Ie island is only a journey that takes up less than 1 hour from Motobu port. I mean, why not?
As we visited during winter season, the Kerama islands would be great to visit for whale watching. However, we only had a few days in Okinawa in total. For sure, I didn’t want to spend most of the time travelling to the islands on ferry, and at that time, plane tickets were rather expensive.
So I looked towards going to an island that was closer, and especially closer to the north since we were staying at Centurion Hotel Resort Okinawa in Nago city.
Ie island it was!
Day 5 – 14 January 2019 (Monday)
We checked out of our hotel and kept most of our luggage in the boot of the car. Packing only day bags, we drove to Motobu port which was only a 25 minutes drive away.
For a return ticket per person, it only costed us 1370 yen! Consider that, with a short travelling time to the island, it wasn’t that bad.
The ferry had several floors which we explored. Above, you can see that it is an open deck. Perfect to view the passing sceneries or to breathe in fresh air. Otherwise, you can just sit in the lower decks on comfortable seats.
There is a café on board, so you can either buy your food before the trip or on the ferry. I didn’t buy on the ferry, but I think the prices are fair. It’s a short trip, so not a big problem. There’s a Lawsons near the port as well!
As we approached Iejima (Ie island), we saw that the island had a hill poking out of flatlands. That is Mount Gusuku!
To get around the island, you can either rent a car, scooters (one seater only!) and bicycles. Initially we wanted to rent a scooter, but found out that they don’t allow two people on one scooter. Wanted to ride a bicycle, but Gladys couldn’t ride one! Car is pretty expensive in my opinion, so we just chose to walk.
Destination 1: Mount Gusuku “Tacchu”
Then, we went up to Mount Gusuku.
Ie island, in comparison to other Okinawan islands, is mostly filled with farmlands. It is a peanut-shaped island, and only had one hill “Tacchu”.
The climb is pretty easy, but filled with… stairs. So if you hate stairs, you might not like it. There are no ups and downs, only totally up or totally down! In 20 minutes, you can reach the peak. Pretty chill!
Next, I went by foot to the northmost point of Ie Island – Wajee Lookout. It is 1 hour by foot. Definitely faster on bicycles!
TIP: It is rather easy to cycle around the island unless you are cycling towards Mount Gusuku. The incline is rather steep.
Note that Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture of Japan, hence receiving Spring first out of the other prefectures! Flowers bloom more liberally and earlier here!
It was rather hot of a day, but I saw many different sights of Ie island locals working on the fields. There were massive greenhouses as well.
Do note that there were very little shops, or none at all on this island. Not sure… it was a day trip so I didn’t really look for shops! However, there is a cafe, but wasn’t open when I walked past.
The Ie island sun is rather strong, so do slather on some suncream to save your skin.
Destination 2: Wajee Lookout
Finally, I reached Wajee lookout…
The view was absolutely amazing. The cliff immediately dipped down to the sea. Had there been a water source from Mount Gusuku, there would definitely be waterfalls on this island!
Then it was time to head back to the port (located at the south side of the island). Another 1 hour walk back! Pretty uneventful, but I enjoyed the calmness of the island.
For 1370 yen/person, the island offers a very beautiful and calm perspective of Okinawa. There were very little tourists, which makes Ie Island a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city in a local setting.
Perhaps next time, I would rent a car to get around and see more sights!
Taking the ferry back, it was another half an hour to reach Motobu port. It was time to head to the south of the island… not before seeing the sunset of course.
Destination 3: Cape Zanpa
As we move southwards, there were several capes that we could visit to watch the sunset – Cape Zanpa, Cape Manzamo and Cape Maeda. We made our way to Cape Zanpa as it is the closest to the south (somewhat). The special feature of this cape is that there is a lighthouse (still in operation)!
It was rather cloudy when we got there, but for sure, had the skies been clear, the views would be super spectacular!
Soon, daylight started to disappear. It was time to head further south. But before that, we were on the way to visiting the American Village!
Destination 4: Mihama American Village
This area consists of many Americans who are stationed in the American bases located in Okinawa. English is basically everywhere!
We managed to park at the American Village. Even though it was rather touristic and super crowded, parking was freeeeee. Awesome, eh?
We walked around the village and went for the first thing… A&W! There were no A&W outlets in Singapore – the last one was closed eons ago. If you walked around, there were also other American restaurants, which was super awesome.
(I just realised that I don’t have any photos of A&W hahaha I was super hungry!)
There was also a thrift store called the Depot, which was pretty cool. Lots of marines sell off their military wear in rather great condition. They had nice jackets too, which I bought!
However, as we reached the American Village rather late, we only had half an hour before the store closed. So in the next few days, we managed to slot in another visit!
Anyway, we were getting super tired, so it was time to check in to our hotel – Hotel Skyblue Okinawa.
Destination 5: Hotel Skyblue Okinawa (Itoman City)
This hotel was located in the south of the island in the city of Itoman. In my opinion, this area is often forgotten as most of the sights are in Naha city or in the north near Nago City!
Hotel Skyblue Okinawa is really nice, and I highly recommend if you are three/four people. It’s an entire serviced apartment, actually and fully furnished. The apartment is rather dated but… For the price, it’s definitely worth it! It was only 4000 yen per night, and we stayed for two nights. There were four beds!
Total Spent (Day 5)
Ferry Ticket to Iejima (Return) – 1370 yen
Lawsons – 414 yen
A&W – 1300 yen
Route 58 Sticker (Souvenir) – 540 yen
Hotel Skyblue Okinawa (2 nights for 2 persons) – 8000 yen
Look out for our final two days in Okinawa, where I daresay it is the best part of the trip! Meanwhile, have you read the other posts on Okinawa? 🙂
Click here for Day 1.
Click here for Day 2 & Day 3.
Click here for our experiences on driving in Okinawa.
Click here for Day 4 (Churaumi Aquarium).
Click here for Day 4 (Okuma Beach and Cape Hedo).
Keep your eyes peeled for the last post! 🙂
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