Okuma & Cape Hedo

Today Kevin and I went to Okuma, which is an U.S. Air Force owned recreational facility on the northern part of the island. Okuma has camping sites, nature trails, cabins, beach cabanas, a private beach, a small golf course, and a tennis court.

My sister and brother in law (Denise and Greg) will be visiting us in Okinawa in January, so Kev and I thought it would be a good idea to check Okuma out before we take them.

The drive to Okuma is about a hour and half from our house. We took Route 58, which hugs the coast. You can get some amazing views of the ocean right below you. The road is built on cliffs overlooking the ocean.

Here's a photo we took when we pulled to the side of the road:




And this is a photo of my crazy *ss husband getting too close for comfort. The things he is standing on are cement tetrapods. The cement tetrapods break ocean waves to prevent waves from coming inland. Guess waves have been known to come crashing over the cement pods, over the seawall, and onto the road before....




After Okuma, we headed to the very northern tip of the island to a place called Cape Hedo. The cape is a known tourist spot (apparently some people think it's a good idea to jump off the cliffs into the deep Pacific below for fun). It was real windy and the ocean spray was a bit much at times. Even so, it was cool to see the cliffs and the clear ocean below.

(Disclaimer: I think my husband is not happy that I am taking his picture. Don't ask me what the sign behind him says.)



We did notice a few English signs warning Americans to avoid doing aquatic activity at Cape Hedo. As I mentioned above, some people have been known to jump off the cliffs and drown.

I had to keep an eye on Kevin....

Here's a photo of some cliffs at Cape Hedo.



After we enjoyed the sights at Cape Hedo, we headed home, but not before we stopped at a roadside stand to buy some fresh fruit. Okinawa's subtropical climate is so warm that pineapples grow very well here!

Not only do they grow well here, they are SOOO cheap! Kev and I bought two pineapples for 200 yen. For those of you who are wondering, this is under $2 U.S. dollars.



Think I'll make some pineapple muffins with these! :)