Getting around Okinawa without a car was difficult. So to make the most of the situation, we rented bicycles for a day to get around.
We cycled along the coastline from our accommodation to Zanpa Cape Light House and then down south to Mizugama with the aim of visiting the BlueField Dive shop. To our disappointment, no one was in the shop at Bluefield. Still, cycling along the coast and through a few residential areas led us to a couple of tourist attractions.
On the way back from Mizugama, one of the attractions we stopped at was the Yomitan Pottery Village. From the word Pottery I was expecting ceramic or clay works but what we found were more glass works. I reckon they were trying to make a distinction between blown glass from what they do, which is making containers or ‘pots’ by shaping with rocks or some other medium. Despite this, I found it mesmerizing to watch these folks at work, transforming regular glass bottles into works of art! Everything was done with such speed and precision! The heat from the burners were another great reason to stand there after a grey and windy day of cycling!
Not far from Yomitan Pottery Village is the Zakimi Castle. It turned out to be more of a castle ruin with only its stone walls still standing. In my opinion, the castle grounds were pretty small so the walk through it was quick. The view of the city from the top of the castle walls was not spectacular (yes! stairs were provided to climb onto the walls!). Yet, the ruin felt mysterious, as though each doorway led into another world! Such lure was simply irresistible!
Belosophy 