Page 288 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

EXPERIENCE Okinawa

A walkway among the
rock formations at the
vast Gyukusendo Cave

4 5 " daily life, offers rare insights
into a more refined style of
Gyokusendo Cave Nakagusuku rural architec ture. It consists
玉泉洞 Castle Ruin of five buildings around a
! F7 ⌂ 19 miles (30 km) 中城城跡 court yard. A stone enclosure,
with a barrier to repel evil
SE of Naha ! F7 ⌂ 9 miles (13 km) NE of
Naha City, 10-min walk from spirits – a typical Okinawan
Featuring over 460,000 Nakamura House § (098) feature – faces the entrance.
stalactites, this cave system
is negotiated with the help 935-5719 # 8:30am–5pm
daily (to 6pm May–Sep)
of rather slippery pathways 7
and wooden walk ways. The Built by Lord Gosamaru in the
stalactites at Gyokusendo mid-1400s, Nakagusuku was Ie Island
Caves have been likened to one of the first stone castles 伊江島
giant bamboo, wine glasses, in Japan. The views along the ! F6 g From Motobu port
organ pipes, and even statues east coast of central Okinawa
by Rodin. are excellent. The walls are the Ie is a picturesque little island
The cave can be viewed only struc tures to survive the ideal for bicycling. Bike rentals
by visiting Okinawa World, ravages of time and the 1458 are plentiful, and the whole
a park and museum with Amawari Rebellion. Passages island can be explored in
a large snake collection, link three main compounds, under 8 hours. The north
including Okinawa’s most each enclosed by high,
poisonous reptile, the habu. fortified walls.
Okinawa World
" ⌂ 1336 Tamagusuku
Maekawa, Nanjo § (098) 6 "
949-7421 # 9am–6pm daily Nakamura House
中村家
! F7 ⌂ 9 miles (13 km)
HIDDEN GEM

The Shining NE of Naha City §(098)
Seek out the creepy 935-3500 # 9am–5:30pm
ruins of Nakagusuku Wed–Mon
Hotel, located on a A visit to this 18th-century
sacred site near the farmhouse, now a museum
castle. Its construc tion with exhibits about Okinawan
was so plagued by
accidents that even-
tually the workers
refused to finish the Admiring underwater life
build. It now sits empty. at the Okinawa Churaumi
Aquarium, Ocean Expo Park
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