Tadeke Falls & Gardens

This weekend I got to check one of the top things that I have wanted to do here in Okinawa off my list – river trekking to the Tadeke Falls! We drove an hour and a half up north where we were able to enter the river that would lead us to the falls. The trek had its difficulties, the hardest part being the lack of visibility of the rocks in the water, and the occasional ropes that we had to use to carry ourselves over some large rocks. We trekked about a half hour through the river, stopping to swing on tree vines and then reached Tadeke Falls. It was absolutely breathtaking! We were the only ones there in the morning and had the entire swimming area to ourselves. Swimming beneath the falls and climbing behind it was amazing. Surrounding us was the Okinawan forest, it was one of those moments that reminded me of how lucky I am to be able to experience all of this here in Japan. After swimming in the falls we climbed up through an incredibly steep and narrow path of rocks, and proceeded to trek through the forest and down a straight shoot of rocks which led us to the top of the falls, where we could look down into the area that we had just swam in. Looking out at the jungles of Okinawa was absolutely unreal. I am so glad that we got to experience this!

We also visited some traditional Japanese-Chinese gardens this weekend, called Fukushu-en Gardens. They were so beautiful and serene, and had little paths leading to different areas of the gardens. The gardens are there to create a cultural and peaceful bond between the two countries after the battles they fought against each other, leaving a lot of tension between the two nations.

Once again got to eat some more delicious meals at some great restaurants including Cocos Curry, an Udon-noodle cafeteria and some amazing sushi from a little hole in the wall restaurant.

We now have only three more weekends left, and am making the absolute best of every last minute that I spend here in Okinawa, because words cannot describe how much I am going to miss this place and all of the wonderful people that I have met!