Kumejima

During the later part of Golden Week, I had the opportunity to fulfil another big resolution - to visit Kumejima. Lords knows why I was so fixated about going there! After many failed plans, I finally got my chance thanks to Ben and Dave who wanted to go as well. Everything was planned at the last minute and we were set to go! Even though I knew I wouldn't be able to meet Jess (one of the resident JET @ Kume), I couldn't miss out on the trip having found company as charming as Ben, Elina and Dave... Here on this blog I shall also provide some info for those googling kumejima, and reaching my blog! I highly recommend a trip there, and I am all for going back there! We couldn't see some places as one day was spoiled by bad weather! for example Haate Beach - which was right in the middle of the sea 7km away from the coast - sort of like Nylon Pool off the coast of Tobago!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ferry to Kume costs 5,700 yen (return trip), makes 2 trips a day (except on Mondays) and takes 3:15 to 4 hours (depending on whether it stops at Tonaki or not). If you're planning to go during a peak season, better buy the ticket in advance from Tomari Port or any tourist office like OTS (they give you a voucher which has to be exchanged for the tickets at the port). It starts at 8-30am and 2-00pm from Tomari Port in Naha and Maeshiro Port at Kume. They run from both ports simultaneously so that they meet somewhere in the middle near the Karema Islands.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the Uesu House constructed in 1754. It is said that the Uezu family descended from the lords of the old Gushikawa Castle.The family were Pechin, a rank equivalent to Samurai. It is an old family. Generations were Magiri (an old administrative district) heads. The House is a collection of flat wooden houses surrounded by a stone wall and Fukugi trees, that passed over from one generation to another as the residence of the area head. It houses unique bonzai trees, a courtyard well (down which Dave is peering in the picture on the right) and the interior is kept preserved as it used to be in the old times. Based on the wind-water idea of the Ryukyu kingdom, it is National Heritage site. It cost 300yen and it was a price worth paying to preserve a house as old as this one for posterity.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

tatamiishi - or Tatami mat stones, so named because they spread out like a mat on the sea shore. This is a unique formation of lava cooling into a hexagonal or poly-angular shape, somewhat reminiscent of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. These were the main reason why I wanted to see Kume! One Day I shall visit the Giant's Causeway, but till then I shall be satisfied with something no less interesting!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mihugi rock , also know as the vagina rock. Women who are unable to bear children come to pray at this spot. Water drips from top of the center of the crevasse, perhaps lending some more signification as a vagina symbol and the fertility rites connected to it. Walking to the crevasse was very dangerous, with rugged, uneven lava rocks and pools of standing water, and my flimsy flip flops, the strap of which broke ( I should have listened to my bad Google translated info: "because there is also a place where foothold is bad, footwear such as sneaker is suitable")!!!! Funny thing is, a group of 5 Japanese girls folded their hands and posed for pictures under the crevasse and David copied them when our turn came. So, I'd figure, Dave should have no problem in childbearing!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the same shore, but on the east of mihuga, is the tachijiyami rock. And corresponding to the vaginal symbol, this is a phallic symbol. I wonder if impotent men come here to pray for fertility! It is approx. 40m high, 70m wide and 5m thick. Well, the angle at which this was shot taken and bad lighting doesn't make it seem impressive, but it definitely was! There were endless steps down to it (yes, bad puns ensued on how we had to go down on it..) and once we reached the end of the steps, a drizzle made us rush back up to the car, good that we did as soon enough thunder rumbled in the distance and a typhoon-ish-storm came down on us. Had it been a clear day, we would have wondered about in the hidden paths there for sure.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These above are the Aka Waterfalls - small cascades that fall from the cliff after a nice rainfall. The view from up there was excellent! Also a strange phenomena occurs up here some times. Due to strong winds from the sea, the water apparently "retrogresses". We probably should have gone there after the storm, there would have been more water falling...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At Bade Haus, they have pools of pumped deep oceanic water and use German warm bath therapy to relax onself. Deep seawater is full of minerals and is purer than surface water. It is pumped from a depth of 612m (2,007 ft.) at this facility. There are specialized underwater programs according to your health condition. It's a must do at Kume and one can spend a whole day there. The cafe had very oiishi cakes! yummy!! :) But word of caution, if you have a tattoo, remember to cover it up as they wouldn't let you in the pool otherwise. It costs 2000 yen for the common spa, but 2500yen if you buy the whole package including the private spa (were men and women have separate areas and no swiming suits are allowed). There are various massages available as well, and I have no detail on that!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Gushikawa Castle Ruins Site. Built in the 15th century, on a limestone hill at the edge of the sea, its east gate is at a height of 30m. The style of stacking the stones is unique and Chinese coins and crockery has been found here. It was unimpressive to me, as I could not visualize what it might have been like in a earlier era when these empty grounds contained more than just shrubbery and thickets, but the others really liked it. And it did have a magnificent view!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wild lilies grew everywhere!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a big fan of capes; at capes you reach the end of a landmass and can look directly into infinity of a boundless ocean in front. This cape was extremely pretty. From the point where we parked the car, it was easy to misjudge the last point of the cape. It was in fact a collection of capes, one of which was the tori no guchi - meaning bird's mouth. the path to these peaks were strewn with wild lilies and it reminded me of Switzerland for some vague reason of my unconscious mind. Anyhow, if one were to go there during the humpback whale season (i.e. around the month of March), and if luck abounds, these beautiful mammals can be seen flitting around in joy from the cape. In all the place I believe, is called the Toukujimu Natural Park.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are the Uezu Castle Ruins. At 309 m it is the highest point on Kume. On a clear day the Okinawa Honto (main island) is visible, but the panoramic 360 degree view on any day is anyway too great to bother about seeing Okinawa Honto! Chinese porcelain was found during the excavation which only supplements the historiacal fact of Ryukyu kingdom's strong trade with China. There are warnings not climb the masonry, but you couldn't give me money not to!! Of course I climbed them and took the pictures below. I also found a Habu snake skin on the ramparts! Kowaii!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goeda no Matsu: Pine of the Five Branches, only 6m tall, but its radius from the central trunk is 4.3m covering around 250 sq.meters. It is often described as a gaint bonsai, due to it crawling branches. It is believed to have been planted earlier but the last recorded date says 1839. Its beauty and praise is sung in Ryukyuan songs, having been planted to worship the harvest gods. It is one of the famous pine trees in Japan.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apart from the loads of sightseeing, there were so many things that I didn't capture in photographs: playing a Russian card game Elina taught us and pulling Dave's leg about losing so many times; camping and waking up to find my bum wet as it had rained in the night; waking up early in morning and finding cowrie shells on the windy beach near the campsite; getting lost and then finally finding the ghost road and debating why the car was moving for no reason and what was happening to us; meeting new friends, making human pyramids and playing Kabbaddi at the camp with them; eating some of the best food in Okinawa; and challenging our minds to word association chain games! All in all, it was one of my best trip ever! Thank you Ben, Elina and Dave!