Kume Island Wonderful Island Japan
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This review is about a very small but wonderful place to visit in Japan that many tourists can miss because it is a small area that is not well-known to the public.
Kume Island (Kumejima) is an isolated island in Okinawa Prefecture of Japan. Okinawa is consisted of very beautiful islands of which contain many attractive points you will like. If you want to know about Okinawa, visit the site of Epinions. Ryukyu Islands have many isolated Islands and Kume Island is one of them. From Naha airport to Kumejima airport; it takes about 30 minutes to get there by airplane. If you want to get there by ferry, it will take about three hours. The island is so small that you can drive around it in about 40 minutes.
I went there in August 2007 with four of my friends. Okinawa in August is very hot in every way . From the Naha airport to Kumejima airport takes 25 minutes. We could see the sea below the airplane. It was so amazing; we all god very excited. Once we got there, my first impression is that how little the airport is! Inside the airport was a small shop, restaurant, and souvenir shop.
Places you should visit
After checking in at a hotel, we went to the Kumesen factory. Kumesen is the bland liquor made from rice. We had tour in the factory and they always welcome visitors. I could smell the mellow aroma as soon as I entered the factory. In the basement of the firm, there were many big earthenware pots to storage Kumesen. To be honest, I didn’t feel it was very interesting because all I could eat was Kumesen. I was starving, but everyone else seemed rather content.
Obake-saka was the one and only mysterious place in the island. It was a narrow hill called Ghost Slope. While a car was in an uphill and we put the car into neutral, the car started to climb. In fact, the hill looked climbing up, but it was an optical illusion. To make sure the mysterious phenomenon, there was am empty can.
The House of Uezu is an important cultural property. The Uezus was an old family. The house was built in 1754 and Okinawa’s oldest extant building in a private house. The estate was surrounded by square stone wall and typical Okinawan house. An old lady sat on the porch and told the history of the house. Actually, she is a descendant of the house. The entrance fee was 300yen for an adult. It was worth paying the cost.
Goedano-matsu is a big pine tree, which is designated as a special natural treasure with the height six meters. In the early eighteenth century, it was planted. That was wonderful! The pine branches, which flourished gorgeously, are not seen anywhere else in Japan. To take into account that Okinawa is the typhoon Mecca, it is very hard to believe that it is beautiful and heroic. We spent only 10 minutes there because there was nothing to do except for taking photos.
Beaches
There are several beaches where we can enjoy such as; Hateno-Hama, Ihu beach, Tatami-ishi and Shinri-hama. Those listed above are famous beaches, but unknown beaches are not common. Many people said that the Hateno-Hama is the best beach in the island. Cobalt blue and pure white sand just end up in this area, the very paradise. However, the beach is a sandbar and located in the middle of the sea and you can’t go there without using boat. You cannot go there anytime because the time limitation exists. In addition, it takes 20 minutes and much many 3,500 yen.
We went to Tatami-ishi, Ihu beach, Oujima. Tatami-ishi is the unique beach in east coast of the Island. The beach is not covered in sand but instead boulders, which is made by lava. It is like the shell of turtles.
Ihu beach is located in Eastern part of the Island. This beach is biggest in the Island, two kilo meters of length. Lots of people enjoyed marine sports like banana boat, wind surfing, and snorkeling. The problem was too many people. If you love spending time in a beach where is not crowded or want to occupy a beach by yourself, you should avoid this beach.
I think Oujima is second beautiful beach in the Island. Transparency of the sea was outstanding. Besides, there were rarely people in the beach. Also, the two almost sand beaches at high tide are running out, so people should avoid high tide as well.
Accommodation
Resort Hotel Kume Island. 411 Magari, Kumejima, Shimajiri district, Okinawa.
Hotel Marine Terrace Kumejima. 583-4 Janado, Kumejima, Shimajiri district, Okinawa.
Ihu Beach Hotel Kumejima. 548 Janado, Kumejima, Shimajiri district, Okinawa.
Cypress Resort Kumejima. 803-1 Ohara, Kumejima, Shimajiri district, Okinawa.
This is the hotel we used. It was extremely spacious, comfortable, and gorgeous. All the rooms had an ocean view room. The pool connected directly to the sea. It was more expensive than those hotels in Okinawa Island. However, other hotels are sure to be cheaper. Particularly, I liked the lunch menu. “Kumejimadon” was my favorite. It was a big bowl of rice topped with deep fried local vegetables and prawn. Compared with the island’s restaurants, the price is slightly higher.
There are many cheap accommodation rather than those listed above. They may offer opportunities to get to know local people or other tourists.
Restaurants
There were more restaurants in the Island than I expected. To my impression, there seemed to be at least 20 restaurants. Almost all served Okinawan noodle. Some of them served tacos. Compared to hotel restaurant, inexpensive menu and hearty meals were available. Local restaurants made us feel at home because people were very friendly and the atmosphere was nice.
Souvenir
Mineral water is made by deep water of the deep sea, salt, Okinawan noodle, Kumesen, pineapple, dragon fruit, and cosmetic goods.
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Tags: , Destinations, Hotels & Travel, Japan
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