Wordless Wednesday: A Mochituki Scene

Mochituki

Travel Photo: Rock Will Tell You If It's a Boy or Girl

Niya-thiya Cave or Senin Gama

The cavern is located on Ie Island, Okinawa, Japan and, it has historical significance.

A thousand islanders took shelter here and, survived the Battle of Okinawa. 

In the right lower corner of this image, is a stone of hysterical significance, to me anyway.

Call it the Pregnancy Rock if, you like. Here's what the inscription teaches us.

Pick up that stone, chained to the short pillar and, see how much it strains your muscles.

If  a woman, lifts the stone before long, she'll become pregnant.

The stone heavy ?  That means, the baby will be a boy.

If, it's light, a baby girl will be born.

Related Post:

The Pregnancy Rock in Okinawa (Photo) It's a Myth I Hope

Ahacha -- A Bridge Off the Beaten Path in Urasoe Okinawa

Not Much Traffic Here

A Guidebook provided by Urasoe City Board of Education led to this find.

Buzzing along the highways and byways of the island, you never see things like this.

There are a couple dozen more treasures like this, I'll be hunting down.

Folks who can read these signs, might find the place, quicker than, I did.

But, if they are, flying down side streets, in little 4 cylinder cars, they could miss out, too.

It's best, to get off your rump and, do some walking. Even doctors will tell you that.

The bridge, isn't visible from the road up above but, it's a beauty.

Stone-work like this, takes plenty of hard labor to accomplish, I know.

It should be photographed and, displayed for the whole world to admire.

Walking across, to the other side, I shot this scene, showing the river below.

More than a few centuries old, it must have been a struggle, building this bridge.

Imagine the laborers, jumping into the river, to cool off, at the end of the day.

For me, it was important to, get close-up photos of both sides, showing the stone work.

What if, they had an east side and a west side construction crew?

Both crews deserve to have their work displayed. That would only be fair.

Backing off with the camera, gives an idea, why it's not visible from the city street.

A Long Long Time Ago

It might help if, I explain my interest in architecture such as this.

When I was very young a stonemason from Italy taught me something.

Maybe, eight years old or so, I hauled heavy rocks, in a wheelbarrow, for him.

As fast as the stones could be hauled, he would use them, going higher and higher.

Hard labor, sweat and tears from dawn until dusk, he kept on building.

From a foundation, dug in the ground, to above the roof in the sky, he built a chimney.

That chimney and fireplace, were the first time, our house got heated.

From That Foundation

Learning hard work, mixing mortar, handling stones, did something for me.

It gave me an appreciation for architectural design and, respect for those in the industry.

Some folks, these days, would consider that work, child labor and criminal.

It wasn't. It was friends and family, helping each other and more.

Consider it, character building.  That's what I do.

With all my heart, I appreciate the work of builders, laborers and engineers.

All that's left to say is, something I should have said, way back then.

One night, when the old stonemason was sleeping, something strange happened.

Signore Caccavale, "I didn't mean, to piss in your boots."

"I'll buy you a beer, when I get to the other side. OK?"

Map for Ahacha Bridge

The Longest Living People in All of Japan

Stone Monument in Ogimi Village

 

 

This stone is located alongside HWY 58, in the village of Ogimi.

Directly behind it, there is a small trickle flowing from a waterfall in the hills above.

Lately, I have been carrying a Garmin along, to add Geo-tags to my photos.

And, I really wanted to shoot this rock because, I heard it was special.

But, after traveling all over the northern hills, the batteries in the Garmin, wore out.

Two things needed to be done before, I posted this photo.

1. Figure out a way to get Latitude and Longitude, to add to the image EXIF data.

2. Verify, that to inscription on the plaque, said something about longevity.

Travelers May Want to Visit

  

The location happens to be at the Michinoeki (Road Stand) in Ogimi, Okinawa.  

There's plenty of parking spaces and, the waterfall is just to the right of all the shops.

Over at Google Maps GPS Coordinates, I punched in the address.

Then, hit "Get GPS Coordinates" and, they gave them to me.

Latitude: 26.690 Longitude: 128.108

That should be good enough for the Geocache crowd to find the location.

Then, I manually added the Geo-tags to my photo file, for the rest of the world to see.

Translation of Inscription

This turned out to be quite a chore as, I used my smart phone as an interpreter.

The Google Translate folks, haven't quite hit 30% accuracy, would be my guess.

After, I stopped laughing, I figured, they gave me enough, to continue researching.

The rumor, I'd heard was, that this stone had a poem about longevity written on it.

An article in Japan Times gave me this:

“At 80, we remain children.”

 

If death visits us at 90, we should say, “Wait until we are 100, then we might consider it.”

The best translation, I could find, came from the Ogimi Village website:

"At 80 years old, I am still a child. When I come to see you at 90, send me away to wait till 100

Let us keep going strong as we get older, and not depend too much on our children in old age.

Come to our village in your old age, and we will provide the blessings of nature and teach you

 the secrets of longevity.

We the senior citizens of Ogimi proudly declare this the longest-lived village in Japan."

"April 23rd, 1993 Ogimi Federation of Senior Citizen Clubs"

Treasures in the Gold Hall Cafe

Millionaires Rub Your Greedy Hands

 

 

Here are a few photos of the works of art to be found, down inside this cave.

A few of us, took the cameras and, visited yesterday, to take some shots, out of the sun.

 Most visitors, pay their entrance fee and, tour the caves first.

We were hungry so, ate like kings at the dining hall then hiked through the attraction, later.

It's a great way to burn off some calories because, you go up and down lots of stairs.

Some of the cave exists of finished rooms, lined with shelves,

They have pottery, driftwood, wood and stone carvings, all kinds of artworks.

Just in case, you were wondering, I don't know much about art and, stuff like that.

But, I'll bet you ten dollars, that statue on the table, is a Buddha !

Here's something, I know lots about. It's a bar scene, from the caves.

There's some sort of red, hanging lighting and, sake (awamori) bottles, on the wall.

If you keep getting confused over stalagmites and stalactites, I'll help you.

Just remember, stalactites, are the ones, you keep bumping your head on.  I do, anyway.

Wouldn't this make a cool bachelor pad ?

There's a little babbling brook, over where the stalactites are hanging.

Being, it's right near the bar, I imagine the table is a place to set your drink, while drawing water.

Over past the crystals, on the right, that penis-looking thing, doesn't look natural.

It's probably some sort of warning, for the ladies. Don't wash your hair in the spring !

Here's another view of, the finished, part of the cave, with blocks and shelving.

They made this place so, you won't slip on any wet floors, touring the caves.

So, it's pretty much, high heel and flip-flop friendly and, safe for children.

This eagle, grabbing a snake, statue is at one of the cave, exits to the outdoors.

So, there's some natural daylight, shining from the right side of the photo.

Believe it or not, you can get lost, going on a tour through these caves.

They give everybody a map, when, you pay to go inside but, we didn't think we needed them.

Doc and I, have been through this cave, several times.

So, we folded our maps and stuck them in our pockets because, men don't need maps.

But, once we got lost, the maps came in handy !

This stone stampede of horses, has to be worth a million dollars, by itself.

What, you're seeing, is just a sectional shot; it must weigh a ton, if you could pick it up.

If any crazy billionaires, out there, wanna buy some of this stuff, look me up.

The gal, who owns this place knows me and, maybe, we could play Let's Make  Deal !

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The Most Special Rock I've Ever Seen on Okinawa

This stone is a monument, marking a spot on the east coast of Okinawa.

It is said, the creator of the Ryukyu Islands set foot on the main island, here.

Yaharazukasa is the name of this historical rock.

The tide was in when we discovered it so, I couldn't just walk over to see the whole stone.

At low tide, someday, I'll get the full picture for you.

The legendary goddess, Amamikiyo, passed through this spot, coming from Kudaka Island.

And, I have a list of all the places, she visited next.

So, some sort of pilgrimage, could be made, through this area in Nanjo City.

For those, not so interested, in pilgrim stuff, I have a surprise.

Non-pilgrims could go paragliding, right near this sacred stone !



Related Post: Paragliding in Okinawa

Travel Photo: From the Dalai Lama Visit to Okinawa NOV 2012

Words of Wisdom

 

 

There are a few signs commemorating visits by the Dalai Lama in Okinawa.

This one was discovered in a park where some special trees have been planted.

On the Dalai Lama website, you can see him planting one.

Travel Photo: Hajiusui (恥うすい坂) the Stone of Shame in Nago

Tragedy in the Mountains

 

 

This stone is a monument to a story Shakespeare could have written.

Two young lovers, ended their lives in this area.

It's another one of those tales about a girl who is in love.

And, she catches her guy, with another woman.

So, she goes up the trail and kills herself.

He went up and did the same thing.

Now I'm Hearing They Were Found Naked

 

 

They probably would have gotten this rock carving, anyhow.

So, I'm wondering.  What possessed them to take their clothes off ?

The inscription on the stone warns travelers.  Be careful, going up that trail.

Something told me, "Don't go in there."

So, I stayed on the road and shot butterflies, instead.

Nago City Website Convinced Me 

If you go up that trail, you better sprinkle the path with leaves.

Because, if you don't, you will be misled by some evil spirits !

Use your Google Translate on the Nago Website

Directions and more at Map It Okinawa 

Editor's Picks (Photos) for the Month of March 2013

Strange Things Happen Sometimes

 

There weren't a lot of photos entered in contests this month because March keeps me too busy.

These photos were the only ones to receive Editor's Picks.

The strange thing is, they were both taken at the same location in Okinawa, Japan.

 Long Life Stone in Okinawa

 

Green Tree Frog of Okinawa, Japan

The photos were taken on different days at locations only a few hundred meters apart.

And the frog photo made it all the way to the University of California.

That Stone Garden in Motobu must have some good ju-ju, is what I'm thinking.

What I plan on doing is a TripAdvisor Review on that place.

Maybe, if you visit Shizen Sekitei (自然石庭) you'll start having good luck, too !