High above the ocean in the hills and jungles of the Yanbaru Mountain Region, is Okinawa Honto’s highest point Yonaha-Dake. Uncle Haru and aunt Tsuneko decide to escort me on my quest to reach the pinnacle of the island. They have never been there and we aren’t really sure what we will find.
The path starts out wide and easy. Occasionally, there are a few rocks and ruts underfoot but nothing too intense. The jungle around is thick and it’s a good time to check out some of the lush foliage along the route. There is a wide variety of ferns, tree ferns with unusual spots running down their scaly trunks, huge sections of thick bamboo blocking our visibility and these little guys growing on the rock. Nothing too intimidating yet, but the path changes dramatically with this short rocky climb.
“This is the path to the top, pretty small, totemo chiisai.” I’m driven to reach the top, but after having a 5-foot snake almost fall on my head earlier this week, I’m feeling a little cautious. “Walking up this trail to the top of Yonaha-Dake and the trail is pretty small and I’ve got to say that I’m a little freaked out right now but, I love it.”
My anxiety is eased by the fact that my fearless guide in her flimsy flip-flops will keep me safe. I walk through a few spider webs and pray I don’t run into one of the giant wood spiders I’ve seen around the island.
“So, waving my little stick here to get all the spider webs because I don’t think anybody’s gone up here today. We’re in a wildlife protection area I think so hopefully we’ll see some wildlife.”
We stumble on several Ryukyu Robins, playing along the path. The Yanbaru Mountain Region spans the central part of northern Okinawa and is home to many of Japan’s natural treasures. Haru-san is great at finding the animals as he hikes along in the forest. He found at least half a dozen lizards clinging to the trees along the trail. We soldier on along the claustrophobic path wondering if we are even going the right way.
I gave Haru and Tsuneko several opportunities to turn around, but they insist on continuing through the dense jungle. It seems like we’ve been hiking way too long in this humid forest. Finally, we find the stone marking the top of Yonaha-Dake.
“We managed to hike to the top of Yonaha-Dake and this is what we have to show for it this little pole. But I got to tell you the fun was in the adventure.”
The bamboo is so dense that we have to climb a tree to see the view. Haru climbs down and challenges me to climb the tree. I can’t pass up this opportunity.
“From the highest point in Okinawa, I can see for miles swaying in the treetops 1600 feet above the ocean. Very few Okinawans see this view due to the tough climb, the lack of trail markers and their fear of poisonous Habu snakes.
“Look at me I’m the tallest man in Okinawa.”
We take a short rest to appreciate our achievement, eat some rice and drink some water before our long walk back.
“We climbed to the top of Mount Yonaha-Dake and now we are returning down the path. We survived the hike back to the car proud that we have gone somewhere that few people get to go Okinawa’s highest peak Yonaha-Dake.
Coming up, we’ll be going back to civilization and stops at Ocean Expo Park in Churaumi Aquarium. We’ll also be seeing Okinawan bull-fighting, as well as dozens of stops in Southern Okinawa.
Don’t forget to check out my new website, StrayCompass.com, a travel video website. You can also see my latest work at Agileh.com. And if you’re watching this on another video sharing website, don’t forget to comment, rate and subscribe to my videos. Thanks for watching. I’m James Knott.
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