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.

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.

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.

 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.

 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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.....

12 Photos from a GPS Waypoint Trek in Kin Town Okinawa

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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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