Scenes from the Matsuda Cave in Ginoza Okinawa, Japan

Public Tours Are Now Available

 

If adventure and nature travel is your thing, this one's for you.

Probably, not many five star hotel types will visit these caves; their loss, I'd have to say.

The entrance way is real fancy and easy to navigate.

It may get you wondering why they gave you boots and a miner's helmet to wear.

Once you leave that boardwalk and, some natural light, you'll figure it out.

There are plenty of places, wading in water and banging your noggin, take place.

The staff members are helpful and concerned about everyone's safety.

But, they don't necessarily speak English. 

A few hundred meters inside the cave, the only lights come from the helmets.

If you enjoy getting off the beaten path, this might be the place for you.

But, if you require more than one airplane seat, go hangout with the five star hotel crowd !

Go to TripAdvisor to see my review of Matsuda Cave.

For Reservation INFO see Map It Okinawa


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Thursday Travel Photo: Awase Fish Market

Another Great Place to Visit on a Hot Summer Day

 

 

 

When the Map It Okinawa Dude showed-up today I was taking my second nap.

I'm on my sleeping bag with the AC cranking out freezing wind and, he wants to go look at a fish market.

So, I humored him, grabbed the cameras and off we went to Awase, Okinawa.

As it turned out, it wasn't such a bad day.

The name of the place is, Payao Fish Market but, it's much more than that.

They have a restaurant inside.

You can walk around and look at all the fresh fish, stacked on ice.

Then, ask somebody, "Could you cook me this one?"  And, they will !

We'll be going back down that way, someday to visit again.

It's really a cool place. I'll probably eat there and do a TripAdvisor Review on them.

After I took a few dozen photos we headed back north.

That's because, I didn't want to leave my nap unfinished.

Meanwhile, I gathered some links to YouTube Videos, you can watch.

Discover Okinawa

Travel Photo: Sometimes Waterfalls Just Appear

Today we went all the way to Naha City, in Okinawa, Japan.

With two cameras, fully charged, downtown we went.

While driving, with no real mission to accomplish, we got caught in a rainstorm.

We goofed-off all morning, had a big lunch and headed home early.

Doc Graff must think I'm getting senile.  I never took a photo, all day.

Got back to the office, put the cameras away and, I took a three hour nap.

There's been an awful heat wave hanging around here the past few weeks.

The rain helped cool things, for awhile but, it's still hotter than most people can tolerate.

Well, I woke-up freezing from the air conditioning and realized, I didn't have a photo for today.

Digging back in the photo files, I found this one.

It was taken, a few years ago, at Sueyoshi Nature Park in Naha.

There's normally, just a little trickle of a stream flowing through there.

So, I wouldn't recommend a visit if you are looking for waterfalls to take pictures of.

But, if you get caught in there during a flash summer storm, it's a different story.

Sometimes, waterfalls just appear.



Okinawa Flower Photos: Society Garlic (Tulbaghia violacea)

These purple flowers originated somewhere in Africa.

Called, Society Garlic, Wild Garlic or, Pink Agapanthus, they are really related to onions.

The plants were granted the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

What that means, I think, is they are easy to take care of, if you are a lazy gardener.

Rub crushed leaves and flowers on your skin and, it will repel fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.

The Zulus use it for all kinds of stuff, like, seasonings and snake repellent.

And, they figured out a way to make aphrodisiacs from it.

How wild is that ?



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

The Umimaru and Crew at Sea


 

Longhorn in the City

Sabani Race June 30, 2013

Ryukyu Damselfly