5 Views of a Sacred Site on Sesoko Island Okinawa

There are hundreds of sacred sites (Utaki) on the island of Okinawa.

The stonework of the walls and steps here resemble that of a castle so, this one is very old.

With no one worshiping, it was a good time to take photos from several angles.

Notice, there are two separate structures.

The building in the back has an unusual ornament on the tiled roof.

 Here is a view, looking through the first building at the locked entrance to the second one.

Down the road, to the right, you can see both buildings are up on a hill.

The Ryukyu Islands have a fascinating history and culture.

It could take a non-native 100 years to understand it all.

Be patient.  I'm working on it.

Related Posts:

Forest, Rocks and Salt: The Less Traveled Path in Okinawa

Utaki the Sacred Sites of Okinawa

Fun with a Camera at Night Outside Castle Walls

Last night Map It Okinawa Dude and I got to Shuri Castle late.

We decided to shoot some photos from down below.

That's because, when they shut the gates, they lock them all.

But, there are plenty of places you can still go to outside castle walls.

We hiked around the pond and had fun shooting reflections.

Outside the castle there is another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Named Sonohyan-Utaki, it is the stone gate to a sacred site, kings used to pray at.

The moon even peeked through the clouds for a few minutes and, I nabbed it in this photo.

After 10PM we figured it would be best to start going back down the hill and around the pond.

I was thinking, we'd be in a real jam, if the lights went out.

Along the way we stopped and took a few more reflection photos.

Now, today, I'm wondering what the rush was all about.  I checked the castle website.

And, here's what I just found out.

They keep the lights on outside until midnight !

Photo of the Week: The Sacred Site at Kijoka Falls in Okinawa

This photo of an Utaki, or sacred site, was taken at Kijoka Waterfalls Ogimi Okinawa, Japan.

Pentax K5 and 18-250 lens at 21mm

f/16   0.8sec   ISO 100

More about Kijoka Falls

Visit my website for today's Feature Photo

Forest, Rocks and Salt: The Less Traveled Path in Okinawa (Photo)

The past few weeks I've been traveling all over the Ryukyu Islands with that dude I keep calling RyukyuRu.  It's a blast but, the young guy acts like he's about half my age, goes up and down mountain trails, into the dark corners of caves and through the jungle like some kinda wild animal.  Half the time, I have no idea where we went.  He'll have to tell us where I took this photo of forest, rocks, and salt.  He pays attention to where he's going while I just tag along to shoot the camera.

Ru has one of those GPS gadgets.  It's great for finding stuff on Google Maps.  I just wish it had a few more important features built into the system.  Like, it would be better if it had a built-in flashlight for dark places.  And, it would be nice if it reminded people the sun is going to go down a few hours earlier when you're in the jungle or a cave than it does when you're at the beach.

RyukyuRu's real name is Lou.  It's just easier to say Ru, around here, because they don't have any "L's" in the Japanese dictionary.  Whenever I introduce him to anyone here,  I just say his name is Ru.  That way I don't get stuck giving free English lessons to everybody.

One of these days I may do a blog interview and Lou can let you know all he wants to about himself.  Meanwhile,  you can snoop around MAP IT OKINAWA and learn things about him while seeing more photos of where we've been in the Ryukyu Island Chain.

Today, I chose to title this post Forest, Rocks, and Salt: The Less Traveled Path, because of what we experienced yesterday.

We observed two women at worship in a well-marked UTAKI (SACRED SITE)  early-on in the day and steered clear so as to not disturb them.  They had placed three piles of salt in different locations throughout the Utaki.  Some were placed alongside the trail,  some on rocks, some at the base of trees in the forest, and others at small stone or cement shrines.

After we left that sacred site, we went to the less-traveled paths.  Places where we found caves, water wells, springs, thick brush, jungle, and hills a mountain goat wouldn't enjoy climbing, we kept running across three freshly laid piles of salt.  We're fairly certain the same two women had traveled off the beaten path and reached every location ahead of us but, never saw them again the entire day.  Dozens, if not a hundred, or more, remote locations and probably a few kilos of fresh salt had been placed in locations where we had to beat our own path.  Big mystery here.  Hmm.

After I'm done picking all the burrs out of my undercarriage, I wonder if I should go try and solve this mystery about the forest, rocks and salt piles on the less-traveled paths of Okinawa. 

Or, should I  just stay home and drink beer?

The Torii on the Beach: Ghost at the Top of the Hill (Photos)

Aw, you don't really believe in ghosts.  Or do you? 

I promised a few people I'd show them the Ghost I mentioned in a previous blog post so, I guess it's time I dug her up.

First, you get to look at the scene as it would be if you were approaching this sacred site in late afternoon.

It can be pretty dark inside this wooded grove, even when the sun is shining brightly on the best of days.

After passing under the Torii and entering the site, this small Utaki, or place of worship, is the first thing you notice along the trail.


Climb all the stairs behind the small building and you'll come to this, very special, site of worship.
It is locked up. Only a high priestess opens the doors to pray and make offerings and that is only on special occasions. No one else has access to the place.  There is a chair on the right side.

Just about the time I started thinking of going the rest of the way up and sitting down to rest my weary bones. Something moved and I snapped this photo.  It's a GHOST and I know her.

She used to work with me here in Okinawa, Japan.  She did the writing and I was the photographer.  We worked together on Photo Essays for APOGEE PHOTO MAGAZINE, GO BACKPACKING and ROMAR TRAVEL.

Some of them, we did a couple of articles for between 2009 and 2010.  Then, all of a sudden, one day she just disappeared into thin air.  So, I figure, she really must have been a ghost.  A GHOST WRITER. 

There's the ghost on the top of the hill behind the Torii on the beach in Okinawa, Japan.  Wuuuu !

Saturday Photo: The Torii on the Beach Okinawa, Japan

There is some mystery behind this photo.  I just returned from another Saturday traveling the northern areas of Okinawa island with Doc, the cameras and an awful hangover. 

That happens, sometimes when I get stuck working the bar on weekends but, it's all part of the job, I guess.

Last week I was contacted by a young lady asking directions for the iris fields. You know, that place that had hardly any purple iris flowers and got me introduced to the cosmos things.

I updated my blog post and added a Google Map.  It worked; she found the place.

Well, she comes back again asking me if I know where this Torii, on a beach in Okinawa is located. 

She sent a link to someone else's photo of the same Torii.  Whoever shot the original photo refused to share the location with her. The photo was titled "Higashi".  That means "East".

It looked sort of familiar but, you just don't see many Toriis on beaches around here. I snapped a photo of it off the laptop, using my cell phone camera and showed it to a few of the locals.

Nobody knew where I could find the place.

The dang thing looked familiar to me and I told the young lady, if it's on this island, I'll find it.  So, before I had my third, or maybe, fourth beer last night, I wrote a note to myself. "Find the Torii on the Beach."

Doc and I drove north this morning, heading up the east coast of the island.  BINGO, we found it !

Even though I have a frazillion photos to download and develop, I decided to get this one done and online, right away. It'll take me awhile to give you a thoroughly researched story about this place but, the reason it looked familiar to me is, I've been here before.

It's a sacred site, up the hill, once you pass under that Torii.  There is an Utaki at the top of some stairs.  Something that looked like a ghost moved in front of my camera the last time I was at that place.

So, I shot it.  And, I have a picture to prove it.

For now, this place will have to remain a mystery.  I ain't saying I believe in ghosts or anything like that.  The place just makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.  It's spooky.

That got me thinking maybe, just maybe, that's why the original artist doesn't want anyone to know the location of the Torii on the Beach in Okinawa, Japan !

Utaki The Sacred Sites of Okinawa (Photos)

      Today for Travel Photo Thursday I'd like to introduce you to Okinawa's Sacred Sites, Utaki.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of sacred sites located throughout the islands of Okinawa, Japan.

The most popular Utaki are UNESCO World Heritage Sites or within the sites, such as the photos I'm showing you today. The women above are making offerings at a sacred well, within the walls of UNESCO Nakagusuku Castle.

A grove of trees, source of water, stone and a hill all seem to be common themes for Utaki.  Sometimes, there is a small building at the site. It may resemble a shrine or miniature temple but, not an elaborate, brightly-colored shrine you'd see at a Buddhist Temple. We have a few of those, too.


Okinawans are ancestor worshipers. The religion here is a combination of many things. There are several gods in nature and Animism, Shinto, Buddhism, and Confucianism all play a part in the spiritualism on these islands.

Many Utaki, I have come across, are in remote areas, not necessarily on a hill.  Some are found in villages and not in heavily wooded areas.  Most of them will not have signs written in English.

Whenever you see women in the middle of nowhere or in front of a small shrine, or even a pile of rocks, with trays of food, such as rice balls, fruits, something to drink and smell incense burning, you can be sure of one thing.  They aren't having a picnic.  They are more than likely worshipping at an Utaki.

Discrete would be my advice if you happen to come across people worshipping in any culture.  These women consented to my taking their photos because I speak their dialect.  So, I did the silver-tongue work and got Doc Graff, the other Cameraman to handle the manual labor of helping the gals up and down some dangerous stairs. Hah!

For more information on The Sacred Sites of Okinawa visit UTAKI