Waterfalls, Sushi & Island Hopping

This past weekend started out a bit rough... Although the weather couldn't have been more perfect, Ben was stuck at work until 2:30 pm on Saturday which kind of killed our chances for a beach day. Not wanting to waste the rest of the perfect weather, we made the spontaneous decision to head up North about an hour and 15 minutes away to Tadake Waterfall. We realized that hanging out in the shady jungle in the cool waters of a river was probably a better option than baking out in the sun and oppressing humidity anyway.

After a long, yet scenic drive to Tadake, we had finally made it to our destination which ended up being a parking lot with a few bathrooms. We were thankful for a large map that directed us to walk about a half mile down a road to the access point of the hike. Oddly enough, when we eventually made it to the "river" it was more-or-less a creek... One that looked like it could've been straight out of Bucks County! We meandered through the knee deep water until we started to hit some smaller falls and deeper water. This meant that we would have to do most of the remainder of the hike by rock scrambling over wet, shear rocks. Fortunately, this was a pretty safe activity due to the many ropes that were placed along the rocks. Were these ropes tied securely and safely? Truthfully, I have no idea. But the idea of wading through waste-deep, murky water in a critter filled jungle seemed like a worse option.

Eventually, we made it to a bend in the creek and heard the crashing of water up ahead. I got so excited that I ran to the sound, I am too nerdy for my own good...

Alas! We were at the waterfall! Ben and I couldn't help but stare in awe for approximately 10 minutes until we eventually made the decision to try and get to the base of the fall. Climbing the slippery, sharp rocks to the right of the water didn't really bode well for me (although Ben managed to make it) so I settled for swimming right up to the waterfall. Although the falls didn't look like they were too heavy, being underneath of them felt like having an entire swimming pool dumped onto your head at once. We couldn't see nor hear anything, but we both agreed that it was the best part of the trip! After being pummeled for a bit, we took a swim in the surrounding water. It was deep enough where neither one of us could touch the bottom which was a little scary, but it made for the perfect natural swimming pool.

The unglamorous reality of being under a waterfall

Our next move was to hike to the top of the falls. I got about 1/4th of the way up the near vertical, muddy hiking trail before I shamefully cried out of fear and headed back down 😂 Ben continued on though, and he managed to get to the top. He took a few pictures of the view which I was able to live vicariously through. He confirmed that the rest of the trip up was very treacherous though, so I don't have any regrets not trying to make it all the way up. I'm pretty clumsy, so getting maimed in a jungle in the middle of nowhere seemed like a bad way to end the day haha.

The next day, Ben and I were pretty beat from our adventure so we agreed to hit the beach. Although we are obsessed with Maeda Flats, we decided to head over to the neighboring island of Sesoko to check out it's beach which looked PERFECT online. We packed our cooler (lunch on the beach is the best) and headed up North once again to the island. Unfortunately, the clouds never broke (don't let the pictures fool you) and it never got too warm out so this beach day was a bit of a bust. We were pretty disappointed that the water was roped off as well. No swim zones are the worst! I was able to find a lot of sea glass though, so it was totally worth the trip. Ben and I agreed that we'd definitely have to check out this little island again though, if the weather was right it definitely could've been a winner!

Sesoko Island is connected to Okinawa by a bridge which makes accessing it way easier!

You can see Ie Island off in the distance

Minna Island is straight ahead!

Sorry for the ridiculously long post, but the last thing I need to mention is our dinner at the sushi go-round! There are tons of this type of restaurant in Okinawa and they are very, very popular with the locals and tourists alike. At these establishments you sit at either a bar or table which has a conveyor belt on one side. The chef stands in the middle of the entire structure and makes the sushi which he places on the belt. The sushi travels around the restaurant and when you see something you like you grab it! The plates are colored differently to differentiate the different prices.

I'm not the most adventurous eater, not to mention nothing was labeled in English, but Ben and I tried as much as we could. There were definitely some questionable items, but for the most part the sushi was incredible! I definitely understand the difference between American and Japanese sushi now though... I miss my California rolls 😣

Our plates at the end of the meal... We tried as much as we could before we physically couldn't eat any more