DISCUSS Experience Tranquility And Breathtaking Views At Kakinohana Hija Spring

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[David]

There's an easier way to get to the spring if you have children or a walking impairment. Luckily, Google allowed me to pin the location of the parking lot as it wasn't on the map when I went sometime early last month.

By parking at the site above, you can access the spring by walking straight in and avoiding a hike down upon arrival and a steep hill up when you leave.

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Once you exit your car, you'll see the sign and a trail that guides you right into the spring without breaking too much of a sweat, besides from Okinawa's own heat; but, there's plenty of shade and cool water in the spring for that.

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Pros: You'll get an additional, awesome, view of the Pacific Ocean taking this route in too!

Con: You won't be able to easily access a restroom as shown in the blog post without hiking up and back down. You'll need to get in your car and go to the park on the corner at the top of the hill or politely ask the community center kittycorner to it to use theirs.

 

[Rob Oechsle]

A collector of Medaka (fish) and little freshwater prawns looking for specimens in the lower pool of Kakinohana Spring.

It's a pretty place, but highly recommend spraying yourself with DEET before enjoying a visit to the spot.

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[David]

I didn't see any fish while I was there, and I'm glad my dog, @Marron, didn't either! She would've definitely tried to make some new "friends".

It's a pretty place, but highly recommend spraying yourself with DEET before enjoying a visit to the spot.

I absolutely agree. I watched the video of you and Stephen Mick McClary touring the site and saw that you came in from the "easier" method posted above (possibly finding the parking lot with your experience without the pin). This route definitely has more stagnant water around the edges and there were bugs.

But, I didn't run into that issue from going down the hill, and I'm a bug magnet, even in Naha!

However, bugs may be a problem for some so some DEET or another type of bug spray should be packed, almost anywhere you go outdoors in Okinawa.

 

[Rob Oechsle]

The collector found quite a lot. They were all very small "guppy" size, and highly transparent. If he hadn't shown me his "catch", like you, I would never have seen them, or even known they were in there!

 

[David]

Next time I have a chance to go out there, I'll look a little harder.

Maybe they're just so small that they're unnoticeable unless you know exactly what you're looking for, that is.

 

[David]

Rehashing my visit to Kakinohana Hija Spring, I ran across this photo of a table with the one of the greatest views of the Pacific Ocean located at a small park, of sorts, as there's not much for kids to do there. This area can only be seen if you take the straight parking route in (pinned above), and, it's the first thing you see to your right when you make the turn in that strays off to the left and downhill towards the spring.

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Looking back on that day, it wasn't best to chance it by picnicking at Nakandakarinoson Park (pinned below) as it could've poured rain at any moment, despite what the skies tell you in the picture above; if you've been in Okinawa long enough, you can feel (and sometimes "smell") the rain coming. Sure enough, if I recollect correctly, there was some rain—although not enough to ruin a picnic, you never know in Okinawa. So, it was better to be safe than sorry by leaving with soaking wet clothes and the kids getting sick the next day.

Next time that we venture southeast to Nanjo when we want to get away from it all again (@Marron included), we'll just have to stop by here. Surely though, this would have to be before summer hits when the sun is bearing down on us too strong to handle it for too long.

After our lunch, we'll be able to hit up the spring, cool down in its waters and relax outdoors a bit as this is quite a tranquil place to visit.

This also gives us a bit of social distancing in the wake of what's going on today with COVID-19 as it's fairly secluded with not many visitors on any given day.