We Found THIS Flying Around Our Okinawa Hotel đ± | Final Adventure!
I’ll come back out here at midnight if I have to. Our Okinawa adventure continues at the NakijinÂ
Castle ruins. Nakijin Castle sits high on a hill overlooking the ocean and its massive stones date all the way back to the 14th century. But wow, was it hot. Even the ticket lady teased us a little when she saw us fanning ourselves, warning that there’d be a lot of walking and stairs ahead. Walking through the ruins, it almost felt like stepping into the Mayan ruins of Japan. Ancient, mysterious, and full of stories carved intoÂ
every rock. You could really feel the history here with the wind carrying the scent of the ocean and the sound of cicadas. Totally worth the climb even in this heat. Something we noticed here and back at the Nakayama coffee farm were these Okinawan cicadas or semi in Japanese that sound completely different from the ones on the mainland. Instead of the usual high pitch buzz, these ones made these loud birdlike chirps. That’s that one. Meanwhile, my camera was hanging onÂ
for dear life because, of course, I forgot to charge it the night before. Oh, that’s the crickets, eh? No Oh, it’s a semi still. It’s a different sound. Oh, my shirt is like stuck to my back with sweat. Before heading to the hotel, we grabbed Okinawan hot chocolate mix to make at home and another Shikwasa drink. We honestly lost count of how many Shikwasa things we drank this trip. If you’ve never tried it, shikwasa is a native citrus fruit that tastes like a mix between limeÂ
and mandarin. It’s super refreshing. Well, there we go. There’s a nice ox thing. Oh, they’re inside. They’re not working today cuz it’s Sunday. Can we just walk? Yeah. There’s a huge TV in the middle of nowhere. Later in the afternoon, we walked over to the Bisu Fukugi Tree Road. It was just a short walk from our hotel, but it felt like stepping into another world. Lined with hundreds of tall fukugi trees, this village road was planted over 300 years agoÂ
to protect homes from strong island winds. The paths twist and turn like a natural labyrinth withÂ
sunlight filtering softly through layers of green. It’s peaceful yet a little eerie, almost haunting. There were spiderwebs glinting between branches Wow, look at these trees. And barely any people around, though you’d occasionally catch a glimpse of life. A tiny cafe or shop hidden between the trees. Just hope we don’t walk into like a- Did we? Did we walk into a spider web? Even now, families still live there. Their traditionalÂ
Okinawan houses quietly blended into the forest. It’s one of those places where nature and daily life completely merge. Eeeeee spiders (webs) So many. So many. kowai kowai Okay. Oh, tiramisu cream So cute. It just keeps going. As the sun started setting, we followed the scenic route along the ocean. The village speakers were playing OkinawanÂ
music. Can you hear that string instrument in the background? That’s called the sanshin. It kind of sounds like a banjo and gives Okinawan music that chill, nostalgic island vibe. We eventually found a restaurant that was actually open and they had everything from Indian curry to tacos. This is my shrimp tacos with french fries and a alcoholic beverage. Still waiting for his shrimp. This place five star rating. No Michelin star, but should have Michelin star. French restaurant. Oh, yes. As per Google review. Looks so cute. I wanted to check out something I’d seen our first night here. Okay, so our first night here, there was a little party going on here. Beautiful scenery. And I was filming around here and there was birds. There was like giant birds flying above us, but they weren’t birds and I thought they were birds, but they were actually bats. And I actually want to record them cuz I want Masa to see that it was a bat and not a bird. Just in case you don’t believe me still cuz you didn’t believe me at first until I showed you that there are giant bats here. So you will have no doubt that I did see what I saw. I don’t see anything flying right now. That night there was so many birds flying around. Well, bats, but we thought they were birds. And I actually do have the footage of them, but far away you could see them. but on the footage it just looks like birds flying. Are they waiting for the sunset? Like,Â
what are they? You might not be able to prove it. Well, I’ll come back out here at midnight if I have to. I want to find these bats. OH! Eeeeeeh! So, he went to the bush right? the trees… but there’s usually more than one. And the best way to tell that it’s a bat it’s they’ll go right above you and you’ll see through (the wings) It looks like a pterodactyl. Like it’s not a bird. I can’t believe I didn’t get that on camera. Look, it went into the bushes that we were talking about this morning? We were searching these bushes in the morning. Did you see that? Did you see it? It’s a bat. I don’t know if I caught it on camera,Â
but I saw it with my eyes. That was a bat. Okinowan bats, also known as Ryukyu flyingÂ
fox. They’re one of the largest bat species in the world, and they actually play a big role in pollinating island plants. They’re called flying foxes for a reason. Up close, their faces look more like little foxes than bats. During the day, they sleep in tall trees, then come out around sunset to feast on fruit and flowers. Is this a way? Can we go through here? Oh my gosh. I saw it though. eh? Is that a bird or is that a bat? What sound do bats make? Are you scared? Why are you scared? They don’t attack humans. Where are you? Do you see any? Oh. Oh. Oh. [ __ ] No, it’s not. Oh it is, it is! It’s a bat. Sugoi but my camera is not grabbing it. but that one was small. Doesn’t matter. It came so close to us. bat-sama bat-sama arigatou Over there. Over there. Over there. Where? The tree in the branch. I can’t even see it. Is it in the center? Yeah, the the branch that’s moving. See, it’s moving. It’s different color. It’s moving. Oh, it’s right there. Oh my god. It’s right there. I don’t think camera can catch it. It’s hanging there. It’s right there. It is hanging there. It’s small, but… Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The camera can record the movement. It’s gone. Okay. So, we saw the smaller one, but there’s big ones cuz there’s big ones flying. And now he believes me cuz we were staring right at it. It was modeling for us. Now we’re going to go to Lawson and get a snack cuz there’s nothing to snack on here. There’s nothing here to eat. So maybe we’ll find some Okinawan donuts. And Lawson’s like right next door. Oh yeah, they’re there. Those are the bats. That’s the hotel and that’s Lawson way over there. Can’t see cuz there’s a car blinding me, but there is a parking lot and a cemetery or graveyard thing in between. So, Lawson is not next door. I thought I shouldÂ
clarify that because the Google reviews said there’s a Lawson right next door. It is not right next door. It’s not that far either, but it’s not right next door. Our hotel didn’t have any (food) vending machines, so we stocked up on local snacks. Shikwasa chips and sweet potato desserts. The next morning came way too fast. We had our last hotel buffet breakfast, packed up our things, and took one last look outside. I want some, what is it? footage of first wife before she dies. Oh, you’re recording me? Wow. So much BS. Niji. See, I learned that from L’arc en Ciel. He wants to see the bats. He went to look for the bat cuz it’s daytime. It’s probably sleeping. Are you still looking? Just in case you randomly see one? You want to see it in the daytime. Oh is that the bats? So silly that’s where we ate yesterday. That’s the tree road. We have to go outside to get to our car. They made us park way out here. On our way to return the rental car, we noticed police stopping what looked like an illegal constructionÂ
project. Apparently, that’s been a real issue in some parts of Okinawa with authorities cracking down on unapproved development. Canadian A&W is better. We enjoyed one last drive through the coast, musicÂ
blaring, feeling so grateful for our time here. 1000 yen? takai (expensive) At the airport. We browsed through the omiyage shops, grabbed a few souvenirs. Sugarcane. Oh, I love sugarcane. And of course, a coffee before our flight back to Tokyo. That’s Masa’s drink. Bye-bye.
Our last night in Okinawa was supposed to be chill⊠until things got weird.
After exploring Nakijin Castle and wandering the endless Fukugi Tree Road, I went searching for something I swear I saw on our first night.
Did we actually find it? đ
1 Comment
Quiero ir a Okinawaaaaaâ€