Nara often gets looked over, since it’s bigger sister Kyoto gets most of the attention in the Kansai region. At one point Nara was the capital of Japan between 710 to 794 before being moved to Kyoto and then Edo (current day Tokyo). Today, Nara is most famous for Nara Park which is the location of many of Nara’s temples and the world famous bowing deer. We were able to Travel to Nara Japan for two days after a visit to Kyoto and I must say, Nara might be my favorite city in Japan. Travel to Nara, Japan Nara, like most other cities on mainland Japan is very easy to access via public transportation. We took a train from Kyoto directly to Nara, in total it took 45 minutes.  To travel to Nara from Osaka Station it can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. The best way to find specific stations and times is by using the Japan Travel App. This app has saved us so much time and resources.  Nara has a great Train Station equipped with restaurants, a large supermarket, and Vie De France (One of our favorite bakeries)!  Once in Nara, there is a decent bus system that takes visitors from the Station directly to Nara Park. But I recommend either cycling or just walking to Nara Park, it’s about 15 – 20 minutes from the Train Station.  Nara Park If you only have one or two days in Nara, then I recommend spending the majority of the time at Nara Park.  Nara Park is where visitors will see most of Nara’s Sights to include beautiful nature, shrines, temples, and the world famous bowing deer. Yes, the deer actually bow when they are offered a treat, so polite, right?  Here are some fun facts about Nara Park: Nara Park is a public park that was established in 1880 The park covers about 66 hectares (1,600 acres) The Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (8 sites in total) are part of UNESCO There are roughly 1,200 Sika Deer that call this park home It is home to the largest Wooden Building in the World Japan’s second largest Buddha can be found here   The Free-Roaming Deer at Nara Park The free roaming deer at Nara Park are probably the most well known attraction of the park, even more so then the ancient temples and shrines.  The deer here at Nara Park are a huge deal! In fact, they are considered a National Treasure!  The Legend behind the deer started back in the year AD 768. According to sources at Nara Park that I read, Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, a God traveled to Nara on the back of a White Deer. Ever since this legend, the deer have become sacred in Nara.  I also read that up until 1637, killing a deer here was punishable by death! Although a death sentence likely won’t occur today, it is still a major crime to harass or kill these sacred deer.  Today, more then 1,200 deer roam the park. Visitors can freely walk amongst them and even feed them. Throughout the park, there are vendors that sell a delicious deer cracker known as Shika Senbei. This cracker is made up of rice bran and grains so it’s a yummy treat for the deer. Even the packaging around the crackers is edible. Just a note, these deer are still wild and have not been domesticated. The deer here are intelligent. Many of them will crowd vendors that sell the Shika Senbei. The people running the shops do love the deer and even pet and comfort the deer.  Words of advice – I learned the hard way!  Although they respect the sellers and leave them alone, the second you buy crackers they will surround you and can be somewhat aggressive. Just look at the picture below of what happened to me. There was one somewhat aggressive buck that kept sticking me with his antlers. I had to toss some crackers away from me just to get some distance from him. He left a gnarly scratch on me and even tore my new shirt. But it’s all good, I forgave him the next day.  Our advice is to find a vendor away from major attractions where there are no deer around. We did this for take two, and it worked great. We bought two bundles of crackers and stuffed them in our backpacks. Each bundle is about 10 crackers and costs 200¥. We went around looking for female or young deer that were either by themselves or with a small group and fed them. This was a much better experience and no one got injured! The deer here are famous for being polite as they generously bow in order to receive a treat. I was skeptical about this at first but it’s true! The deer will actually lower their heads and bow in order to get a treat. Watch the Bowing Deer Here. Below are some fun photos of the deer around Nara Park. They hang out in front of shops and apparently love ice cream!  The Sika deer at Nara Park are the same type of deer that are found throughout Japan. Another fun place to see the Sika deer is  Miyajima Island just south of Hiroshima City. Although, I think the deer in Nara Park are better behaved and cared for. It was amazing to see how well nature and humans can coexist in a location like Nara Park. The deer here looked healthy, were well fed, and genuinely cared for by locals. Temples and Shrines Around Nara Park Todai-ji Perhaps the most incredible temple in Japan, Todai-ji is a Buddhist Temple that was founded in AD 738. Todai-ji is also known as the Great Buddha Hall. There is a Buddha statue known as Daibutsu sitting in the Great Hall. The Daibutsu is the second largest sitting Buddha in Japan at a height of 15 meters weighing 500 tons. Todai-ji is the largest wooden structure in the world. Entrance price to visit Todai-ji is 500¥ and is well worth a visit!  Todaiji Nigatsudo Not far from Todai-ji, is Nigatsu-do. This area is more of a complex of temples and other structures. This temple complex was founded in the year 752. Like many temples and structures in Japan, the main building was destroyed because of a fire and was re-constructed in 1669 and is now one of Japans most important cultural sites.  Kasuga-Taisha Kasuga-Taisha is considered the most celebrated shrine in Nara. Kasuga-Taisha has a rich history and is dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of Nara. This shrine is the farthest walk from the entrance of Nara Park. The forest leading up to the shrine is breathtaking with large moss covered trees and Toro (traditional lanterns made of stone) lining each side of the path. This and Todai-ji are the only temples that charge a fee to visit. Kasuga-Taisha is 500¥ to enter. Besides the beautiful orange and white colors of the temple, Kasuga-Taisha has hundreds of hanging golden lanterns.  Kofukuji Five Storied Pagoda One of my favorite structures in Nara Park was the Kofukuji Five Storied Pagoda. According to an information panel at the pagoda, this pagoda was created by the Empress Komyoh in the year 730. The pagoda was restored in 1426 and is the second tallest pagoda in Japan, the first being the To-ji Pagoda in Kyoto.  Night Photography I don’t really spend to much time taking photos at night or have that much experience with it. But Nara Park felt like a perfect place to test out night photos with my new camera. I mainly shoot in Aperature mode and think some of these turned out pretty decent.  Travel to Nara Japan – Until Next Time After spending two days in Nara, I can honestly say it might be my favorite town in Japan so far. Nara Park was simply beautiful, the deer were cute, the temples were incredible, and the Gian Buddha was amazing to see in person.  Nara Prefecture has left me wanting more. There are two other UNESCO sites, Buddhist Monuments in the Horyuji Area and Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range that I plan on visiting when I Travel to Nara Japan next. 

Tsuken Island Okinawa, otherwise known as “Carrot Island,” is an island about 3.8 kilometers from the Katsuren Peninsula in Okinawa. Tsuken Island is relatively small, it’s only 1.88 km² (.73 sq. miles) and has a population of around 487 people. There is a town on the island which includes a port, post office, medical clinic, and a couple tiny convenience stores. Otherwise, Tsuken Island is known for their beautiful beaches and production of carrots.  Tsuken Island Okinawa, Carrots Tsuken Carrots are a thing and are famous across Okinawa and mainland Japan. The soil on Tsuken island is a red soil, rich in minerals brought here from the ocean. The rich soil is ideal for the cultivation of root vegetables. Apparently, the Tsuken Carrots have higher contents of sugar and are said to be more nutritious.  Getting to Carrot Island by Ferry There are two ferries that provide service between Heshikiya Port in Katsuren and Tsuken Island. There is a high-speed ferry and normal ferry. The difference in time is 18 minutes as the high-speed ferry takes 12 minutes while the regular ferry takes 30 minutes to cross from port to port. The  Visit Okinawa site is an excellent source to ferry routes and schedules around Okinawa.  Fares Regular Ferry, Adults ¥1220 Roundtrip High-Speed Ferry, Adults ¥1510  Roundtrip Timetable Regular Ferry Departs Heshikiya Port: 9:00, 11:00, and 14:00  Departs Tsuken Port: 10:00, 12:00, and 15:00 High-Speed Ferry Departs Heshikiya Port: 7:30 and 17:00 Departs Tsuken Port: 8:00 and 17:30 Getting Around Carrot Island is not that big. The best way to see the island is either by cycling or walking. There is a bike rental place on the island. We rode our bikes to Heshikiya Port, but left them there and decided to explore Tsuken Island on Foot. From Tsuken Port to Tanaka Beach ( northern most point) is just over 2 kilometers.  What to Do and See on Tsuken Island What’s Carrot Island, without a carrot observatory with carrot benches? Our first stop on Carrot Island was the Carrot Observation Deck. The observation deck definitely needs an update and paint job, but it offered incredible views of Okinawa, Tsuken Island, and the surrounding ocean. After seeing the beautiful ocean waters, we couldn’t wait to get to the beach. The first beach was Tomai Beach. This might very well be the prettiest beach I’ve seen in Okinawa to date. Crystal clear and calm water with various shades of Blue and a white sand beach, can it get any prettier?  Tomai Beach is part of a resort on the island but is free to the public. The beach is about 1 Km in length. We snorkeled around here for a bit. Although the beach is gorgeous, snorkeling was a little underwhelming. It’s not that it wasn’t beautiful, it was just a sandy and shallow beach with nothing else really to see. We did see a 6 legged (or armed?) starfish.  Surprisingly, there was an incredible amount of Sea Glass around the island. For those that don’t know. Sea glass is just regular glass that has been weathered or worn down over time so that the edges are smooth and round. White and Brown glass is pretty typical, but these beaches were full of green and light blue sea glass.  After walking and snorkeling at Tomai Beach, we kept walking beaches around the island. None of the other beaches could come close to the beauty of Tomai Beach, but we still enjoyed coming them for sea glass, sea shells, and finding fun critters, like the Red Eyed Rock Crab in the photo below. He was so cute!  Japan has these tetrapod things everywhere that we love. My friend Kimball is fascinated by these. They are his favorite! These tetrapods are usually set up along seawalls to limit erosion and longshore drift.  That kind of wraps up the beach portion of Tsuken Island. Honestly, there is not a whole lot else to do. But we found some other cool sites. We stumbled upon a few Tombs of Okinawa. These tombs fascinate me because they are massive!  The Golden Orb Weavers or Wood Spiders are getting massive this time of year. I guess if you hate spiders, avoid August in Okinawa. These spiders are all over the place and massive, I nearly came face to face with one as I almost walked in its web. Jill was brave enough to give you a size comparison of the spider with her hand!  Friendly Islanders I’m not sure if it’s because tourism has been low or if people on Tsuken Island are just really friendly, but we met some incredible shop owners on the island. It started when we went into one of the small convenience stores. I am a dummy and forgot sunblock with my bike at the other port. I asked the shop owner if she had any sunblock for sale. They didn’t but she went to the back and let me borrow hers. It’s the little things like this that make me appreciate the people here.  Another encounter we had was at a different convenience store. Before departing, we wanted to purchase a water. The owner asked us when our ferry was leaving. We had about an hour, so he told us to come out back and share a drink with him. It’s hard for me to pass up a beer with a local. We sat there for a bit. My Japanese is close to nothing and his English was, well lets say better then my Japanese. Although we couldn’t communicate well, we still shared stories and had an amazing time with him before we had to depart Tsuken Island back to the main island of Okinawa.  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 has a lot of great options.  **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!

Tokyo is  Japan’s capital city and the worlds most populous metropolitan area. The metro area of Tokyo has over 37 million people. Simply put, Tokyo is huge! It’s a high-tech, modern, and wealthy city that is separated into several districts. One of those districts is Shinjuku. Obviously, you can’t see all of Shinjuku in just a day or even a weekend, but we only had one day in Shinjuku. This is how we spent 24 hours in Shinjuku Tokyo. **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! 24 Hours in Shinjuku Tokyo Surprisingly, this was our first “real” time in Tokyo. We’ve transited through Tokyo, and even had lunch at Tokyo Station but I wouldn’t really count that as a visit. When first coming to Japan we told ourselves that when we do international travel, we’ll tack on an extra day and explore a new district of Tokyo. But then Covid happened and Tokyo was restricted to us, so we never really had a chance to visit until now. For 4th of July weekend, we hiked Mt. Fuji, and before departing back to Okinawa, we had a whole night and day set aside to visit Tokyo. By researching Tokyo, we wanted to stay in a busy district, a district that represents the Tokyo you see on television. The huge skyscrapers, flashing lights, noisy and annoying sounds, hoards of people crossing the street, and oh yes, the food! Based on this, we chose to stay in the Shinjuku District of Tokyo.  We arrived at Shinjuku Station (According to Guinness World Records, this is the world’s busiest train station), hotel check-in wasn’t until 1500, so we had a couple hours to kill. We made our way to Meiji Jingu, which is a Shinto Shrine by Yoyogi Park. Technically, this area is in the Shibuya District, but it was within walking distance from the Shinjuku Station.  Yoyogi Park and Meiji Jingu Yoyogi Park is one of the largest parks in Tokyo. This park is expansive with many open spaces, gardens, trails, and it’s next to the Meiji Jingu Shrine. The Meiji Jingu Shrine is a Shinto Shrine that was built and dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his wife.  After a visit to the shrine, we walked over to the Meiji Jingu Gyoen Gardens. The garden was so peaceful, it was hard to believe the hustle and bustle of the worlds largest city was just beyond the trees. The garden was quiet as we walked the many paths to the pond. Once at the pond we saw a snake soaking up the sunlight. I believe it was a rat snake, but so surprised to see a snake and other reptiles in the middle of Tokyo.  Kabukicho – Entertainment District Kabukicho is the entertainment and night life district of Shinjuku. Tokyo’s largest red light district is here as well. Compared to the red light district of Amsterdam or the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany, the red light district here was pretty mild and relaxed.  When you picture Tokyo – the flashing lights, skyscrapers, and huge pedestrian zones, this area is that image. We walked around here both during the day and night and the people watching and window shopping did not disappoint. We didn’t really have a plan here other then walk around and experience Tokyo as a pedestrian. Unfortunately, because of Covid, restaurants and bars had to close at 2000, so it wasn’t as crowded and noisy as we expected. Because of this, it didn’t really feel like the Tokyo we expected, which could be a bad or good thing! Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden Another surprise, was the amount of parks and green spaces in Tokyo. I thought Tokyo was supposed to be a huge concrete jungle with not a tree in sight. I was wrong, as streets were lined with trees and there were parks everywhere.  The morning of our departure back to Okinawa, we visited Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. For ¥ 500, we walked around this park for a solid three hours. The park is 58.3 hectares or 144 acres and has more then 20,000 trees and several large ponds. There is a green house here as well with several tropical and subtropical plant species.  There is a beautiful Taiwanese Tea House here called Kyu-Goryo-Tei, that was so picturesque.  I love wildlife and the garden was home to many interesting turtle species. I love the softshell turtles, below is a photo of a softshell turtle and a photo of me taking a photo of a turtle!   Interested in spending more then 24 hours in Tokyo? Check out this post by Joey on How to Spend Four Days in Tokyo. Food and Restaurants Finding delicious food in Shinjuku is not a difficult task. There seemed to be thousands of restaurants lining the streets. Don’t forget to look up, as most buildings have restaurants on multiple levels. With the variety and amount of restaurants in one place, how do you even decide?  Honestly, we tried not to think to hard about it. When we first arrived, I was in the mood for ramen, so we popped in the first restaurant we saw, Keika Ramen. I had a miso broth ramen that was delicious.  Jill got a bib because she had a white shirt on!  For dinner, we were craving pizza. Looking at Google Maps, there was a pizza restaurant nearby named Kuroneko which translates to “Black Cat.” The pizza’s were tiny but man they were delicious!  Kuroneko’s pizza were very satisfying, they also had fun cat decorations around the restaurant including the bathroom. Here is a photo of their menu, we got a good laugh from it. For breakfast, if our hotel doesn’t have breakfast, we usually try and find a local bakery. The  Bakeries in Japan are amazing. They have a good mix of savory and sweet pastries. The only negative thing is most don’t open until 9 or 10 am. Luckily we found a cute bakery down the street called Little Bakery at 3-chrome with tasty treats, they opened at 8:00 am.  There was an Ikea near the hotel, so for second breakfast, we couldn’t resist a plate of their famous Swedish Meatballs. By the way, they taste the same everywhere you are. Finally, before heading to the train station, we found an Izakaya serving up great local Japanese set meals. These are our favorite meals here because you get a main course, with rice, soup, and veggies. All this for under ¥1000 a person! Skymark Pikachu Aircraft We flew Skymark, which is a Japanese budget airline. The company has an event called Pokémon Air Adventures and their goal is to make people happy by seeing Pikachu in the sky. We were lucky enough to be on one of the Pikachu Jets on our return flight. At the airport, the ticket booth, even the tickets have Pikachu on them. The airplane is decked out with Pikachu. While inside, the headrests and even the stewardess aprons had Pikachu on them. The best thing was that Pikachu spoke through the intercom after announcements! Jill and her Umbrella at Gyoen National Garden 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. 

Zamami Island, Okinawa belongs to an archipelago known as the Kerama Islands. This chain of islands is located about 50 Km west of Okinawa’s main island. Known for its beautiful beaches and world class diving/snorkeling, Zamami Island is frequented by travelers and water enthusiasts looking to escape the busy city life for a more relaxed atmosphere.  If you are planning your trip to Zamami Island in Okinawa, I created this post as a guide to help you plan your vacation. I spent a few days on Zamami Island and cycled around trying to find the best beaches and snorkel spots. **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! Where is Zamami Island Zamami Island is one of four inhabited islands that make up the Kerama Islands, an archipelago belonging to Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. The other inhabited islands that make up the Kerama Islands include Akajima (Aka Island), Geruma, and Tokashiki. Getting to Zamami Island Zamami Island is easily reached, especially if you live in or are visiting Okinawa. From Naha Port, there are two ferries that leave daily. There is a high speed ferry called “Queen Zamami” that takes about 50 minutes. The other ferry, “Ferry Zamami” leaves daily at 10:00 am, stops at Aka Island and then ports at Zamami Island, the total journey is two hours. Ferry Zamami leaves Zamami Island, daily at 3:00 pm. Round trip tickets with Ferry Zamami are ¥4030 (about $40) while Queen Zamami tickets cost ¥5970 (about $60). The  Visit Okinawa site is a great source to view ferry routes and schedules. Ferry Zamami was a very comfortable ride with abundant seating and tatami rooms for guests that wish to lay down. Kerama Blue “Kerama Blue,” was a name given to the islands based on the brilliant blue coloration of the water. Because of its beauty, nature, and wildlife the Kerama Islands have been designated as a National Park. Bringing Bikes to Zamami Island and Cycling Around For visitors I discourage bringing a vehicle simply because it’s expensive to transport and there is no real need. We brought our bikes on the ferry, no issues. Bikes were ¥380 (about $4) one way. The island is large enough where walking could be exhausting but distances were not that great where a car is needed. Bikes were the perfect alternative to getting around the island and exploring the many beaches and observation decks. Cycling the island was fairly easy,  more mountainous then expected, but it’s Japan so I guess it was no surprise to us. On our second day of the trip we rode our bikes to all the beaches and observation decks throughout the island. We rode a total of 23.40 kilometers (14.5 miles). Food and Restaurants around Zamami Island Food in Japan has been incredible and the small island of Zamami is no exception. Surprisingly for a small town there were quite a few restaurants on the island.  There was one restaurant that was open to customers, so Jill and I had dinner at Restaurant Marumiya twice and it was delicious! Restaurant Marumiya served up traditional Japanese and Okinawan cuisine with set courses that typically include a main dish, a bowl of rice, a soup, salad, and fermented vegetables. One specialty dish from Okinawa we haven’t tried yet until coming to this restaurant was Goya Champuru.  Goya Champuru – Goya is a bitter melon. By itself it is almost inedible, but stir fry it with meats and other veggies it’s not to bad! Goya Champuru is a favorite summer dish among Okinawans. It is a stir fry that consists of Goya, tofu, pork, and eggs.  Breakfast – The place we stayed at had a great deal with an Izakaya next door. An Izakaya is a Japanese style bar that serves up drinks and small food dishes, kind of like tapas. The Izakaya provided breakfast for the guest house patrons. To Westerners a Japanese breakfast might be difficult to stomach first thing in the morning. Sometimes I even have troubles finishing all my dishes. It’s not your typical bacon and eggs. It’s more of a bowl of rice, miso soup, fish, tofu, salad, and fermented vegetables kind of breakfast. Honestly, a Japanese breakfast makes sense, you get all your food groups in one sitting. Either way, we had breakfast twice at the Izakaya and the chef prepared us very hardy meals to get us through the day.  The first image below was our first meal. This included a plate of salad, an egg, spam, and a fish filet along with a small bowl of tofu, a bowl of rice and miso soup. The second picture was our breakfast from day two, it consisted of a large bowl of fresh fish mixed with tofu, a green salad with a sausage and spam, potato salad, miso soup, and a hefty bowl of rice. Zamami Island, Beaches “Kerama Blue,” best describes the beaches at Zamami Island. I’ve never seen beaches and landscapes like this before. I feel Japan doesn’t get a lot of recognition when it comes to beaches and nature. In magazines and documentaries you always see places like the Maldives, Bora Bora, Bali, the Bahamas but you rarely see the beaches of Japan. Maybe it’s just a best kept secret? I feel beaches in Japan, especially Okinawa, deserve a lot more attention.  The three days we were on Zamami Island, we visited four beaches, three of which we snorkeled. Below are the two main beaches on Zamami Island that were truly memorable.   Ama Beach  What can I say, this beach was brilliant! A five minute bike ride from town, we found ourselves at Ama Beach four times. This is the beach that you go to if you wish to see sea turtles. We got lucky and saw two sea turtles the morning we snorkeled. Daily, high tide was around 9:00 am. so we made sure to be at the beach around 8:00 am. At the time, Okinawa was in a state of emergency and no visitors are allowed within Japan so we had the beach to ourselves. As we prepared our snorkel equipment, right away I saw a sea turtle poke its nose out the water for air. After witnessing that, we couldn’t wait much longer and instantly dove in. It took us a while to spot the turtle but once we did I followed his every move for a solid hour. He could give two shits about me and what I was doing but I was fascinated by his every move. The sea turtles come to Ama Beach during high tide to eat the sea grass. I followed the turtle for a while just in awe by his beauty. Turns out, the sea turtles here are green sea turtles.  Green Sea Turtle – They are given this name by the green coloration of the skin under their shell. They are herbivores and eat mainly sea grass and algae. These turtles are found throughout the world. So far, I’ve seen them in both Belize and Japan. Unfortunately, there are countries that harvest them for their eggs, fat, and meat. There are many countries that have made it illegal to hunt green sea turtles, thank god! In 2016 we were in Exuma, Bahamas with my family and I remember the night sky was absolutely beautiful! I wanted to experience this again. Around 8-9:00 pm we rode our bikes both nights to Ama Beach to check out the night sky. Unfortunately, clouds dominated the sky, but between the sound of the waves and the darkness, it was extremely peaceful. Gazing at the stars was not the only reason we came to this beach at night. Our first day on the island we were riding our bikes. I saw a huge shell crawl across the road. This shell was a hermit crab and definitely the biggest one I’ve ever seen. The hermit crab was a purplish color and the size of my fist. Hermit crabs are nocturnal so we wanted to see if they were abundant on the beach at night. Both nights, the beach was crawling with these giant hermit crabs. Yadokari is the Japanese term for Hermit Crab. Below are a few photos of the hermit crabs we saw on Zamami Island.  Other then hermit crabs, ghost crabs were abundant on the beach at night. The ghost crabs are quick, but not very agile. They would dart in one direction then quickly in the other direction sometimes running right into us. They were absolutely adorable.  Furuzamami Beach  Furuzamami Beach is considered one of the top three most beautiful beaches in all of Japan. I’d have to agree, the water was turquoise blue, surrounded by green mountains, the coral was healthy and the marine wildlife here was abundant. This beach was 1.4 km from town, a pretty easy bike ride but also doable if walking. We primarily came here to snorkel and catch some sun.  The snorkeling at Furuzamami Beach was some of the best snorkeling I’ve done so far. The water was clear, I easily saw 20-30 ft below me. The coral reefs were absolutely brilliant. This beach has a swimming only section to keep people like me away from the bulk of the coral. So although we couldn’t really swim above the coral we could swim to the side of it. I respect that, it’s how they keep their coral alive and fish happy. There was plenty to see in the swimming only section. I snorkeled solo the first day and saw hundreds of marine species to include black-banded sea snakes, trigger fish, clown fish, parrot fish, and many others that I don’t know the species name.  The second day snorkeling Jill tagged along with me as I was eager to show her the beauty of the coral and potentially show her the sea snakes. We lucked out and saw three sea snakes, two of them were even in a romantic relationship, we did our best not to disturb them. We also had a fan following. The moment we entered the water, three fairly large fish swam right under us and followed us wherever we swam for a solid half hour. Black-Banded Sea Snake – It is a little intimating at first swimming in a location where sea snakes live. After all, sea snakes are extremely venomous. But for the most part sea snakes are very shy creatures. In the event of human history there have been very few deadly encounters with these beautiful creatures. The only accounts I’ve read, have been when they get tangled in fishing nets and the fishermen miss handle them when pulling them from the net. Otherwise, they would rather do their own thing and have nothing to do with us.  A little more about sea snakes. There are 69 species of sea snake that have been recorded. They prefer warm tropical waters, so you won’t find them in the cold Atlantic. They are reptiles and therefore breath air. They tend to surface every thirty minutes for a brief second before slithering back to the ocean floor. I witnessed them do this several times, it was neat to see their little heads pop out of the water for fresh air, sometimes they appeared a little closer then I expected. To survive they have to drink fresh water. They do this by going onto land briefly or relying on rain water that hits the waters surface.   Coasts and Observation Decks Zamami Island had some of the most dramatic and beautiful coastlines I’ve seen. Outside of visiting beaches, we also rode our bikes around the island to all of the observation decks to get a look at the views of the surrounding islands and ocean.

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. **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! Cape Hedo 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.  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. 

Okinawa is a beautiful Island that is part of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Today, visitors flock to Okinawa to stay at the resorts, participate in water activities, attend festivals, and visit some of the WWII sites. Okinawa was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of WWII. When traveling to Okinawa, visitors have a chance to explore many of the historic battle sites, from hiking to the top of Hacksaw Ridge to learning more about the battle at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum. Joining an Okinawa Battle Sites Tour is one of the best ways to learn about the history of Okinawa during WWII and see some of the most famous sites.  **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! Brief History on the Battle of Okinawa The Battle of Okinawa took place on the island of Okinawa between US forces and the Imperial Japanese Army beginning April 1st 1945 lasting until June 22nd 1945. The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle for the fight in the Pacific War where upwards to 12,000 Americans and over 100,000 Japanese lost their lives. Another 100,000+ citizens lost their lives on the Island by either being killed in combat or death by suicide. The US invasion of Okinawa was part of Operation Iceberg. The goal of this operation was to seize and control the Ryukyu Islands before pushing upward toward Mainland Japan. On April 1st, the American troops set foot on the beaches of Okinawa, surprisingly with little to no resistance. The majority of the Japanese Imperial Army were waiting in southern Okinawa at an area known as the Shuri Defense Line. April 26th was when the American troops arrived at The Maeda Escarpment otherwise known as Hacksaw Ridge. Hacksaw Ridge is a 400 ft. cliff that the Japanese used as a stronghold to hold off the American troops. The Japanese Army utilized the terrain here to construct underground tunnels and bunkers. Because of this and the terrain, the American Troops were forced to scale the cliff to attack the enemy. The battle at Hacksaw Ridge lasted eleven days before the US Troops eventfully took over. There were several more battles after Hacksaw Ridge, but on June 22nd 1945 General Ushijima and his Chief of Staff General Cho performed a ritual suicide which ultimately led to the end of the Battle of Okinawa.  Okinawa Battle Sites Tour The tour company on Camp Foster offers an Okinawa Battle Sites Tour a few times a month. I understand, not everyone traveling to Okinawa has access to the bases, but I am sure there are similar Battle Site Tours offered by companies outside the military bases. In reality, we could have visited all the sites offered by the tour by ourselves, but I figured we would learn a lot more by taking the tour and hearing it from someone that actually knows their Okinawan history.  The Okinawa Battle Sites Tour was an all day event and visited four sites around southern Okinawa. The four locations included in this particular tour included: ✅ Hacksaw Ridge ✅ The Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters ✅ Battle of Okinawa Historical Society Museum at Camp Kinser ✅ Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum and Park.  For other Battle Sites around Okinawa that can e done without a tour, check out my Battle of Okinawa: WWII Sites around Okinawa post.  Hacksaw Ridge I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of Hacksaw Ridge until my favorite director and actor Mel Gibson made a movie about it. Even then, I thought it was a great movie but never paid attention to the location or where it took place. In fact, I had no clue it was in Okinawa until I saw it on the tour pamphlet. Come to find out it’s only 15.5 kilometers (9.6 miles) from where I currently live.  The movie focused primarily on the war hero  Desmond Doss. Doss was a combat medic and Seventh Day Adventist Christian who refused to carry a firearm in to battle. Doss was awarded several medals including the Medal of Honor for his bravery. Doss saved between 50-100 wounded soldiers, putting his life at risk on numerous occasions. He was wounded four times to include being shot by a sniper bullet in the arm and getting shrapnel lodged in his body after stepping on a grenade. To this day he is the only Conscientious Objector. I had to look that one up but it is someone who refuses to perform military service. He left Okinawa on May 21, 1945. In 2003, he made an appearance in Okinawa, our tour guide actually met him. Today on Hacksaw Ridge the rock still remains that he used to lower wounded soldiers to safety. We know this because he actually pointed it out when he was here. Desmond Doss died March 23, 2006. Today, Hacksaw Ridge is a nice expansive park with playgrounds, walking trails, castle ruins, and a royal mausoleum. The Urasoe Joseki Castle Ruins are the remnants of a castle here from the 13th century. The castle was burned down in 1609 by the Satsuma Domain. The ruins were then used by the Japanese as protection during the war. Another well known site within the park is the Urasoe Youdore constructed in 1261. According to online sources, there are three royal mausoleums in the Ryukyu Kingdom and this was one of them. This mausoleum is the final resting place for three rulers and one king of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The mausoleum was heavily damaged during the war but has gone through restoration processes to restore it. Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters At the time, this was not included in the tour I was on because COVID-19 restricted large groups, so I visited this historical site on my own.  The Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters is open to visitors. There is no need to make a reservations for visiting. During opening hours, visitors can come here, visit the museum, and walk around the underground tunnel complex. In 1944, thousands of men put in very hard work to dig out the Navy Underground Headquarters. The tunnel is about 20 meters deep and there are about 450 meters of tunnels with a few entrances/exits. During the war, the tunnels were large enough to house around 4,000 soldiers.  Rear Admiral Ota Minoru was the Commanding Officer of the Japanese forces in Okinawa and used the Underground Headquarters to send a telegraph to the Navy Vice Admiral in Tokyo basically saying that the people of Okinawa fought their hearts out. US forces stormed the island and Rear Admiral Ota knew that they would be defeated. Rear Admiral Ota and six other officers committed suicide in the Underground Headquarters on June 13, 1945.  Today, visitors can explore the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters. The entrance to the tunnels begins with walking down 105 stairs. There are several pathways to walk around, there are arrows guiding visitors on the recommended route. On the tour, you can visit the Staff Officer’s Room. The walls of the room are covered in holes from a grenade that was used by the officers when they decided to end their lives. Visitors can also see other rooms throughout the tunnels to include the Petty officer’s room, medical room, generator rooms, and the Commanding Officer’s room.  Battle of Okinawa Historical Society Museum The next stop on the Okinawa Battle Sites Tour was to the Battle of Okinawa Historical Society Museum located on Camp Kinser. The museum is on a military base so not everyone can access it. But if anyone does have access, you would have to make an appointment to view the museum or join one of the tours. The museum is operated by volunteers and all of the items on display (photos, artifacts, memorabilia) are donated by collectors, locals, and veterans. Many of the artifacts have been found during construction projects or items washed up ashore and donated to the museum. The museum is divided showing sections of the Marine Corps, Army, and Navy, there is even a section dedicated to Japan. For being a small museum, I felt it had a lot of interesting artifacts and detailed articles. The museum had old newspapers and magazine articles covering the war, soldier uniforms, and a vast collection of weapons.  Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum The Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum was the last stop of the tour. The Peace Memorial Museum is located at the southern tip of the island and is the main memorial for all the victims of the Battle of Okinawa.  Unfortunately, for this tour we only had about an hour here which is not nearly enough time to cover the entire park and museum. We had just enough time to walk the perimeter and visit some of the observatory decks. But there is a lot to this park and I would say 6 hours is needed here to fully explore the park and museum.  One of the more recognizable monuments here at the park is the Cornerstone of Peace. Like the Vietnam Memorial in D.C., this memorial is made up of large stones with names of the fallen etched in them. There are over 240,000 names etched in the stones to include all nationalities.  After visiting the Cornerstone of Peace, we walked this beautiful sidewalk with memorials that were donated from each Japanese Prefecture. We didn’t have time to view each memorial, but everyone we walked by was absolutely beautiful. The grounds at the Peace Park are kept in immaculate condition.  I visited the museum during a rainy weekend on my own. The museum was impressive and full of information related to the war. The museum didn’t take sides or point fingers. Instead, it provided first hand accounts from the war and showed how everyone on the island was affected by it. The museum had amazing displays and very sad stories and graphic images.  There was a room with personal testimonies from civilians that were on Okinawa during the war. There were several prints to read in both English and Japanese. I spent about a half hour reading these testimonies and they were gut wrenching. Many of the stories were told by children and young adults as they tell their stories of the horrors they witnessed. I could have spent hours going through the hundreds of stories. Location Information Hacksaw Ridge in Urasoe Daikoen Park Address: 2 Chome-53 Nakama, Urasoe, Okinawa 901-2103 Admission: Free Hours of Operation: Every Day from 0900 to 2100.  Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters Address: 236 Tomigusuku, Okinawa 901-0241 Admission: ¥450 per person Hours of Operation: Daily from 0830 to 1700 Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum Address: 444 Mabuni, Itoman, Okinawa 901-0333 Admission: ¥300 for Adults, ¥150 for Children Hours of Operation: Park is open 24 hours. Museum is open daily from 0900 to 1700. Conclusion An Okinawa Battle Sites Tour is the best way to explore some of Okinawa’s most popular WWII sites. For visitors that do not have access to the on base tours, most of these sites can be visited without a tour, I hope this post is helpful in that regard and gives enough information for each battle site. If interested in exploring Okinawa’s WWII history, I recommend starting with Hacksaw Ridge and ending at the Peace Memorial Park. If visiting Okinawa, please do enjoy the nice weather and beaches but also set a day aside to check out some of the history and battle sites.  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