Japan is famous for its beautiful cherry blossom season, which usually peaks around April. But did you know that you can see cherry blossoms in Japan in January and February? Japan’s first cherry blossoms usually emerge in Japan’s more southern Okinawa island in mid to late January, peaking sometime in February.
When we traveled to this area in late January, we viewed the cherry blossoms at Mount Yaedake. The Mobotu and Nakijin areas, where Mount Yaedake is located, are the best spots to view cherry blossoms on Okinawa. The cherry blossoms in Okinawa are a darker pink than the ones in the more norther parts of Japan. This gives the experience a more tropical feeling.
Getting There
If you have a car, there are a couple of parking lots at the top of Mount Yaedake (here’s the Google map if you need it). Tiffany and I took the more budget savvy approach and caught a local bus from our hostel in Nago.
You’ll want to study up on reading time in Japanese. You can find a bus map of the area here, but the timetables are seasonal. We had to go to the bus depot to figure out what time to get on the bus, and it did require some Japanese reading.
We got off at a stop on the main road at the base of the mountain, and walked the 1.8 kilometers along a quiet road up to the parking lot. The walk was festive. Orion beer lanterns crisscrossed the road all the way up, and a few rogue cherry trees gave hints about what was coming. Below is a map of the walking route we took from the bus stop to the Shinto shrine (or you can view the Google map here).
Hanami
Hanami is a Japanese word for viewing and appreciating cherry blossoms. Our hanami experience started around the first parking lot, and continued until about the time we got to the Shinto shrine. That is the stretch where we saw the most cherry blossoms.
We immersed ourselves into noticing which trees and even individual flowers looked the most beautiful to us. It was exciting to be around so many other people who were also excited to see the cherry blossoms. Breathing the fresh, fragrant air and walking slowly along the treed road made my mind feel so clear.
There is a turn off of the main road to the Yaedake Field Hospital ruins. There isn’t much there for signage, but if you are into military history, this TripAdvisor summary is interesting. It explains that the site was where Okinawan forces fled when the US arrived and devastated the area.
A Shinto shrine at the top of Mount Yaedake serves as a nice final destination. The shrine itself is at the top of a long staircase up a grassy hill. There are benches and washrooms at the bottom of the hill. It’s a nice area to stop for a rest, and pay your respects to the mountain.
Sakura Ice Cream
There is a small amount of commerce happening around the shrine area. When we were there there was a sakura ice cream stand set up. Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom, and the stand serves ice cream that is flavored with sakura.
The bright pink ice cream was a nice treat on a hot day, and the flavor of the ice cream mixing with the smells of the flowers was a sensory delight.
Getting Back Down Mount Yaedake
From the shrine, we opted to walk back to the main road by going east instead of going back the way we came. There were more cherry blossom trees on the way, a scenic viewpoint where we could see the ocean, and some fun little curiosities on the quiet road that took us back down. Here is a map of the walking route we took (and here is a link to the same Google map).
Filling the Bellies
When we got back to the main road, marked #84 on Google Maps, we were really hungry. We had packed food for the day, but burned through it about halfway back down the hill. The area at the bottom of the hill looked pretty remote, so I was really happy when I saw one of the few Japanese words I knew on the side of a building: “soba.”
I was literally jumping up and down, clapping, and shouting “soba!”. It can be hard to find food in rural Okinawa because all of the restaurants look like houses (at least to my eyes). Even if there is a sign outside to give you a clue that the place is a business, it’s hard to tell if it’s a restaurant or some other type of business. There aren’t any big window displays in this corner of Japan.
I have no idea what the restaurant is called, but it’s a soba shop at the bottom of Mount Yaedake, and it’s super tasty. Especially after a long day of hiking. As a funny side note, this is the exact location where I gave up on being a vegetarian. The gorgeous broths and chunks of meat were too tempting after walking all day.
And to end this leg of our journey, in the spirit of true Okinawan kindness, they gave us an overflowing grocery bag of Okinawa’s famous cookies as we left.
Summary
This corner of Okinawa, just northeast of Nago, has a lot to offer. Viewing the cherry blossoms at Mount Yaedake, Japan’s first cherry blossoms of the year, is a special experience. Okinawa is a great addition to a trip to Japan. The next time I have a chance to explore this part of the world, it will be around the same time of year, and I’ll give myself an extra day or two in the Nago area to explore more of the rural areas.
Click here to learn more about adventuring on Okinawa and the rest of Japan.
