Okinawa is sometimes called the Hawaii of Japan. Okinawa is an island to the SouthWest of the main island of Japan. It is near Taiwan, China and the Phillipines. The climate therefore is warmer than that of mainland Japan.
Okinawa is known as a Blue Zone, where residents routinely live longer than other places in the world. It was not originally part of Japan, and a lot of Japanese residents still look at Okinawans’ as the “rednecks” of their country. However I loved the Okinawan culture. I really enjoyed the museum in Nago, outlining the history of the island.
Okinawa also has a large concentration of US military bases. In fact my husband was stationed here for three years while in the United States Marine Corp. This is one of the reasons we chose to visit this beautiful island.
I recommend renting a car while on Okinawa. The most beautiful areas of the island are not easily reached with public transport and are spread out far enough that taking taxis would be expensive. They do drive on the left side of the road but, the speed limits are slow and the locals are patient and courteous so driving there isn’t especially stressful.
You will likely need a car to get to the hike I’m going to tell you about today. The hike is through a river to a beautiful waterfall in the jungle. It’s called Ta-Taki Falls, and it’s located in the northern part of the island.
When arriving there is a large parking lot with a small building. At the building you will pay a small fee to hike and park. You can also rent water boots here, or get a snow cone after your hike. I HIGHLY recommend renting the boots. The bottoms are covered in a felt material and it keeps you from slipping while walking in the river and traversing the moss/algae covered rocks. We saw multiple people trying to hike barefoot or in flip flops and it looked so much more dangerous and uncomfortable.
This is a short hike, roughly 30-45 mintues until you reach the waterfall and pool.
The river is pretty shallow in most places, it rarely gets deeper than your knees (I’m 5’4 for reference) There are areas where you can get out and walk on the river bank as well. Always check the weather before hiking in or near rivers or streams. Rain in the mountains or up river could quickly cause flash floods.
There is a section with a small waterfall, that is hard to climb through. So they have put in a rope to help you scramble up the rocks. It’s easier than it looks at first.
Once you reach this spot you are getting pretty close to the waterfall.
The water here is cool bordering on cold. But how can you not get in this pool? On the left side of the pool there is a rope swing. The kids really enjoyed swinging on it and falling into the pool. While the kids started the hike complaining. They were completely enamored by the end and couldn’t stop talking about how cool the hike was and how much they enjoyed it. What parent is going to complain about getting kids off their phones and out into nature?
I highly recommend this hike. The only difficulty is walking in the river over the slippery rocks and stones, there is no real elevation gain. And, one spot to scramble up the rock side, with a rope to help.
If you would like to read more about our Japanese adventures check out my other posts.
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