Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Traveling Around the Kin Dam -- Photos and Commentary

Flip-flop Friendly and Fun

 

 

Enough visits have been made to write a book about this attraction but, I won't. 

It's a great place to spend some time outdoors exercising or enjoying nature.


Okukubi Dam, Kin Town

This photo was taken from the center of the Kin Bridge.

For photography, it's best to travel around the east side of the dam, using morning light.

Late afternoons, HWY 104 and the western entrance would be best.



drink machine, water, tea, Coke


The red drink machine is the only place you can spend money at this site.

Grab some coffee, tea or juice to drink but, don't waste your cash buying water.


Dam sign, map, water fountain



 Just a few meters past the drink machine, you come to the Dam Park.

And, over there the dam water if free !

Off to the left of the Dam Map you will find toilets and, they are always clean.



water, bridge crossing dam, greenery

 This is one of my favorite spots for catching birds in flight.

There weren't any ospreys out, diving for fish today for some strange reason.



view of dam, scenery, bridge

Moving deeper into the dam, here is another great place for viewing nature.

The bridge is a great place to watch for birds, flying around the dam.



wetlands entrance, signpost

Kouchibaru Wetland is directly ahead.

Enter here slowly and quietly and, you will observe all kinds of wildlife.

Herons, egrets, kingfishers, ducks, ospreys and turtles are some of the critters, I've gotten here.

If you move too fast and frighten one bird, they all disappear.



western side of dam, roadway



This is a point on the west side of the dam where, you cross over water.

Around the bend, you lose sight of the water and come back out on a highway.


HWY 104, road sign

HWY 104 can be dangerous for bikers and hikers.

People like to speed along this road  and, some say it's haunted.

Let's just call them a bunch of dam fools.

If you are walking, it's best to use the sidewalk; it's only on one side of the highway.


dam view, west side

Afternoon light is always the best, over the west side of the dam.

The entrance from HWY 104 leads to the parking lot below.

Driving across the dam would take you to the park and toilet facilities.

Outside the dam, there are restrooms to the right and down the stairs below this viewpoint.


dam office, roadway

Walking towards the dam office, I stopped halfway across the dam spillway.



Kin Bridge, Okukubi River, ocean

From this point you can see the Kin Bridge, Okukubi River and a bit of the ocean.

The entire excursion lasted a few hours but, I don't rush things.

It's easy to spend half a day, taking photos and, inhaling nature for me, anyway.





The red X's on this Google Earth screenshot, show where, I Geo-tagged today's images.

More later.....

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I like the Kin Dam too. Its a good spot for PT runs from Camp Hansen. But what's that you say about the 104 being haunted?!

RyukyuMike said...

Gunnar Olson, Read about it in the book by Jayne Hitchcock, mentioned here: http://www.ryukyulife.com/2013/10/finding-caves-on-okinawa-island.html