Okinawa | Cape Hedo, My Final Journey in Okinawa

Date I went: 03/30/2020

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oritabi808/

Welcome to the last leg of the journey I made up to the Northern most region of Okinawa, Cape Hedo! It's about a 2 hour drive to make it to the cape from Naha on the highways; it an take an extra half hour to an hour if you take the coastal roads.

Northern Okianwa City Website: http://kunigami-kikakukanko.com/itiran/06.html

Cape Hedo (辺戸岬)

Once you get into the Ogimi area at the start of the Northern half of Okinawa, the island starts to look a lot more uninhabited and foresty. There's still convenience stores and eateries along the way (as well as a few hotels), but they are definitely more spaced out in this area.

There are still a few beaches in the Northern half of Okinawa, but definitely not as plentiful as they are in the South. I also passed through a few small towns along the way. There's not much space on the side of the road to pull over and enjoy the views, but you can still drive fairly leisurely here as there's hardly any cars going up this far North. It seems that the Northern region of Okinawa is known more for hiking and nature exploration.

Zatsutake Tunnel Trace (座津武トンネル跡)

I just wanted to highlight this double tunnel because it looked cool! The tunnel on the left hand side is unused now, and when I went you couldn't go through it.

Head Line - Cape Hedo Tourist Information Center (辺戸岬観光案内所)

I finally made it to Cape Hedo, the final destination for my Okinawa explorations! There's a tourist center that greets you upon your arrival, and there's a small cafe inside with seating for your long journey. You can climb the stairs to the top of the building and overlook the majestic cape.

Around Cape Hedo there are a few nicely carved trails going around the area, and hardly anyone using them. I found it very tranquil and unexplored here. Definitely a great place to enjoy the beauty of Okinawa away from the tourist life. I actually did see one couple who I remembered seeing earlier in the day at Kouri Tower, but I did not say hi.

This is the furthest North you can go in Okinawa and the closest point to Japan as well. Technically Japan is not far off from Okinawa as Yoron Island sits fairly close at about 23 kilometers from Cape Hedo.

Cape Hedo Observatory (辺戸岬 展望所 四阿)

Homeland Return Struggle Monument (祖国復帰闘争碑)

Around the cape there are plenty of monuments you can look at, although the explanations for why some of them are here are a bit obscure to a non-Japanese person. I did want to highlight one monument I found some information on called, Homeland Return Struggle Monument; a funny thing I found was that if you input "Homeland Return Struggle Monument" into google maps Mount Rushmore will come up.

The monument commemorates the return of Okinawa from America to Japan in May 15th, 1972 (a day after I am making this post I just realized) after 27 years of rule. To summarize, Okinawa was essentially taken by the United States after Japan lost in World War 2. You can read a bit more about it in this wikipedia page.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Okinawa_Reversion_Agreement

Despite it being returned to Japan though there is still a large American military presence on the island; 13 bases today to be exact and about 26,000 military troops. My grandpa was one of these military troops during the 1950's and 1960's and my Dad grew up on on Camp Foster, one of the military bases.

The issue is very contentious in Okinawa regarding why there still needs to be American military despite Okinawa belonging to Japan now. Many Okinawans consider the U.S. military presence as a continued shadow and reminder of the tragedies that occurred during World War 2.

I drive back down to Naha, and take the IC highway road to get back a bit more quickly. It's been a crazy week in Okinawa seeing so many new sights, and making a few new friends along the way. I hope I'll be back soon with my Dad and brother to explore some more in the future.

I take in the view from Umikaji Terrace once more and prepare to go to Kyoto tomorrow.