Hikin' the Hiji Falls

Last month, we were able to hike the Falls up North in Hiji with the Figueroa's and Davis'. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather - AND we went at the right time of year BEFORE the crazy, chunky spiders come out for the summer! WINNING!

However, I think we were under the impression it was more strenuous than it actually was... yes, there were some stairs and such, but it was not even close to as difficult as Mount Misen on Miyajima Island! But, we were prepared all the same with our camelbacks and snacks. :) Joel and I don't travel far without snacks...

Me and my girls

The path was not very natural or rustic... gotta say, though, I appreciate a good, man-made "hike" once in a while!

Mom, I need your help identifying this plant... do you know what it is?? It looks so alive!

Going down is too easy... it's the back up that works the glutes!

Made it to the Falls!

Almost Indiana Jones-ish

Apparently, folks used to be able to go swimming and rock climbing, but it was all roped off with signs telling us to stay out. :-( It's still beautiful from a distance I suppose.

We went hiking back through the river bed.

Lots of picture opp's!

Following the hike, we went to a restaurant called "Pizza in the Sky". We have been hearing about this place and were really anxious to try it. It's known for having long wait times to be seated, but we arrived at around 1400, so we figured we had probably missed the lunch rush and beat the dinner rush.... but no siree. We waited nearly an hour and a half!!!

The menu is on a fan. It's a very simple and straightforward place to eat.

The inside of the restaurant is small and the seating is Japanese style (pillows on the floor). We opted to wait for an outdoor picnic table.

The restaurant is on the side of a mountain, so the wind was COLD. Thankfully, they had pots all around with burning coals and blankets available for the folks waiting for a table.

FINALLY seated with our juices - Joel tried acerola for the first time and loved it! Very cherry-ish.

I had my go-to, mango juice. I LOVE MANGO JUICE!

The menu options are: salad, cheese pizza, specialty pizza. Done. Easy. The salad was delicious, but a tad heavy on the carrots and onions...

This is their pizza. One type fits all. I picked the meat off, and the cheese and bread were divine!

View from the restaurant,

On the way home, we stopped at a very special place for really good ice cream

They are known for their milk... products. We came up with our own lovely, nickname for the brand.  I will let y'all's imaginations run wild with this one.

 Too much fun to be had in Okinawan with wonderful, adventurous friends!

Cape Hedo

We were able to explore Cape Hedo, the Northern-most tip of Okinawa, with our good friends, the Worthington's in January. We originally met them in Iwakuni when Brandon was a contractor, but now both our families live in Okinawa. Sometimes, us civilians can feel like Marines... it's bound to happen that we eventually see each other again at another base. :)

They are a delightful family with two amazingly bright, funny, Star Wars loving girls! Trust me, our conversations were DEEP. Can't wait to watch the new episodes with this family and have the girls help me dissect the movies!

Cape Hedo is about an hour and a half drive from our house and we live just about in the middle of Okinawa... getting a taste for how small the island is?!? We started our adventure by doing some hiking at Daisekirinzan!

A bus takes the hikers to a drop off point up the hill. Apparently, this bus was WAY nicer than the old, dilapidated school bus the Worthington's rode when they were here previously. They prepared us for an Indiana Jones-type adventure bus ride up this hill, but it was pretty anticlimactic in a bus with AC and seat belts, LOL. Still bumpy though... that part had not changed.

 

Notice anything missing?

For some reason, an "a" was missing from each of these signs... there were more, but I only took pictures of two! GREAT name for a hiking trail though, right?!

As you can see, there were definitely a few "strange and big rocks".

Amelia and Aria are great hikers! They were super prepared with their Camelbacks and wealth of nature knowledge.

Quite a few rocks had signs depicting the "animal" we were supposed to see. This one was pretty clear , but some of them, we never could figure out.

There's supposed to be a stallion's head at the top, see it?

View of Cape Hedo from the hiking trail

But, wait.... what's this?! Is that a GIANT CHICKEN off in the distance?????? Wait and see...

Such a fun family!

I felt a connection with this statue. Maybe, this is how I look when Joel ticks me off? ;-)

Towards the end of the trail, there were LOADS of Banyan trees! These things are SO cool!

So, after the hike, we hopped into our vehicles and went to see what I assumed was a giant chicken. Turns out, it's a giant Rail, a type of bird with whom I am unfamiliar. It looks like a sand piper/chicken hybrid to me and is apparently THE Okinawan bird. They love it.

View from behind.

The girls posed for me as I attempted to snap a picture that represented the scale of this thing. It was quite large. 

Difficult to see because of the sun, but that's a two story building next to the Rail. Pretty neat and something you can only expect to see in Japan.

Next, we went down to Cape Hedo. It was so stunning.... this part of the island is untouched by residences and commercial buildings, so it is ALL natural and ALL beautiful.

Fantastic rocky cliffs on one side, gorgeous, sandy beaches on the other.

We were so excited to have the time and STELLAR weather to explore this amazing island we live on!

Nifty coral reefs under the surface... little too rocky and dangerous for scuba here, though.

Not a rail, but another chicken looking thing.... hybrid chicken-fish?

Such a fun day with lots of great memories - thank you, Worthington's! I'm sure we will have many more adventures in the years to come!