Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

9/30/2005, Okinawa trip day 2: Manzamo park, cliffs, climbing around on rocks

On the second day, we decided to head for some place a little more rural.  Akemi found a small town called Manzamo in a guide book.  It looked good so we gave it a go.  We punched it into the car's navigation system and we were off.

We stopped in a parlor of Okinawa's famous ice cream chain, Blue Seal.  They started in the United States, opened up in Japan, and then the American part closed down.  So, now it's only a Japanese company, although they advertise their American roots clearly.  I had coconut and sweet potato ice cream.  Akemi had brown sugar ice cream.

We had a beautiful drive along the coast on our way to Manzamo.

After about an hour and a half of driving along the coast, we arrived and Manzamo.  It was a public park.  A bit a touristy place, but well worth it.  Before entering the park, we stopped in these souvenir stands.  We didn't buy anything, but we had a lovely talk with some old ladies who had been there selling souvenirs for up to 35 years.  One of them remarked that I seemed too soft to be an American.  She thought maybe I was Russian.  Clearly, Okinawans see Americans as very hard and tough, probably because they see American soldiers all the time.

Standing there at the top of these cliffs is a great place for taking pictures.  So, we took quite a few.

Akemi in front of the cliffs at Manzamo.

Akemi in front of the cliffs at Manzamo.

Akemi in front of the cliffs at Manzamo.

Me in front of the cliffs at Manzamo.

Me in front of the cliffs at Manzamo.

Me in front of the cliffs at Manzamo.

Cliffs at Manzamo.

You can't tell from this picture, but we've climed to the top of a big mass of ancient volcanic rock with a huge cliff behind us.  Somebody is taking our picture from below.

Some sort of fruit tree at the park.  Could it be some kind of pineapple, maybe?

After some walking around and enjoying the sights, we headed off the trail into an area of treacherous rock.  It is volcanic rock from maybe 20,000 years ago.  Or so we were told.

It's hard to capture in these pictures, but it's really, really hard to walk on this stuff.

You have to plan your path carefully.

If you fall, you'll likely hurt something.  The spaces between the rocks aren't too deep, but definitely deep enough to break a knee or two.  And, it seems like an excellent place for snakes and stuff.  They have a well known deadly snake in Okinawa.  People make too much of a fuss over it, but it is something to watch out for in places like this.

I found the experience of walking on these rocks to be pretty amusing so I tried taking a couple silent videos.  They're not very good, but maybe you'll get the idea. (QuickTime MOV, 9.94 MB, 40 seconds)

Akemi walking on the treacherous rocks.  (QuickTime MOV, 10.1 MB, 40 seconds)

Throughout our trip, we drove a rental car.  The rental car has a car navigation system in it.  Like cell phones, they exist somewhat in the US, but they're very advanced and easy to use in Japan.  You punch in where you want to go and it gives you instructions on how to get there.  You can give it an address.  You can ask it for all the restaurants, hotels, pet shops, toy shops, brothels, shoe factories, or whatever, in the vacinity of where you are.  You can give it the name of a business.  You can just punch in a keyword.  It's extremely flexible.  After using it for a few days, I can't imagine living with out it.  But, I have no doubt they're not nearly as good in the US.  And, I think it would really only be worthwhile when travelling in a foreign place.  But, for sightseeing in a city you've never been too, it's great.  A terrific addition to a rental car.

You operate it with a remote control.  Somehow, it's more comfortable that way.  And, it lets people operate it from anywhere in the car without reaching up to the dashboard.  I should note that the thing did lead us astray once, but it was pretty accurate otherwise.

After Manzamo, we headed for the site of the 2000 G8 Summit in Nago.  This was a meeting of the leaders of the 7 richest nations in the world, and Russia.  Japan built an extensive complex of beautiful buildings, just for this one summit.  In fact, they even built a whole hotel to house the guests.  I can't imagine any more lavish way to prepare for a three day meeting of important people.  Talk about a rich nation.  The hotel has since been sold.  But, the rest now sits just for sightseeing and occasional weddings.  It's crazy.

But, it is a beautiful place to visit.

Here's a statue of the fellow who conceived of this place.  He died shortly before the summit.  I believe Akemi said he was the former prime minister of Japan, but I could be wrong.

Year 2000 G8 Summit grounds.

Year 2000 G8 Summit grounds.

Year 2000 G8 Summit grounds.

Year 2000 G8 Summit grounds.

Year 2000 G8 Summit grounds.

For dinner, we went for Soba, a well known specialty on Okinawa.  I had the famous Soki Soba, which is made of hand made white soba noodles with pork ribs on top.  Soba noodles are usually made of buckwheat, but in Okinawa, they're made of white flower.

Akemi had the same kind of noodles with a different kind of pork on top.

<Previous     -     Index     -     Next>