Ie-shima

After over a year on Okinawa, I have FINALLY made it to Ie-shima.  This island is part of the Ryukyu archipelago and only a 20-minute ferry ride from Okinawa.  I always thought it would be a good day trip for bikes and snorkeling, but we've just never made it happy.  Probably one of those things that you know you should do, because it's so close, but you figure there will be plenty of time to do it, because it's so close.  When we are in Nago, it is easy to see Ie-shima from Okinawa because of it's peak, the hike to which is one of the tourist attractions on the island.

An invitation to a bachelorette party to spend some time with the girls' was what finally brought me to Ie-shima.  We stopped for java and almost missed our ferry, but the gods of our understanding forgave our tardiness and graced us with a beautiful sky and pleasant breeze.

Ie-shima is not a large island, and most of the land area is used for agriculture.  We did not bring a car with us, but planned on renting the bikes available at our resort to ride around town and get a lay of the land once we arrived.

When we pulled in, the tallest point on the island beckoned.  The kanji on two of the ferries in the harbor declared "I-e-shi-ma," and I felt proud inside that I recognized them!  Baby steps

We checked in at the Y-Y-Y Resort (that's why-why-why Resort) and tossed our luggage in the room before heading out to explore.  I admired the shisa divers at the front desk:

After a quick test of the different bike sizes, we pedaled out into the downtown area.  Saturday is a snoozy time for the island, and we appreciated the lack of traffic when trying to pedal uphil with bikes that were meant for flat or downhill coasts.  We may as well have walked to the trailhead for the Ie-shima hike, as it was uphill most of the way.  We made it to the top of the hike and enjoyed the view.  I did not have my camera, so I was thankful that everyone else in our party had an iPhone.

We tried to find a place for lunch, but evidently the restaurants take a snooze on Saturday as well.  We finally found one noodle place after someone agreed to show us where the only open restaurant was.  It was comical, because we found two places that seemed to be open but the people inside formed an "X" with their fore-arms.  We interpreted this as they were preparing to close, rather than "we don't serve Americans."  The noodles were OK, but we did not linger very long.  We pedaled back to our resort just in time to enjoy some time on the beach and a lovely sunset.

After dinner, it was time to do what girls do when they get together: facials, foot cleanses, and drinks.  Every resort I've been to provides pajamas for the guests, and the Y-Y-Y was no exception.  We donned our feather boas and complimentary PJs for a photo to commemorate the evening.