Iheya Island: Paradise

As you know, we traveled to Iheya Island for Tom’s marathon, now it’s time to talk about the island itself. It was truly stunning and will go down on my list as one of the best vacations ever. It was very hard to find information about it in English before we went so I plan to write a detailed account of the island. But for this blog, you’ll also have to endure a travel log of the family fun we had! So I’ll start at the beginning of the journey which was actually a few weeks ago when we tried to look at the ferry schedule and realized they had pre-sold tickets (last year you could not buy in advance). So all the ferry’s were full except the one leaving on Friday at 9am and returning on Monday at 9am. We were now panicked wondering where would could stay for so long. The original plan had been to simply throw up a tent at the marathon site for one night. After much searching we found someone who helped us locate and reserve a spot at a Yonesaki Campsite. Then we still needed info on issues such as building a campfire, buying wood and ice, etc. The kind of info that is easy to get if you speak Japanese and know who to call.... luckily, Tom got a tech at work to make some calls and we got all the info we needed. So we packed the car to the brim and headed out!

The Boat Ride: We started off happy and excited to be on the ferry. Alyssa was loving the view and the fresh air. However, as we got out to deeper waters a storm picked up and pretty soon everyone was sick- very sick! The waves were rocking the boat like crazy, splashing way up over the sides. I’ll spare you the details but just say it was the longest 90 minutes of my life, wishing to die as each second ticked past. Hayden started throwing up first and spent the entire ride in the bathroom afraid to come back... luckily they place plastic bags all around the boat....ugh... once we got off the ferry I started looking for somewhere to live because I was quite certain I would never get back on that boat. (Just one of the reason I was not running the marathon again this year!)BEFORE:
AFTER:(sorry it's gross!)

Yonezaki Campsite: The campground was beautifully nestled in between several beaches on the narrow southern tip of the main island right by Noho Bridge. I wasn’t sure how we would check in but luckily the guy was expecting an American and said “Tracey San?” to which I said “Hai” (yes) and that was our entire conversation. He did some paper work I couldn’t read and pointed out some spots on the map and we headed out. When we first arrived it was rainy and windy so were pretty worried and decided to wait it out and went back to the port to each lunch at a restaurant there. We all enjoyed our Yakisoba and Kadsudon (although I was still queasy from the boat!) Then there was a break in the rain so we hurried back to the campsite. We pitched the tents on grass, set up the food canopy and could not have been in a better spot. It even had new bathrooms and showers.

Once we got all set up and headed off to explore some beaches!

The Beach: Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! The water was refreshing and so clear and blue. We were the only people on the beaches and felt like we were on a private island paradise vacation (which we were!) We kept telling the kids how lucky they were, trying to get them to understand that most people go their entire lives without ever seeing such a beautiful beach, let alone having it all to themselves! We could have stayed for a week or more just exploring beach after beach...





Kumaya Cave: Great family bonding while we explored this cave down into the heart of the mountain. We had some rough spots but in the end everyone was glad we did it. To enter the cave you had to squeeze through a narrow rock opening, that was covered in little millipedes. Turns out Danica is terrified of millipedes and was hysterical as we forced her into the cave anyway. Once inside it opened into a large area full of sand and a monument about peace. At the bottom was a pathway leading deeper into the cave. We tried to get the kids to explore with us but they refused. Hayden was so scared that as Tom went in to check it out Hayden got hysterical with worry and kept yelling “Dad come back!” Being the nice dad Tom is he turned off the lantern he was carrying and scared Hayden... who fortunately laughed about it. Danica was terrified again passing the millipedes on the way out and while trying to pose for the picture at the opening but Alyssa came to her rescue and was trying to step on the millipedes for her. That’s what sisters are for.Here is the view looking down into the opening of the cave.Here is the view looking out from inside the cave.

Even after the whole ordeal there are still smiles on everyone's face as we posed for a quick picture just outside the entrance of the cave before heading down the stairs to the road below.

Iheya Light House: We drove to the top of a VERY steep hill (the car actually overheated). These pictures are the view from the top of the building next to the light house. These pictures don’t do it justice, it was really breathtaking.



Nentou Hiramatsu: This is a very special, protected tree that we visited. I can’t remember why it’s so special but we enjoyed a nice afternoon picnic at the park.


Sugahama: While driving around the island we saw this little sign and decided to go check it out. We drove down a tiny dirt road through a sugar cane field and emerged at the most gorgeous beach yet! We were there long enough to enjoy the clear water, some awesome rock climbing and jumping and then the sunset!










On Monday morning we got up early to enjoy the sunrise before breaking camp. We walked from the tent down onto the beach and I'm so glad we did! It was the perfect end to a fantastic trip!