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.