Monday, May 25, 2015

12 Photos from a GPS Waypoint Trek in Kin Town Okinawa

purple berries, Monkeygrass, Mondo grass

What the Heck is a Waypoint ?

 

 

This is something I have been experimenting with for the past week.

With a camera and a handheld GPS gadget, you can record where you have been traveling.

Each time you take a photo, take a reading with the GPS device and, save them.


stone, Kin Gusuku, castle

Today, I just used the Canon G12 and a Garmin Etrex 20.

The rock is a landmark in Kin Town; remains of a castle wall, maybe.

The purple berries caught my attention so, I shot them to see what flowers blossom, later.


Tomusuzu Utaki, Sacred Site

Up to this point, the trek was mostly along city sidewalks.

Now, it was time to go off-road for a little while.


trail, stairs, woods

It would be nice to know if the satellites, in the sky, can find me when I go in here.

Each time, I stopped for a photo, I entered a GPS waypoint on the handheld gadget.


stone steps, trail, woods, fallen leaves

Things were slightly wet and slippery in the woods because of recent rains.

The fresh air and smell of composting leaves in the forest felt good.

Cabin fever sets-in after a few days of being house bound during rainy season.


park bench,wooded area

This park bench gave me an idea.

Get out of the woods and buy some iced coffee and sandwiches, it made me think.

This little journey was through a sacred site called Tomusuzu Utaki.


Family Mart, HWY329, Kin

 A little ways down a hill from the Utaki, is this convenience store.

Once a few sandwiches and coffee were packed away, it was time to go back in the woods.


stone stairs, woods,utaki

There are some mysterious sights along these trails through the woods.


cave, cup, sake, offering

A Kin Town pamphlet says there are records of this site dating back to the 18th Century.

It says, before World War II people prayed here for prosperity.

Have a look at that cup in the center of the photo.

It has been placed at the entrance of a cave and, someone put it there recently.


bench, wooded trail

Another bench looked like a nice place to rest with my lunch.

But, I decided to carry it back to the office and, eat there, where nobody could sneak up on me.

Do you suppose, someone comes out of that cave and, drinks the sake from that cup ?

When the hairs on the back of your neck, stand up, it's a good idea to move along.


marker, special tree

This stone marker is in front of a special tree at Kin Temple.

With over 100 trees called cultural assets, I GPS marked it and took a photo.

One of these days, we will GPS them all.


Kin Temple, Buddhism

This is Kin Kannon-do, a Buddhist Temple in my neighborhood.

It doesn't matter what your religion may be. Everyone is welcome here.

Back at the office, I download the camera and the GPS device and, do some magic.

If everything worked, as planned, these images will have been Geo-tagged.

Look at Google Earth and, you can follow the trail, I took today, without getting wet !


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2 comments:

Kim said...

I promised myself that on my next trip to Okinawa that I would visit the Kin temple. That is on my list for this November. Looking forward to it. Thanks for the pictures.

RyukyuMike said...

Kim, Glad to hear the photos were helpful. And, maybe we can get together. My office is just about two blocks away from the temple.