Located near the Japanese Alps in Gifu Prefecture is the city of Takayama. Takayama is known for its preserved historical districts consisting of Edo-style streets. Takayama is also famous for its food, most notably the “Hida-gyu” or Hida beef. Outside of walking the historical Edo-style streets and eating Hida Beef, visitors can pay a visit to the Takayama Yatai Kaikan, browse the morning markets, or walk the Temple Trail. We spent two solid days exploring the city of Takayama. Outlined in this post is our Takayama Travel Guide.  Takayama on a Map and Getting Here Takayama is in the Japanese Prefecture of Gifu in central Japan. Takayama is considered the major hub in the area, so there is a train station here which services the JR Takayama Line.  The best way to travel to Takayama by train is to take the limited express train from Nagoya to Takayama. The train ride from Nagoya takes about 4 hours and costs just under ¥15000. Jill and I did a road trip around central Chubu and Takayama was our main destination. If renting a car like we did, Takayama is very accessible using either the express way or scenic nature roads. We opted for the scenic roads and glad we did. The mountains en route to Takayama were breathtaking!  Things to do and see in Takayama Takayama is not a huge city and can easily be explored on foot. Most attractions, restaurants, and shops are located around the Sanmachi (Section of the historical district). Although not a big city, I recommend at least two days in Takayama. Two days offers plenty of time to visit museums, walk the historical districts, sample local sake, and eat some of the best beef in Japan. We spent two days in this magnificent city and want to share our recommended Takayama Travel Guide. Must See and Do Attractions Sanmachi Historical Houses If you see photos of Takayama, chances are that the photos are from the Sanmachi area. Sanmachi is located in Takayama’s old city and is made up of three long and narrow roads lined with old wooden buildings. The beautiful architecture of the buildings on Sanmachi are unique to the area. The dark colors of wood used on the buildings makes the Sanmachi area so distinct. Many of these buildings date back to the Edo Period (1600-1868). During this period most buildings where used as merchant shops.  Many of the buildings on Sanmachi have been turned into sake breweries, restaurants, boutique shops, and even museums. I highly recommend visiting the inside of at least one of these buildings. Within the Sanmachi area and especially outside this district many of the houses are residential. People still live in many of these houses. Keep that in mind and always be respectful.  Try Sake at One or Many of the Sake Breweries I’m no sake connoisseur, but I do like a good drink and have been getting into sake since living in Japan. For this trip, I wanted to try sake in various cities and found Takayama to be a great sake destination. The Sanmachi District had several sake breweries.  You can always tell a place is a sake brewer because there is usually a Sugidama or Cedar Ball hanging by the entrance. Basically the Sugidama is hung up in winter while the cedar twigs are still green. This tells customers that the new sake has been pressed. Once the cedar ball turns brown the sake is aged and ready to be enjoyed!  We popped into a few sake breweries in the Sanmachi District and one that stood out to us was Harada Sake Brewery. We paid around ¥300 for a tasting, which included a tasting glass. There was a cooler off to the right with around 20-25 different sake’s to try from the brewery. We were free to try each and every one and of course we took advantage of that fabulous opportunity. After 20 or so samples of sake, we were feeling pretty good and Takayama was a little blurry afterwards!  Check out the Festival Floats at Takayama Yatai Kaikan The Takayama Festival is considered one of the best festivals in Japan. It is celebrated twice a year. There is a Spring Festival and an Autumn Festival. The main attraction of the festival are the floats or “Yatai” in Japanese. Many of the floats still used today date back to the 17th century. The floats are massive and highly decorated.  In total there are 12 floats that take part in the festival. A few of these floats are on display at the Takayama Festival Float Exhibition Hall. The museum is open to visitors and the entrance fee is ¥800. I found the entrance price to be steep for what it was. We spent about 20 minutes in the museum and left kind of disappointed but it was still really cool to see the floats in person. I would recommend this museum unless you are an extreme budget traveler.  Walk the Takayama Temple Trail After a visit to the Float Exhibition Hall, Jill and I randomly stumbled upon the Takayama Temple Trail. The trail is well signed in places and not so much in other places. We found a sign pointing us in the right direction. We then found ourselves at an intersection with no signs so we kind of walked around until we found the trail again.  Once we found the actual trail it was well maintained and easy to follow. The trail crosses paths with about 10 temples give or take. Most the temples were fairly small. Impressive, yes but nothing compared to other temples around Japan. Either way it was a nice and easy walk through town.  Browse the Morning Markets One of our favorite things to do in a new city is to explore the local markets. Takayama has two daily markets, the Miyagawa Market and the Jinya-mae Market. Both markets are open from 7:00 am (8:00 am during winter months) until noon.  The morning markets consisted of local vendors selling a good mix of crafts, souvenirs, local food products, and snacks. Some vendors had free samples. Some of the more interesting items we tried were the wasabi Nori (dried seaweed) and mushroom tea. Although these were a little overwhelming to the taste buds, not to bad! But seconds weren’t necessary!  Don’t Miss the Old Gingko Tree at the Hida Kokubunji Temple Hida Kokubunji Temple, we came for the Pagoda but stayed for the Gingko tree! This temple complex is a short walk from the Takayama Train Station and has a lovely temple, pagoda, and very impressive Ginkgo tree. The Great Ginkgo tree of Hida Kokubunji was enormous, estimated to be 1,200 years old! The tree is 28 m in height and has a circumference of 10 m.  Hida Beef Literally Melts in your Mouth Hida-gyu or Hida Beef is a type of Wagyu beef raised in Gifu Prefecture and can be found everywhere in the Takayama area. Hida Beef is known for its marbling and taste that literally melts in your mouth. A bit cliché, but it’s true. I’ve never had meat quite like Hida beef. The only other meat I’ve had before that can compare is the Crown Rib from Jack Stack in Kansas City Recommended Restaurants, Food Vendors and Snacks around Takayama Restaurants and Food Vendors Kyoya Most of these restaurants were recommended to us by friends and they were all incredible, Kyoya was no exception and might be one of our favorite dining experiences in Japan so far.  Kyoya was a Yakiniku style restaurant in an old fashioned Japanese house. There most popular items include Hida Beef, of course as well as houba miso, which is grilled on a leaf. Also recommended were their wasabi shoots. There was an English menu available. We ordered one set to grill which came with slices of beef, vegetables, rice, and miso soup. The food was absolutely fantastic!  こもり(Komori) Komori was a little food stand in the middle of Takayama right before crossing the Kaji Bridge at the intersection of Honmachi Dori and Yasukawa Dori. As far as I am aware, this vendor just sold Hida Beef on a stick for ¥550. There were about 4-5 chunks of beef on the stick.  This was our first encounter with Hida Beef and I was instantly addicted. After my first bite, I was speechless by how good the meat was. We might have came back here a couple more times during our stay in Takayama.  Coffee Don Another great recommendation we received from friends was to have coffee and sweets at Coffee Don. Coffee Don is located on Honmachi Dori, not far from Komori.  Coffee Don had a nice selection of both hot and cold drinks. They also offer sweet treats like cake and pie. With its old timey atmosphere and friendly service, we really enjoyed our time at Coffee Don.  Hida Takayama Gyoza Sohonzan We needed a break from heavy meals but were still craving Hida Beef. Both Jill and I love gyoza, if you are unfamiliar with gyoza, I wrote about it in my Dining and Eating Around Japan post. We decided on a smaller meal and went to Hida Takayama Gyoza Sohonzan. This restaurant is famous for their unique takes on gyoza, whether it Hida beef gyoza or vegetable gyoza. They also have fried, boiled, and deep fried dumplings. We ordered three different assortments and were pleased with them all. The Hida beef gyoza didn’t really taste like Hida beef, but it was still very good!    Hida Beef Related Snacks Hida Beef Sashimi  Getting tired of reading about Hida beef yet? Hida beef was just so good, we had to try various meals and cooking styles of it. Another popular street food in Takayama was the Hida beef sashimi. Sashimi is basically a thin cut of raw meat, it doesn’t have to be just fish!  The Hida beef sashimi was sold at various vendors throughout town. We ordered a few to try and like all the other beef we had around town, it was amazing. The flavor was phenomenal.   Hida Beef Steamed Bun  Steamed buns are found all over Japan. You can find them at the local konbini (convenience store), grocery stores, and at most food markets. The steamed buns in Takayama were filled with Hida beef and like everything else, it was mouth watering.  Lodging and Where to Stay In Takayama, visitors can find all sorts of lodging from high end onsen resorts to youth hostels and everything in between. There are lodging options all throughout Takayama and the surrounding area. There are several hotel options conveniently located near Takayama station.  Takayama Ouan We stayed two nights at Takayama Ouan. This is one of those in between hotels where it felt like a resort but price wise it was cheap, at least to United States standards. The hotel had an onsen (private onsen options as well), late night complimentary ramen, all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, and all the amenities anyone could ever ask for.  Below are photos of our daily breakfasts. The quality of the food was higher then other hotels we’ve stayed at. I’ve said this before, only in Japan can you get a breakfast that consists of rice, soup, hot dogs, karaage, pasta, fermented vegetables, toast, fish, and the list goes on.  Sarubobo I can’t write about a Takayama Travel Guide without mentioning Sarubobo. Sarubobo means “Monkey Baby,” and it is the mascot of the Hida region. These dolls are faceless and generally colored red, although we saw them in various other colors. Sarubobo is a good luck charm primarily for a good and happy marriage and easy going birth delivery.  **This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links throughout the page, whether it be TripAdvisor, Booking.com. Agoda.com, or any other affiliate, I might receive commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, you can visit my affiliate link page here. Thanks for the support!  Enjoying my photos and want to see

Katsuyama, a lesser known mountain town in central Japan is located in Fukui Prefecture, not far from the city of Fukui and Maruoka Castle. Katsuyama is home to Japan’s largest sitting Buddha statue, tallest pagoda, as well as the tallest castle in Japan. With all these stunning statues and beautiful yet massive architectural buildings, why is Katsuyama unknown to most tourists? Simple, the whole western portion of Japan is not the easiest for visitors to travel to. It’s far from Tokyo and Kyoto, train rides are not direct, and the media simply doesn’t mention these types of places. We recently went on a week long road trip through central Japan and made a side trip to Katsuyama on our way to Kanazawa. Katsuyama was one of the highlights of our trip and a visit to this small mountain town is highly recommended!  **This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links or banners throughout the page, whether it be TripAdvisor, Booking.com. Agoda.com, or any other affiliate, I might receive commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, you can visit my affiliate link page here. Thanks for the support! Visit Katsuyama and How to Get Here Katsuyama is located in the Japanese Prefecture of Fukui. A Day trip to Katsuyama is manageable from the cities of Fukui or even Kanazawa. From Fukui, Katsuyama is just over a 30 minute drive and nearly 1.5 hours south of Kanazawa.  We rented a car and drove from Fukui to Katsuyama. For visitors that are lying on railway, there is a Echizen railway that has services between Fukui and Katsuyama Station.  The Highlights from our Trip to Katsuyama For a town of its size, there is quite a bit to do and see around Katsuyama. I won’t even touch all the hiking and other outdoor activities in the surrounding area. Our trip to Katsuyama started with a stop at the roadside station at Dinosaur Valley. We then drove to  Echizen Daibutsu, a huge temple complex which houses Japan’s largest sitting Buddha statue. We also visited the pagoda within the temple complex, said to be the largest pagoda in Japan. We finished our visit of Katsuyama with a brief stop at Katsuyama Castle.  Roadside Station Dinosaur Valley There is Dinosaur Museum  in Katsuyama that is apparently one of the top dinosaur museums in the world. Many dinosaur fossils have been found in this part of Japan. You’ll see random dinosaurs and dinosaur trinkets around town because of this.  If you are like us and time is limited, we skipped the museum this time around but we stopped at the Roadside Station Dinosaur Valley on our way into Katsuyama. The Roadside Station was worth a stop especially if taking a road trip to Katsuyama and beyond.  The Roadside Station had a small restaurant with seating indoors. There was also a small section outside selling produce and a shop with souvenirs, goodies, and other food items. I actually picked up a beer here called Echizen Fukui Roman Dark Ale by Koshiniso Brewing Co. and it was very good! There was a nice outdoor seating area, Jill and I sat at and enjoyed a brew. We also bought back some dinosaur snacks to the office from here and they were a hit!  Below are some fun dinosaur themed photos. The first one is of a construction fence and the other photo is the bathroom sign at the Roadside Station.  Echizen Daibutsu and the Seidaiji Temple Perhaps one of the most impressive temples I’ve seen in Japan is Seidaiji Temple and the Echizen Daibutsu, only rivaled by Todai-Ji in Nara.  Echizen Daibutsu was built by Kiyoshi Tada in 1987. Compared to the temples of Nara, that are hundreds of years old, this temple is basically brand new. But don’t let the date fool you, this temple is home to Japan’s largest sitting Buddha, standing or shall I say sitting at a whopping 17 meters tall. That is 2 meters taller then the Daibutsu in Nara.  There are two large parking lots in front of the temple. Visitors then walk through a small temple village full of shops and eateries. Unfortunately, when we were here, this area was a ghost town. All the buildings were closed so I am not sure if this town took a hit because of Covid or if we visited in the off season.  After passing the shops we found ourselves at the Daimon or Great Gate. After passing the gate, we were both in awe by the Seidaiji Temple sitting in front of us. This temple that houses the Great Buddha was just massive. Inside the temple was the Echizen Daibutsu.   Within the Temple, stands the Great Buddha, there are also 2 Giant Buddha statues on either side of the Echizen Daibutsu . Within the walls of the inner temple were hundreds of other smaller buddha statues.  Not only is Echizen Daibutsu the largest Buddha in Japan, but the tallest Pagoda in Japan can also be found within this temple complex. Pagodas are tall multi storied structures often found in Buddhist temples.  The famous Tojo Pagoda in  Kyoto stands at 55 meters. The Pagoda at Seidaiji Temple stands at an impressive 75 meters. Visitors can actually go inside this Pagoda and take either the stairs or elevator to the top. The views from the upper floor of the Pagoda are breathtaking! You can see most of the temple complex from here along with Katsuyama Castle in the background.  Katsuyama Castle Katsuyama Castle is not an original castle. Actually, far from it. Like Echizen Daibutsu, Katsuyama Castle is fairly new and was built in 1992. Although this castle isn’t significant in any way it is still impressive and beautiful to look at. This is supposedly the tallest castle in Japan. To me, Himeji Castle looked much grander and taller then Katsuyama Castle, but maybe it’s from ground level, who knows? Regardless, it is worth a quick stop.  The castle does have a museum that has a few weapons and armor sets by Samurai warriors. The castle is open from 9:30 until 4:30 everyday except Wednesday.  Conclusion Katsuyama is a hidden gem in Fukui Prefecture. The sheer size of Echizen Daibutsu and Katsuyama Castle make a visit to Katsuyama worth it alone. I could have stayed in Katsuyama longer, there is still much to explore like the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, hiking in the mountains, or skiing some of the nearby slopes. Katsuyama has much to offer.  Enjoying my photos and want to see more? Check out my Picfair Store. 📸   Plan Your Trip: 🗺️✈️🇯🇵  Booking Accommodations ⛺️🛖  For booking recommendations on the best deals and locations, check out Agoda or Booking.com Activities and Tours  🏖️🚁  Find fun activities and things to do through Tripadvisor. If you are looking for tours and day trips, Viator and Get Your Guide have a lot of great options.  In need of a car rental? 🚗🚘  I recommend checking with Rental Cars. Train Travel 🚂🚊  For the JR Pass, tickets can be purchased on the JR Pass site. 

If you’ve traveled anywhere around mainland Japan, you have probably noticed these statues that resemble a raccoon with huge balls. Besides the very noticeable balls, the tanuki statue appears to have a round belly with a straw hat on and sometimes they will have a sake bottle, and promissory note, among other items. So what’s the deal with Japan’s Tanuki Statues? **This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links or banners throughout the page, whether it be TripAdvisor, Booking.com. Agoda.com, or any other affiliate, I might receive commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, you can visit my affiliate link page here. Thanks for the support! **As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Japan’s Mythical Tanuki Statues When traveling in Japan, you might see a real tanuki. But you are more likely to see the statues of the mythological tanuki. You will see statues of tanukis near houses, shops, parks, basically everywhere.  The history of the tanuki is old. The tanuki is even mentioned in old Japanese folklore. In folklore, the tanuki is said to be a shape shifter with powers that are supernatural. In early folklore, the tanukis would shapeshift into a human and haunt or play tricks on other human beings.  After tanukis were first mentioned in early folklore, they were later mentioned as being tricksters. The tanuki was said to use magic on travelers. Today the tanuki is cute, cheerful, and wise, and can bring success to people.  Over time, the tanukis appearance has changed. The giant pair of balls on almost every tanuki statue was added during the Edo period. In various stories the testicles are described in many ways and have various uses. Now a days, the tanuki testicles are just as popular if not more so then the past. The balls are shown in modern art and even in cartoons like Studio Ghibli.  If interested you can find cute Tanuki statues and a wide range of them on Amazon. The Tanuki’s Special Traits Other then the gigantic testicles seen on Japan’s tanuki statues, there are 8 traits in total that are said to bring good fortune to businesses. I read and listened to several sources and all 8 traits are pretty standard throughout the internet. 🦡  The round belly of the tanuki indicates bold and calm decision making. The promissory note at the tanuki’s side signifies trust and confidence. The bottle of sake is there for virtue. The tanuki’s tail means steadiness and strength.  The large balls oddly enough represent financial luck. The large eyes are for seeing the capability to judge the environment and making positive decisions. The straw hat on the tanuki’s head represents readiness and protection against weather. The large grin on the tanuki stands for its friendliness towards customers.  📸 Enjoying my photos and want to see more? Check out my Picfair Store.  The Real Tanuki Yes, the tanuki, often referred to as a raccoon dog is a real animal. Oddly enough, the Tanuki is not related to the raccoon, that is native to North America. In fact, they belong to the same family as wolves and foxes. The tanuki is mostly nocturnal but they can be active during the day. Tanukis have curved claws and are known to climb trees.  On a road trip we took to Takayama, Jill and I were headed to a waterfall to photograph, during the middle of the day on a mountain pass we saw a tanuki run across the road, stand on his hind legs, and stare at us for several seconds. Many roads on mainland Japan have warning signs to watch out for Tanuki’s crossing the road. 📸 Enjoying my photos and want to see more? Check out my Picfair Store. Where to Buy Tanuki Statues Tanuki statues can be found and bought all over mainland Japan. I bought one at a souvenir store while on a short trip to Miyajima near Hiroshima. I also purchased one for my parents at a pottery shop in Himeji. I’ve seen tanuki statues for sale in almost every city and town around mainland Japan. Tanuki statues can even be purchased on Amazon.  I have this Tanuki Statue at home and love it. The quality is very good, size is perfect, and it has all my favorite characteristics of the tanuki.  Feel free to browse here for the different Tanuki Statues sold online. Some are definitely cuter then others. Anything made by  Shigaraki Ware will be of good and original quality made in Japan.  Conclusion The Tanuki will forever hold a special place in Japanese folklore and culture. The tanuki is a symbol of financial luck, prosperity, mischief, readiness, strength, confidence, and so on. Because of this, you will see the tanuki statues all over mainland Japan especially in front of homes and businesses. The tanuki is one of my favorite symbols of Japan and they embody the culture and spirit of Japan.  Enjoying my photos and want to see more? Check out my Picfair Store.  Plan Your Trip: 🗺 ✈️🇯🇵  Booking Accommodations ⛺️  🛖 For booking recommendations on the best deals and locations, check out Agoda or Booking.com Activities and Tours 🏖  🚁  Find fun activities and things to do through Tripadvisor. If you are looking for tours and day trips, Viator and Get Your Guide have a lot of great options.  In need of a car rental? 🚗  🚘  I recommend checking with Rental Cars. Train Travel 🚂 🚊  For the JR Pass, tickets can be purchased on the JR Pass. Tanuki Statues 🐾 Besides finding the Tanuki Statues in shops across Japan, you can find several on the  Amazon Website.

Like the  Battle Sites Tour offered by MCCS in Okinawa, the Tunnel Rats tour was another tour offered that was very adventurous and informative. The tour offered an inside look, literally of two caves on the island that were used as shelters and bunkers by locals during the Battle of Okinawa.  What Exactly are Tunnel Rats? I gathered from several sources that Tunnel Rats was the name given to American, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers who were typically trained combat engineers. These combat engineers would crawl through enemy tunnels during the Vietnam War to perform specific missions, usually very dangerous.  During the Vietnam War, tunnels were complex underground structure that served many purposes. Some tunnels were large enough to house hospitals, training facilities, and even barracks for the soldiers. The tunnels were very difficult to see from above and little damage was done to them from ground level. In order to either gain intelligence on what was going on in the tunnels or just flat out destroying the tunnels, soldiers would have to sneak into the tunnels to perform the missions. The soldiers that entered these networks of tunnels were known as “Tunnel Rats.” Tunnel Rats, Okinawa The Tunnel Rats Tour in Okinawa, didn’t really have anything to do with Tunnel Rats or the history of them. But none the less, the tour was incredibly interesting and full of adventure.  The tour is provided by MCCS, so like the Battle Site Tour, I understand that not everyone visiting Okinawa will have access to this, but there are local Battle Site tours and even guides that provide tours. Most of these will be strictly in Japanese though.  The two caves we explored were open and free to the public. They aren’t really tourist attractions, so I would have never guessed they existed based on locations. The first cave was near a new housing area and the second cave was on a small plot of forested land.  Even though the tour itself had nothing to do with Tunnel Rats, it was probably one of my favorites tours offered. Our guide would give us information on the cave and how it was used during the Battle of Okinawa. Once we arrived at the cave entrance, he would set us free where we could explore as a group or alone. History of the Caves For the Tunnel Rats Tour, we visited two caves. The first cave we visited was Shimuku Gama Cave in Yomitan also know as “Happy Cave” and the second cave was called Garabigama in the Shimajiri District of southern Okinawa. Shimuku Gama Cave also known as “Happy Cave”, was the first cave on the tour. This cave was pretty big with multiple chambers. During the Battle of Okinawa, over a thousand people hid in Shimuku Gama Cave to escape the violence occurring above ground. Apparently, people hid in this cave for over three months.  How did Shimuku Gama Cave become known as Happy Cave? There is also a cave nearby that people refer to as Sad Cave. My tour guide wasn’t a fan of these names given to the caves, in reality what happened in both caves wasn’t pleasant. But one cave had survivors while the other cave did not.  Long story short, our tour guide told us that during the war, the United States rounded up Japanese people living in the United States and hired Japanese speaking individuals as translators to assist during the war. The story goes that, at the time there were over a thousand people hiding in Happy Cave. US troops found the cave and two translators convinced the people within the cave that no harm would be done if they exited the cave. The people in the cave eventually came out and no harm was done to them, everyone in this cave survived hence the name Happy Cave.  Sad Cave started in a similar way. US Troops found the cave and translators tried to coax out the citizens living there. These people were not as trusting as the ones hiding in Happy Cave. Several times, troops and translators tried to tell the locals that no harm would be done if they would simply come out. No one exited the cave. The troops knew the people were hungry and thirsty. They set out food and water for the people to have. Still no one came out. People were afraid that the United States troops would poison the food. Knowing this, a few troops ate the food and drank the water to show the people it was safe. The people hiding believe that the troops were immune to it, so they didn’t come out. After a while there was no more communication or anything from the citizens living in the cave so troops went inside only to find that everyone within the cave committed suicide. Because of this, the cave is known as Sad Cave.  Garigama Cave  was the second cave visited on the tour. This cave was secluded, tucked away in the jungle. A small trail through the brush lead to a gigantic opening. I’ve been to many caves and this was one of the largest and most impressive cave opening I’ve seen. It’s hard to describe, but when nearing the cave entrance, looking up it was like we were already in a huge outside cavern. There were stalactites hanging from the ceiling and jungle all around us.  The pictures below are a better depiction of what I am trying to say.  There isn’t as much information on this cave as Shimuku Gama Cave. All we know is that this cave was also used by locals to hide during the Battle of Okinawa. There is evidence of a long history in this cave from broken pieces of pottery to human bones. Below are a few photos I took of broken pottery found throughout the cave.  Exploring the Caves Today Anyone can freely walk to and explore both Shimuku Gama Cave and Garigama Cave. These are natural caves open to the public. Again, I realize that a Tunnel Rat tour is not available to everyone. If you do decide to visit the caves, I recommend reading this post or do research prior to visiting just to learn some of the background about the caves.  Exploring these caves is not an easy task and I don’t recommend it for young children, people who are out of shape, and for people who are claustrophobic. These caves are not maintained. There are no lights inside nor are there boardwalks or suggested paths. It is up to you to decide how far in you want to go and how much you want to explore.  We explored both caves pretty extensively, at least as far as the caves went without us getting stuck and lost somewhere. Shimuku Gama Cave had multiple chambers to explore. One portion was a bit sketchy as you have crawl your way to the last chamber and kind of slide on your butt.  Garigama Cave was a little bit easier to explore as there was one massive cavern. You could make this as easy or as hard as you’d like. The entrance to the cave was the only portion that was a bit scary as we had to shimmy down a few boulders. Once that was out the way the massive cavern was ours to explore. I lead a group to the end of the cave. I went down a steep wall and ended up in a cavern full of water. We easily spent an hour exploring this cave. This cave was so large, I was in awe the whole time, I’ve never seen anything like it.  Cave Information and Coordinates Both caves are open 24/7 These are natural caves and open to the public. Visitors are free to enter and explore the caves at their own risks. That being said, below are the coordinates to the cave entrances.  Shimuku Gama Cave – 26.4026787, 127.7317323 Garigama Cave – 26.1372132, 127.7438258 Checklist, What to Bring on a Tunnel Rat Tour in Okinawa Treat a Tunnel Rat Tour or Cave Exploration as if you are going on a hike. Proper Footwear Long Pants Gloves Bug Spray Sun Block A Hat (As a thin protective layer between rocks and your head) Flashlight Water   **This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links throughout the page, whether it be TripAdvisor, Booking.com. Agoda.com, or any other affiliate, I might receive commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, you can visit my affiliate link page here. Thanks for the support! Enjoying my photos and want to see more? Check out my Picfair Store. 

Ie Shima, a quick 30-minute ferry ride from Motobu Port on Okinawa’s main island. “Shima” meaning “Island” in Japanese. Ie Shima is characterized by the upright standalone mountain in the eastern part of the island. Mt. Gusuku, or “Tacchu” a name given by locals is the dominant geographical feature of Ie Shima. Apart from Mt. Gusuku, the rest of the island is flat and consists mainly of agriculture. Exploring Ie Shima doesn’t stop with a hike to the top of Mt. Gusuku, the island is also rich in history and has many beautiful beaches and overlooks. **This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links throughout the page, whether it be TripAdvisor, Booking.com. Agoda.com, or any other affiliate, I might receive commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, you can visit my affiliate link page here. Thanks for the support! Getting to Ie Shima and Ferry Information Ie Shima, is an island located off the Motobu Peninsula of the main island of Okinawa, just south of the  Churaumi Aquarium. If taking the ferry, visitors must arrive at Motobu Port. There is a large parking garage here. Parking was fairly cheap, only ¥700 for 24 hours. Facilities at Motobu Port include a ticket counter, restrooms, waiting areas, and of course vending machines are abundant.  I recommend checking the  Ie Village Official Website for updated ferry times and fares.  Regular services for the ferry depart Motobu Port daily at 9:00, 11:00, 15:00, and 17:00.  Ferries depart Ie Shima Port daily at 8:00, 10:00, 13:00, and 16:00.  Round-trip fares for adults are ¥1390 and ¥710 for children.  There is a fare for vehicles, motorcycles, and bikes.  Getting Around Ie Shima Ie Shima isn’t that big, yet big enough where visitors need some sort of transportation to see some of the sites and explore the island more.  Across from the ferry terminal there are companies that rent out bicycles, cars, mini cars, electric scooters, and scooters (mopeds). We saw people driving miniature Jeep Wranglers. These looked more like toys then actual vehicles but they blew by us. For transportation rentals and to check out prices, I’d recommend visiting the TM Planning website. The ferry was big enough to transport cars (I would make sure to call ahead and make a reservation). Cycling Around Ie Shima We found the easiest way for us to explore Ie Shima was to bring our own bikes. We’ve done this on several islands and never have issues getting our bikes on and off the ferry.  We rode an even 26 kilometers around Ie Shima. You can’t completely do the circumference of the island because there is a military base that is fenced off on the western part of the island.  The roads around Ie Shima for the most part, were flat with very little if any traffic. The only real up hill we did was on the route toward Mt. Gusuku  Exploring Ie Shima’s History Like many areas of Okinawa, Ie Shima saw heavy fighting during WWII. In 1945, for five days, from April 16th until April 21st, American troops landed and fought on Ie Shima. The airstrip on Ie Shima was being used by Japanese forces but American forces wanted control of the airstrip.  When biking around Ie Shima, we stopped at the Ernie Pyle Monument. Ernie Pyle was an American Journalist and a war correspondent, meaning he was right in with all the action covering the stories.  While on Ie Shima on April 18, 1945, Ernie Pyle lost his life. The vehicle he was in came under fire and Ernie Pyle was hit and died immediately.  Today, there is a nice memorial in place at the location where Ernie Pyle was killed. It reads, “At This Spot the 77th Infantry Division Lost a Buddy, Ernie Pyle.” The next WWII site we stopped at was the Municipal Pawnshop. Almost all buildings on Ie Shima were completely destroyed. On a placard near the Municipal Pawnshop, it was stated that this building in particular was heavily damaged due to shelling but still kept its original shape. Today, the building still stands, the walls are riddled with bullet holes and signs of shelling.  Beaches and other Attractions Around Ie Shima 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. We plan on visiting Izena and Iheya Islands, which can be seen from Ie Shima.   Where to Find Food on Ie Shima It can be difficult to find restaurants and places to find food on some of the smaller islands around Okinawa. Ie Shima is no exception. There are a few restaurants, but many of them close on certain days or open later on in the day after the ferry leaves.  There are two Family Mart’s on the island and an A-Coop, which is a grocery store.  On the second floor of the ferry terminal is a delicious Syokudo restaurant serving fresh seafood (Pictured Above). I ordered fish tempura and it was huge. My meal came with a fish tempura bowl with rice, seaweed, soup, a salad, and other dish for ¥1000, can’t beat that!  Ie Shima Lily Festival Every year on Ie Shima visitors can visit and enjoy the Is Shima Lily Festival. This festival is Japan’s earliest Lily Festival and takes place from late April into early May.  One million lilies blanket Lily Field Park and there are over 100 different varieties of lily planted for us to enjoy. This festival not only has lily flowers but food vendors and live entertainment.  Enjoying my photos and want to see more? Check out my Picfair Store.  Plan Your Trip: 🗺 ✈️ 🇯🇵  Booking Accommodations ⛺️ 🛖  For booking recommendations on the best deals and locations, check out Agoda or Booking.com Activities and Tours  🏖 🚁  Find fun activities and things to do through Tripadvisor. If you are looking for tours and day trips, Viator and Get Your Guide have a lot of great options.  In need of a car rental? 🚗 🚘  I recommend checking with Rental Cars. Train Travel 🚂 🚊  For the JR Pass, tickets can be purchased on the JR Pass site.