Miyakojima Travel Report – Part 2
I set out at ten already on the 28th of April, because they had said to would rain from noon, so that I could get at least a little bit done but luckily the rain waited until the late afternoon. At first I went to a tiny island to the south of Miyako called Kurima, which is also connected to the main island via a bridge. The rental car’s navigation had trouble finding the viewing platform I wanted to get to and sent me through tiny back alleys, not that I’m getting used to them but since I must go through such alleys to my hotel I at least didn’t freak out. 
From the viewing tower one could see the entire tiny island. Back across the bridge, I checked out a popular beach and shortly watched two guys wind surfing with parachutes, they were pretty good.
Then on the road led to the “German culture” village, which turned to be much more interesting than expected. While at least a hundred children were having a picnic on the main lawn in front of the “castle”, the castle itself was closed. Whilst the castle looked like Disneyland rather than “German”, the other “German” building in the distance seemed pretty real from afar. Nobody, not even the kids came close to the second building, which is an imitation of a villa on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance according to some map. The Mainau imitation looked much better than the Disney castle but it turned out to be abandoned and in a state of decay. Lovely! I love places like that and it reminded me of the abandoned luxury hotel on the island of Hachijojima.
The German park was opened in 2000 it seems, not even fifteen years and it’s all in ruins. I managed to take some shots into the building through windows and I got into the kitchen via a broken door, but to my great disappointment the door from the kitchen into the rest of the building was blocked off by ropes. There are some shots of the premises and the half flooded cellar entrance on Flickr. I find such places very inspiring – nice sources for horror or at least adventure stories 
Since it was barely noon, I rode on down the southern coast of Miyako wanting to get to a marine park as the map said, but that proved to be just another viewing platform only, which was also inaccessible due to being under construction. So I rode on until the most southern tip of Miyako, a tongue of land with a lighthouse at its tip. Paying 200 yen to the lighthouse keeper allows you to climb up and get a fantastic view over the southern end of Miyakojima. Well worth the trip.
Then I had to drive back 25 km across the island to get back to my hotel. The roads in the south are to my liking = lonely. Ten kilometres inland more traffic welcomes you back to civilization.
All in all traffic is much easier though than in Kawasaki and I proudly rode 65 km that day 
After a big thunderstorm the previous night, which caused two tiny blackouts, it was heavily clouded when I left the next morning but didn’t rain, yet. It started raining badly while I was halfway where I wanted to go. High winds made my poor little rental car shake. There was a “famous” beach I wanted to get to but arrived there it was still pouring in sheets and on top of that they wanted 500 yen for parking. Wow, that was the first (and only) time I encountered a parking fee on Miyako, except for paid parking spots downtown, which I kinda understand. But parking at a beach for 500 yen and in rain? No thanks. I made a u-turn and went on to that lighthouse again, which was only another seven km away. When I reached it the worst rain was over. I walked around there a bit and then went on to another beach. It was a challenge to get down the mountain to that beach, rickety, small and wobbly road, but I made it and got talked to by a kid from Sendai who is jobbing on Miyako between April and September selling beach rental gear. Yes, nice life when you are in your twenties, but I hope for him he is not regretting having learned nothing special in ten years or so. I put a toe in the water at that beach and yuk, cold! Not really bathing weather yet.
There were cute little crabs on that beach, the size of a little finger. You don’t see them at all since they are the same color as the sand and then suddenly the sand starts moving and darts away from you! They were too quick to be caught on camera. Nice on the beach but I don’t want to have them crawling over me in my bed! Lol.
On I went to another viewing platform from which I could see next day’s target island, Ikema, and then on to the botanical garden of Miyako. It’s a nice park but too close to the airport and two planes thundered over my head while there. The weather still being very cloudy and not very inviting, I rode back to the hotel. Again 50 km done despite the weather.
