Urasaki, Motobu Town
The newest bullring in Okinawa, the Motobu Town Multipurpose Event Space, is nestled in a natural setting and is well equipped with facilities such as parking. The unique surroundings make for a most memorable bullfight.
Higashieue, Ie Village (Ie Island)
From the Wajee lookout, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the cliffs and the changing scenery depending on tide and weather.
Higashieue, Ie Village (Ie Island)
A craggy, 172-meter-high mountain known as Tacchu is approximately 7,000 years older than the island itself. The mountain was created by a rare crustal deformation in which part of an old rocky layer moves to the top of a new rocky layer while being folded under the new layer. Here you can get the feeling of the enormous force of crustal movement.
1355 Kawahira, Ie Village (Ie Island)
There is a popular belief that female infertility can be cured by holding up the Bijiru-ishi, a holy stone found in this sacred cave. The cave is also called Sennin-gama as it was used a bomb shelter and saved numerous lives during the war.
3614-1 Higashiemae, Ie Village (Ie Island)
Tel: 0980-49-5850
Hours: 9:00-17:00
Open daily
Admission: Free
Displayed in the garden are about 1,000 different varieties of colorful hibiscus. Every December the garden plays host to the annual Ie Island Hibiscus Festival.
380 Higashieue, Ie Village (Ie Island)
Tel: 0980-49-2906 (Ie Village Department of Commerce, Industry and Tourism)
Open daily
Admission: Free
In the huge 86,000-square-meter Lily Field Park, some 200,000 lily bulbs are planted with the beautiful landscape of the north coast as a backdrop. The park is the perfect place to go for a walk and a picnic. There are rest areas, and you can also enjoy fishing from the rocks on the coast side of the park. The Lily Festival is held from April to May, when the park is blanketed with 1 million lilies including teppouyuri -- a variety of lily native to the Ryukyu Islands -- and colorful foreign species.
424 Ishikawa, Motobu Town
Tel: 0980-48-3624
Hours: October-February 8:30-17:30 (Last entry 17:00); March-September 8:30-19:00 (Last entry 18:30)
Admission: 690 yen for adults, 350 yen for elementary and junior high school students, free for children under 6.
Featuring over 2,000 orchids displayed throughout the year in three separate greenhouses. A 50 percent entrance fee discount is offered to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium ticket holders.
A 15-minute ferry ride from Motobu Port, the 4.5-kilometer-long Minna Island has a croissant shape from the air. The water of Minna Island is known for its clarity, and its beautiful beaches are pure white sand. Reefs are located offshore, so you can thoroughly enjoy an expanse of white sand and transparent water.
1153-2 Yamazato, Motobu Town
Tel: 0980-47-5537
Hours: 11:30-19:00 (Last order 18:30)
Closed: Tue and Wed
This popular café, also known as “Pizza in the Sky,” is visited by people of all ages and nationalities. From here you have a spectacular view of Ie, Minna and Sesoko islands. Pizza and salad are popular.
1439 Izumi, Motobu Town
Tel: 0980-47-2160
Hours: 11:00-19:00
Closed: Mon and Tue *When a public holiday falls on a Monday or Tuesday, the place is closed on the following Wednesday.
Although Okinawa is primarily associated with beaches, this café, with its adjoining yachimun (pottery) gallery, resides quietly in a mountain area. Shisa are displayed on the roof, in the garden and everywhere else on the premises.
731-1 Gushiken, Motobu Town
Tel: 0980-48-2700
Hours: 11:00-19:00
Closed: Mon and Tue
Run by a family of artists, Haru resembles an art gallery more than a place to eat, and it displays and sells glass jewelry and accessories, pottery and more items crafted by them. From the café you can enjoy a view of Iheya, Izena and Ie islands.
Bise is a picturesque village famous for its fukugi trees, located near the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. There are nearly 230 houses in the village area, which is divided like a chessboard, with most of them surrounded by a dense cover of fukugi, scenery once commonly seen in most Okinawan communities. It is one of the few places on the island where you can ride in a buffalo-drawn cart, an experience normally found only on Taketomi Island. You can enjoy a tranquil moment while traveling leisurely along unpaved white-sand streets with the gentle sun filtering down through the fukugi trees.
