Okinawa Main Island Report – Part 2

Iejima

I had checked for departure times the day before at the port and went there to catch the 11:00 ferry to Iejima together with my bicycle since this is a car ferry. I haven’t been on too many car ferries yet in my life and was amazed that the cars have to drive into the ferry backwards. Gulp. I love my sweet little bicycle that they stored in a corner of the ship.



While I’m a little scared of small boats for less than ten people, I love big or bigger ships and greatly enjoyed the short, 30 min, ride to Iejima.



Arrived there, I went straight to the prominent central mountain, just to take a look, not expecting that you could get on top. But, you can get on top! Someone bothered to build sturdy concrete stairs up to the very top of the mountain.



I always admire the pioneers who put those stairs there in the first place. That must have been quite a job. The stairs are steep and tiring, but the view from the top of the mountain is breathtaking. You see the island in its entirety and the ocean with the other islands around it is amazing. That view alone is worth a trip to Iejima.



I bicycled around a bit and then headed for the western half of the island. Most of it is off limits, US army base….

But before the base is a cave that I wanted to see. The cave was of course used by the villagers on the island during WW2 as a shelter. It also would have been or maybe was an excellent pirate cave