Chinen Castle site

Following our visit to Sefa-utaki, we spotted one of Okinawa’s lovely brown road signs pointing the way to another adventure!! The day was still young, so we decided to learn where it would take us.

It took us up this hill to a little parking lot tucked in on one side of the road. The road continued on up the side of the hill, but across the road from the parking lot was this sign leading down the path to the site. It was about as steep as the arrow shows, too!!

Right before the castle site was place that could have been a former altar area, but these trees and their roots were growing all over.

Welcome to Chinen Castle!!

Views inside the walls

Even if you can’t read the characters, the pictures let you know exactly what they’re saying!

I always find it fascinating the way they use the natural landscape to build into the protection of the castle.

It appeared this site was in the process of being ‘rebuilt’ and secured.

What the castle and grounds would have looked like.

Then we spotted this temptation!!!

Up the stairs, down the hill…..

Would we really find the spring? or the tomb?

We spotted this interesting looking cave place up on the side of the bluff. We had no idea that would be our eventual destination!!!!

Stay tuned!!

Sefa-utaki

We had made the plan to visit all seven UNESCO World Heritage sites on the island and only had three left to go. So, on February 2, 2013, we headed out the door to check another site off our list, Sefa-utaki.
"Sefa" means "a place holding divine power" and "utaki" generally signifies a "sacred place."

 A luscious path through the jungle!

This path leads to the most revered and holy site on the island and only a certain selection of feet would have been allowed to walk this path 'back in the day'.

There are a few stops along the path that would have been used to prepare oneself for worship. Markers described and depicted what would have happened at each stop.

We had to take a break along the path and find cover when the skies opened up!!

Made a new friend while hanging out under an overhang.

We acquired a sweet little Japanese lady guide along the path who, in her broken English, informed us that this was the site of a mortar explosion during the war.

The roots always fascinated me!!

Rodney seemed to meld into the jungle.... can you find him??

We had arrived at the entrance to the most holy place--- through the triangle.

Our sweet guide :0)

She took this picture for us!

This pot is sitting under one of the two stalactites. The water dripping off the stalactite into the pot is considered holy water and was deemed to foretell the fortune of the high priestess and was also used in the New Year's rituals.

Inside the holy site, believed to have been the birthplace of the Ryukyu Islands.