2019 Hydrangea Report #1 from Motobu Okinawa

A Dozen Images Were Shot Today

This morning a visit was paid to Yohena Hydrangea Garden.

The flowers we were hoping to see blooming are known as Ajisai locally.

The rainy season got a late start this year so, the Hydrangea blossoms aren't ready yet. 

In no particular order, other than the way, they came out of the camera, here you go.

Chasing the best available lighting, I composed images of many flowers.

Volunteers can give you the names of these pretty things. I'm too tired to research.

Before the sun came up today, I was out walking and, covered lots of territory. 

They say you need to walk at least 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy.

Well, I got over that and, am trying to walk 20,000 steps each day.

It was supposed to rain today so, I wore a water-resistant jacket.

The sun came out as we climbed the hills and, I looked back to capture the views.

That's when it dawned on me, I left my jacket and iPhone (step counter) in the car.

Well, I already had 16,000 or more steps on the counter so, no need to worry.

It may have added another 1,000 or, two to the contraption, climbing those hills.

If, you're wondering what these pink flower thingies are, send them to a botanist.

They can probably give you an answer, quicker than, I can.

From past experiences, I pretty sure this is a Hydrangea. The blue thing.

The blossoms were scarce. When the time is right those hills will be crawling with the flowers.

They come in colors like pink, white and blue. Maybe purple, too.

These yellow rascals seemed to be doing quite well and, I should know their name.

But, somebody in your crowd probably can identify the beauties so, why should I.

Huh?

Way down in the lower corner of this photo is the red-tiled roof of Yohena's house.

Here's documentation of blue sky (in the rainy season) we're supposed to be having.

Climbing hills and bending your body are good for you when you're 17 years of age.

Today I discovered, I'm not 17 anymore.

We must have walked every inch of Yohena Gardens today and seen every hill.

Sometimes, I think we even got onto somebody else's property, up in the hills.

The Hydrangea flowers might have been disappointing but, the nature walk was great!

The woman who planted (some 10,000 or so) Hydrangea in those hills, went to heaven.

She lived to be around 100 and won many awards for her gardens.

Her son, let me know, the full bloom period should be around May 25-Mid June this year.

Leaving the gardens, I couldn't help but, shoot one more scene with the tiled-roof house.

That's where Mrs. Yohena would always be happy to greet guests to her gardens.

Of course, we promised to return, when the flowers are in full bloom.

This purple specimen is another one I'll have to pass on sharing the identification.

In the parking lot, I spotted this beauty, which reminded me of a gal I used to know.

Shucks, I forgot her name too! 

Important Information: Yohena Hydrangea Garden Website

15 Images from Yohena Hydrangea Gardens

Hydrangea Are Ajasai Flowers

In a bit of a rush, I'll be short on words tonight. The hills were exploding with colors.

A quick tour that lasted about an hour, netted me over 100 photos.

Near the entrance to the gardens, you can see orchards in the background.

About a hundred yards up the hill, I look across towards Mrs.Yohena's house.

She is 100 years old this year and, I was more interested in seeing her than, the flowers.

My wife knows, I like to fool around, hug and kiss elderly ladies. So, that was the plan.

Young women, posing with the flowers, were taking photos together.

I got their permission, to photograph and, continued to travel uphill.

They have all kinds of flowers in those hills, not just hydrangea.

The name of those ping ones dangling in the wind, slips my mind at the moment.

Flower experts, know that sort of thing so, you can go ask, one of them.  I'm in a hurry.

Mrs. Yohena's son, had met me going up the hill. I call him Yohenasan.

That's because, were friends but, I keep forgetting his first name. Yehonasan is alright.

He knows, I'm an old guy and probably, forget names every chance, I get.

He said, his mom was in the hospital and, wouldn't be at the top of the hill, this year.

What if Yehonasan, was trying to play a trick on me ?  I kept climbing up the hill.

In the photo above, there's a gal, wearing a black hat.  Can you find her ?

If, these flowers were edible, I'd like them a lot more. They smell good.

Not, like some perfumes girls wear, that give you a headache.

OK It's Halftime Break

A guy can only say so much about flowers so, let's talk about something different.

Just a minute and then, we can go back to flowery stuff. OK ?

A long time ago, I was taking night classes at a community college, outside the USA.

During the day, I worked. To get educated, I had to take nighttime courses.

It was one of those 101 Psychology, Anthropology or, whatever classes, you need to get started.

There were maybe, 25-30 students in attendance and, I sat behind this pretty girl.

She turned around and said, "You want a little pussy?"

That shocked me awake.  I'll bet my face turned as red as that tree in the photo above.

Then she says, "My cat had kittens and, I want to give them away."

So, I relaxed and said, "No thanks, I'm a dog person."

  Break time came along and I went outside to have a smoke.  She started coming towards me.

It was the first time, I really got to look at her from up front. What a beauty.

She she had, (How do you say?)  Two huge, I mean humongous....

Salami sandwiches on Seedless Jewish Rye Bread.  And, she gave me one !

Now, that I got that out of my system, we can go back to Yohena Gardens.

For those who like to walk the steep paths through the hills, there are handrails.

Me, I prefer to stay on the paved walkways and, not climb stairs.

People are friendly and, you never know, where they may have traveled from.

Some speak Chinese, Japanese, English or Korean, you just have to ask.

This couple, gave me permission, to photograph just, by using hand signals.

It was like, "OK" and they "OK'd" me back. Click, click, click.

Yohenasan was taking photos of this Okinawan family, as I descended the hill.

They had heard me, talking as I went uphill and were surprised, I spoke their language.

No problems, getting their consent, to photograph.

The plant, hanging from that tree, reminds me of Spanish Moss.

That will require some research, as it doesn't seem like local vegetation, to me.

There's the gal, I came to see, up in the rafters of a building.

The photo was composed in this fashion, for a reason. I wasn't going home without it.

Wife said, I could give Mrs. Yohena a kiss and a hug and, that's what I'm gonna do.

Plus, I'm trying to teach my better half, what rafters are; rafters and eaves.

I'll tell her, the eaves are on the other side of the wall  and, see if, she turns the picture over !

Visit Yohena Hydrangea Garden

Flower and Bee GIF - Plus Hydrangea Report #1 for 2017

At Yohena Garden Today

Up north, went to check the hydrangea (ajisai for Japanese) blossoms.

Things were looking sort of grim. The parking area was empty; our first clue.

When we walked to the booth, where you pay to enter, it was abandoned, too.

Going up the hill, there were a few scraggly-looking flowers, partially blooming.

There's no sense, driving all that way, with cameras and lenses, to come home empty handed.

So, a decision was made, to go all the way to the top of the hill, to visit Mrs. Yohena.

If, my calculations are correct, she'll be 100 years old, this year.

Up at the little cafe, I met her son. He remembers me from years gone by.

Doc Graff and I, chatted with him and found out the real deal. Flowers are late this year.

He says, full bloom for hydrangeas will be around the middle of next month.

The gardens will be crawling with flower fanatics from June 1st until the 15th or 20th.

Bee and Yellow Flower

They seemed like worthwhile subjects so, I flipped the Pentax on to rapid fire.

The name of the blossom, escapes me at the moment but, I'll get it later.

Climbing that hill, gets old dudes tired. I went all the way up, almost.

Some gals from Hong Kong were the only other visitors and, they were taking pictures, too.

Neither Doc nor, I speak Chinese but, some of those girls spoke English.

So, you can probably guess, what I did. Got permission and, shot them, too.

It's a good idea if, you're shy (like me) to just start talking to strangers.

Lots of people get scared, when they see me coming but, I know what to do.

Especially girls, just blow them kisses, wave or say, "Merry Christmas."

That's what I do. And usually if, they don't run away, it's easy to talk to them.

Bees and flowers well, occasionally I get caught, talking to them, too.

 End of Report


Yohena Gardens May 17, 2015

Another Place to View Hydrangea Flowers in Okinawa

They're in Nago But Not in the City

 

 

To get a look at these blossoms, you may have a bit of a climb ahead of you.

Really, not an expert on flower things, I can't tell if the season is just beginning or, ending.

Hiking up the back side of the hill, I saw mostly ferns in a forest, down below.

 Halfway up the hill, I spotted some blooms in a rock garden.

 

  

Hydrangea Cafe was closed at the time I arrived but, the view was interesting.

It got me wondering if this would be a good location to observe sunsets.

It had been a fairly long day traveling the north parts of the island.

Not being a true flower fanatic, I didn't bother climbing to the top of the hill.

A bit of a springtime rain started falling and, that gave me an excuse.

Back down, the front side of the mountain I went and, discovered these pink blossoms.

Rocks, antique harbor lanterns and signs, in a garden are important, to me.

How else, do you think, I would remember to spell "HYDRANGEA" correctly ?

To Find Hydrangea Cafe

My TripAdvisor Review 

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The season almost whizzed on by without my visiting this year because, I've been busy.

People have been asking me questions about the best way to get there.

Public transportation like, buses and taxi cabs, wouldn't be the best way to travel.

So, I suggest rental cars. If, it rains or, the flowers aren't blooming, you can easily escape.

Go look for some other tourist attractions; Okinawa is full of them.

Just for the heck of it, Doc Graff and I, went up to Yohena Ajisai Garden, today.

 Here's a little video sample of what we saw. Watch it carefully:

The last frame of the movie, shows me, with the sweetest gal on that mountain. 

It the weather forecast, I've seen is accurate, this Sunday may be the best time to visit.

Images from a Sunday Afternoon in the North of Okinawa

 Photos Can Do the Talking

 

 

 

 

 

In a period of about four hours, a person can cover lots of terrain on this island.

Getting a late start, Map It Okinawa Dude, arrived at the office sometime after noon.

The first photo of the day was taken around 1:30PM.

The flowers are Hydrangea (ajisai in Japanese) and they are blooming everywhere.

 Yohena's Ajisai Garden is one of my favorite places to visit in the month of May.

For the GPS crowd: N 26 27.007  E 127 55.879, should get you there.

Not as crazy about flowers as most people, I go to visit this woman.

Mrs. Yohena is the person who started planting these flowers, all over the hillsides.

She's 98 years of age and, more energetic than most 40 year old women, I know.

She always remembers me and insists on posing for a photo.

She is a sweetheart.

An hour after the first photo was taken we stopped here.

Tora, the Ryukyu Inu, doesn't really like posing for cameramen.

After I let him chew on my hands a little bit, he settles down and poses.

This guy is at the place where you buy tickets to see flowers of the Hydrangea Cafe.

The hills surrounding this location have very few blossoms see.

It might be best to visit in a week or, two.

The cafe is always a nice secluded spot to take a break for some refreshments.

This is Sueyoshi Ajisai Garden N 26 37.825  E 128 02.700 on GPS.

Cruising back down the east coast of the island, we stopped here.

This is a nifty place, where you can barbecue your own dinner.

Shelled seafood doesn't agree with me.

But, I can gobble down all kinds of meat products so, that's what I did.

This photo was taken around 5PM at Lequio Terrace in Ginoza.

GPS: N 26 28.424  E 127 57.430

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Sueyoshi Garden in Nago Today

 

 

Flower lovers, this is one place you shouldn't miss, if you enjoy the great outdoors.

It was nice and sunny so, we headed for a trip to the hills.

It was around noon, when we arrived.

Not, the best light for photography unless, you wait for some passing clouds.

That gave me an excuse, to take my time, climbing up the hills.

Normally, I'm in a hurry to get the flower photography done.

But, when I get to this garden, other things have to be accomplished, too.

One of them, is getting a wide angle scene with flowers and ocean in it.

It's fun to try and single out different colored flowers for close-ups, too.

Putting a rock in the scene helps sometimes.

It's isn't just for texture.  It helps block the wind, from shaking things.

These pinkish looking things caught my eye as I was heading back downhill.

So, I shot them quickly, because I started getting in a hurry.

Flowers Are OK -- I Like Dogs Better

 

This is Tora, the tiger dog.  He's really a Ryukyu Inu.

For about three years, now, I've visited the tiger dog and, we always make friends.

But, he keeps forgetting who I am and acts like he doesn't trust me.

It was like he was saying, "Nope, I ain't moving out in better light for you."

"And, I ain't giving you my paw, either."

So, I went crawling around on the ground and, moved the camera to get a better shot.

This is one cool dog but, I know I can get better photos.

It just takes awhile for him to get used to me.

He forgets who I am, every year.

Before we left, he gave me his paw and, he must have thought my hand was a dog biscuit.

When, I grabbed the paw, to shake hands, he started munching on me !

Maybe, I should visit the Sueyoshi Garden more often.