Heading to Naha

We are glad that we revisited Yuinchi Wellness Hotel and that it held up to our memories. Like EM Wellness, staying here is an opportunity to relax, enjoy where you are, eat good food and take advantage of the onsite Onsen. In our usual manner of touring, we ride everyday seeing new places (which we love!) and it seems fitting to slow down for the final week of our trip. The miles don’t matter for us as much as what we experience. These are memories which we will hold dear.

We had a surprise visitor this morning on our balcony, a gecko.

We got a lot of joy from the balcony and the incredible view. You can just make out our visitor the gecko on our deck.

This Wellness Resort is a huge property with several buildings offering traditional Japanese rooms and western rooms. Probably, thanks to its age when buildings were built with grand spaces, we enjoy walking through these welcoming areas and appreciate art like the examples below of large pottery art installations on the walls.

We are heading out after 3 restful nights at the Wellness Resort. First the panniers, then we’ll wake up the trikes from their mini holiday and head to Naha.

The trikes were given a wonderful place to stay.

Families love to come here. The large property offers spaces for kids to run and play. We liked that they are offering children’s books for families to borrow and special amenities for children.

This banner is highlighting one of the attractions here…a horse ranch.

We appreciate Japanese hospitality which honours our trikes with a secure place to park. Barry’s trike is ready. Only a few places on this trip were not receptive to our trikes being onsite. One well known hotel chain, Toyoka, won’t allow bikes to be parked anywhere on their property, inside or out. It’s on our Naughty List and we won’t stay there again. This is more like it!

Riding lessons for some local kids today.

We have only visited in the winter when the outdoor pools and campground are closed. It must be a happening place in the warmer months.

Bougainvillea, we will miss you. We first fell in love with this tropical flowering plant in the South Pacific many decades ago in the Cook Islands and Fiji. So beautiful.

Yonagunyuma horses are tiny in comparison to regular horses. Known to be friendly, gentle creatures, they spend a few hours each day in a field at the front so that they can visit with guests and get treats.

A meeting of minds. Barry is being careful not to startle the horse with quick movements.

The horses love to munch on carrots that guests can purchase at the onsen. They advice you to use the supplied tongs as these horses sometimes confuse fingers with carrots.

Apeman Spa. The Onsens and relaxation areas are upstairs and the restaurant, gift shop and a gym are on the first floor. This onsen is very popular with locals as well. The discolouration on the exterior is due to the hot spring water.

A bit of protein, chicken skewers, for the ride ahead. We will miss these Conbinis.

Finding a good route to the other coast where we want to visit a Michi with excellent fish on the way to Naha is a bit challenging. Being at high elevation, we would like to find a quiet route on small roads that continues to give us these views. However, there are few straight lines so we’ll muddle along. I had made a route that didn’t work so without planning it, we happened upon a wonderful route that took us through villages, sugar cane (being harvested by hand), rice fields, farms…just what we were looking for. Of course, the wind and the clouds stirred up some inclement weather. Rain gear on and we were good to carry on. A good day of riding.

This gives you the feeling of being on top of the world with a view like this.

We rolled in to the Michi, wet and cold. Lots to see here…a fish market, food market, flowers and orchids, local crafts and souvenir area and lots of seating to enjoy some fresh fish.

Ryuku Awamori, an Okinawan distilled beverage

A jug of Awamori (Okinawan distilled beverage) which includes a pit viper.

This fish market is very popular with locals. Many have take away to eat on tables outside and lots of fish will be cooked at home tonight.

Sashimi to go…it is hard to choose but these are a bit big for us.

Every shop at the Fish Market offers food to take away. It is so popular.

We had tuna and salmon sashimi plus shrimp with a mango topping.

Goya is a type of bitter gourd. It is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. It is a staple in Okinawan cooking

Local rice for sale with a huge rice cleaner at the wall.

The grocery store features local produce, eggs and rice.

The flower market here is remarkable with a special nod to the impressive orchids.

Whatever you like…starter plants to mature orchid plants.

A large area of the flower shop is devoted to orchids, some of which are beautifully wrapped and potted to be a special gift for the New Year or other occasions.