Exploring Northern Okinawa (Summer 2012)

Yes, I'm writing this in January 2014, but this is now an effort to finish this blog I started years ago so that Chris and I can have a journal/photo journal of some of our favorite memories from our time in Okinawa. Why now? Well, quite honestly, I sucked at keeping up with this blog in Oki b/c we were so busy! We wanted to be outside! Not inside writing :) Now that it's winter in Seattle and I'm recovering from a surgery, it's time to finish!

Northern Oki. I need to show you a map! Chris and I made a list about a year before we were leaving to make sure that we would do our best to do everything we wanted in Okinawa. One of the items on the list was to explore Northern Okinawa...and what better way to do that than on a tandem bike?!?

We spent a couple different weekends up there exploring the backroads. We used to joke that we would determine how good our adventure was by the lack of Americans we saw... let's just say we did really good! Mostly b/c it is just a desolate area though haha.

The Van with The Bike

We parked a few miles East of the the most Northern point in Oki and started our adventure down the road on the Northeast side of the island. We ended up riding from Oku down to near Ada. It was about a 20 mile round trip day. And just surreal! So incredibly beautiful! Oh, and Chris and I didn't have iPhones when we lived in Oki, but now that I do have one, I can show you pretty much what we did that day (bonus to finishing this blog years later haha). 

So seriously friends, go open up your map on your iPhone, go to Kunigami, Okinawa, and zoom in on this area!

Nerds :)

I will NEVER get over my love for a good animal sign... pigs, birds, turtles, roadkill?!?

AMAZING views from the road... 

It was nearly impossible for me to really capture the serenity of the day. The road was quiet... a VERY welcome break from the madness of the roads by where we lived in Oki. We really could just hear our own breathing, the sound of the windmills and the bike. The views coming in and out of the curves on the road were breathtaking. It was too hard to capture sometimes with just a photo. I have some videos, but they still do no justice to portray the peacefulness of the day. If you zoom in on a map, you'll get it :)

Sometimes I couldn't stop staring in my rearview mirror :)

Fruit snack?

After a nice ride on the bike, we stopped at Cape Hedo at the most Northern point of Oki. 

And just so no one forgets... yes, he is my Jungleman ahahaha. #okinawanvendingmachinesarethebomb

Well, that was Day 1 of exploring. And a relatively flat bike ride. For Day 2, we decided to head up into the hills! Just pick a spot on Map #1 a couple mm north of the Kunigami dot. We were in that mess of forest somewhere... near a big lake! We had no idea how beautiful the dammed up reservoir would be. But holy crap was it a tough ride to get up there. Uphill on a tandem is some work! 

Note the sign as we headed up the hill. Don't piss off the fish with your trash haha.

I should also mention that we had a couple run-ins with flat tires on this ride. Luckily Chris had the tools to fix them both! Yes, it happened twice in one ride. And no, I didn't take any photos of Mr. Handyman. 

 Our adventure on Day 2 was even more desolate. No cars at all!
Gotta love the Okinawan backroads!!

My view :)

We got lost. For real. No fancy phones with maps; just went with Chris' 'gut' that the reservoir road probably made a loop. Lucky for us it did and we didn't have to retrace our path! I have a good sense of direction, but when you don't know where the roads go, it gets tricky!! These were some of the only signs we saw at an intersection. 

Turned out to be a couple great days on the bike. 

Couldn't have asked for a better weekend with Chris!

Ps. What we imaginied Okinawa was going to look like...