Forgotten Spring

Natural springs can be found all over Okinawa. This one was unique, at least I thought so. It was located in a park which I will cover here at a later date which seems to be abandoned. Beyond a small fence and a bridge in a corner is the spring. At first it doesn't look like much with it being square and the fallen leaves covering the bottom but when you take a closer look you can see the stairs and a small place for offerings.

Teaser #010813

 

 

 

 

"Wait a second, what's a teaser?": 

A teaser is a fun little photo that I post the day before I post a video, blog post or photos to my Facebook page. The teaser will give you a taste of what you are about to see next without actually showing you the content of what you will see in the video, blog post or photos.

"Why are we seeing them here?" 

I have been posting teaser photos on my Facebook page and they seem to be popular so I figured that I would do the same for those who may be following in other ways. I hope that you enjoy.

 

Just beyond this fence is something interesting and forgotten.

Agena Central Park - War Monument

Those who frequent the area around Camp Courtney in Okinawa, Japan may be familiar with this area. Others may drive by day after day not giving the small parking lot that they pass a thoughts. This is Agena Central Park and is the home of many interesting things that we will explore over the corse of the next few videos and blog posts. The first focus is a beautiful monument which is set up for those who's lives were lost to the war.





Although I was unable to read the monuments themselves I later found a bit of information which clearly stated that this corner of the park is dedicated to mourn those who lost their lives in the war. Although there was no distinction of what war is being referenced it is clear to assume that they are referring to the Battle of Okinawa which took place during WWII.



The area consists of a few different monuments all which are situated in one area. They are very similar of other monuments which I have seen in northern parts of Okinawa memorializing the same cause.





The monument is beautiful and seems relatively well kept because although flowers which had been left at the monument seemed to have been dried out for quite some time. This is one of the many places in the area of Ishikawa which make me wonder. I will get more into that in a later post.



The park is located next to the Agena Bull Ring and parking is available. There are also restrooms as well as vending machines.

Shrine in Ozato

Yesterday when driving to a few places that we thoughts would be fun and exciting we stumbled upon an area that looked interesting. After a detour which took us round the block we found a quick place to park and I went up the inconspicuous stairs to investigate.

When I got to the top I saw that the area was a small local shrine. Much like other shrines in Okinawa this one was concrete and grey in color. Inside the shrine were five small offering areas where people often put incense to burn. Unfortunately there is not much to say about this shrine. There were no markers nor where there any indicators on the maps in the are that it was even here. Another thing that I found interesting is that there were 5 offering areas but no stones or ceramics in the shrine itself. Generally inside these shrines you can find something other than the offering areas themselves. Either way it was a nice little area that I thought you might like to see.

[caption id="attachment_1041" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Entrance[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1040" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Inside the shrine[/caption]

Special Place In Empty Lot

I am often asked how I find some of the places that I share in my videos and blog. My answer to those who ask always consists of two basic parts. The first is to look through what you see and the second is to lose the watch. This small shrine is the perfect example of what might happen if you do both those things.

Last weekend while doing some exploring on the Motobu Peninsula we found ourselves, as one might, driving from planned location to planned location. As we moved from one location to the next we found an interesting little area which we could barely see at first glance but decided to pull over in an empty lot. Once pulling over we noticed that what we saw was clearly a tori gate, lanterns and a shrine.

Unlike the shrine that I had mentioned yesterday this one was not unlike others I have seen throughout Okinawa. It was void of color and was settled in a quiet area surrounded by threes. The one unique thing about this particular shrine, however, was that it was located in a large empty lot. This was strange because generally speaking these do not have parking areas.

Like many other places in Okinawa there is a bit of mystery which surrounds places like this. There are no signs and at this particular area there were no markers either. Of course this area is used in spiritual practices and I have been told that yuta, most commonly women who are known for their ability to contact spirits, come to places like this. Unfortunately that is the extent of my knowledge of this particular location.



 

Shrine in Genka

 

One day while driving through some of Okinawa's villages we found ourselves at a shrine in an area of Okinawa called Genka. There is honestly not much to saw about this shrine as I am not entirely sure of it's specific purpose although I thought that it was very unique at least compared to what we usually see here in Okinawa. The colors not being simply grey as well as the shape of the roof. Another thing that I also thought was interesting about the shrine was the large amount of parking around the shrine. It was something I became curious about because of the fact that it was in a very small area where space like this seems huge.

Unfortunately as I said I do not know too much about the shrine itself. I will continue to see if I can research and if there is anything that I find out I will be sure to include it in a future post.

 

 

Shiokawa - Okinawa's Salty River

When driving around Okinawa's Motobu Peninsula on Route 449 there is quite a bit to see. There are mountains on one side and the beautiful blue ocean on the other. For some the drive itself is beautiful enough but if you're like me and looking for something interesting to explore this is a great place to do it.

If you're not careful you might miss the small white sign with a blue border and blue writing. The sign simply says "Natural Monument" and doesn't look like much aside from a small sign on the street but if you pull over be sure to grab out your camera because this is a pretty neat little place.



As you follow the small path you will see a set of stairs which leads down to water and another path. Immediately you notice that there is seaweed growing in this river. For me it was strange because it looked like the seaweed I am familiar with from back home in New England. Long nasty looking brown strands. (I call it nasty because I think of going to be beach and getting my feet tangled in it. Ick.) Once following the path you come to an open field and then a monument. The monument has an inscription that exceeds my Japanese language ability but it stands there with a few offerings that had been left behind.

After later research I found that this river is special because it's quite literally a salt water river. The salt content in the river is notable which is why it is considered to be one of Japan's natural monuments. It is also known for the seaweed that was growing in it. Unfortunately the extent of my knowledge of the area ends there due to the rough translations that I was reading but it is a very interesting place to visit.