伊江島 Ie-jima

Sorry for being so tardy... I went to Ie-jima on 19th of May, but I didnt publish my entry on it and I decided that if I were to post now, it would be so far down, you wouldnt even notice it... so here it is, a fresh start....

Ie-jima is the closest island to Motobu that is not part of Motobu-cho. It makes for a great view and perhaps every little cafe in Motobu as an awesome view of Ie. Its uncanny how Ie-jima is somehow an integral part of Motobu without being an actual part...

The ferry leaves from Motobu Port and there are 4 ferries per day. The 30mins ferry ride costs a lil more than 1000 yen for a return trip.

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The prominent geographical feature of the island is the Mount gusuku. On a clear day, the view from up here is spectacular. By far the best view you can get. On the path, I came across this tree/s (above), which seemed to be growing from a huge boulder. It was ... incredible. The pics below are from the mountain.

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Now, the deal was that I had been waiting for the famous lily festival of Ie to go there. Below is te lily field. and the sea coast near it was very interesting. Its probably a dive spot, but it seemed very kowaii (or scary)

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Now, this below is the Awajee Observatory, or maybe we shouldnt use the Japanese term for viewpoint. It was pretty impressive, nonetheless, and one could see Iheya and Izena from here in the distance.

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These were the only three places we saw. We walked around to all the places and the unexpected sunshine and heat slowed us down. Didnt see the Ernie Pyle monument or the caves etc. around the island. I am praying for a clear day to go again, and this time I would take my scooter along : > !!!

I had been planning to take a day trip there, and Paul changed his plans to go to Yoron Island to come with me, and Amy decided to come with us too. It was her birthday, so we got a cake for her and made her cut it at the campsite. We camped at the Youth Travellers Village, walking towards which, we had bumped into Josh, the resident JET on Ie, who was a charming guide : > !! Also, dear Yamaguchi sensei, who moved from Izumi to Ie Chugakko this year, was on Okinawa honto for that weekend. But we bumped into him at the port when we returned. It was all good as I could say hello to his wife too. They are having a baby!!

And those were the highlights of our trip. It was a fun weekend trip, worth repeating again :)