Observation Deck
While at Cape Hedo, out in the distance we spotted a giant Okinawa Rail statue and were curious as to what it was. Obviously, I looked on Google Maps and it was an observation deck, but we still wanted to check it out.
The Okinawa Rail is endemic to only Northern Okinawa and can only be spotted in Yanbaru National Park. The Okinawa Rail is a flightless bird with a distinctive red beak and long red legs. Unfortunately due to us humans (like always) the Rail is considered endangered because of habitat loss. I found it surprising that the birds existence was only discovered in 1978.
Back to the observation deck, we drove up a very narrow road to get here. Luckily, there was little traffic so we didn’t have issues getting here. But once we got to the Rail Observation Deck, it’s just a few flights of stairs to the top with rewarding views of Cape Hedo. After the Rail observation deck, we made our way to the beach below, according to Google Maps it is named Usahama Beach.
Usahama Beach
What day trip to Cape Hedo is complete without a trip to the beach?
When leaving Cape Hedo and heading toward the Okinawa Rail Observation Deck there is an access road to Usahama Beach. There is a parking lot nearby as well.
Usahama Beach is a natural beach with gorgeous views of Cape Hedo and the rugged coastline.
We’ve been to this beach twice now, but never swam in the ocean here. I feel the tidal pools are shallow here and one would have to swim out quite a distance to see anything, who knows how rough the waters are here. None the less, it is a great beach to walk around on, do some beach combing, and explore the tidal pools. Last time we went (April 2023) the tidal pools were full of brittle starfish.
The Tomb of King Gihon
About a 5 minute drive from Cape Hedo, you can find a short hiking trail (5 minutes or less) from the road that leads to the tomb of King Gihon. We read about King Gihon while at the visitor center at Cape Hedo and thought it would be interesting to find the tomb.
According to a historical marker at the tomb, King Gihon was the third king of the Shunten Royal lineage, Okinawa’s first royal line. King Gihon took the throne in the year 1249.
Cape Hedo, the Perfect Day Trip
For locals, visitors, and others that live on the beautiful island of Okinawa, a day trip to Cape Hedo should be on everyone’s itinerary and visited at least once. Thankfully, distances in Okinawa are not that far so a trip to Cape Hedo is very doable to do in a single day.
Every time I’ve been to Cape Hedo, I feel a sense of adventure. I love hiking through the jungles and seeing the great Banyan trees at Daisekirinzan National Park, looking over the cliffs of the coral reefs below at Cape Hedo, taking in the lovely scenery from the Rail Observation Deck, and strolling along Usahama Beach.
The journey to Cape Hedo is an adventure in itself. The majority of the drive, especially up north hugs the coastline. There are amazing rest stops along the way that are worth stopping at. For those that love to get off the beaten path in Okinawa, there are so many secluded beaches, non-trafficked roads, and mysterious hiking trails. As always be safe and respect the nature while out in Yambaru National Forest.
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