Day 23-25 Cycling With Butterflies & Harvesting Onions in Iheyajima
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Loading ...From Nakijinson, I said a temporary goodbye to Mrs Oshiro and her grandson, and took a ferry boat to Iheyajima. It’s the most northern island of Okinawa Prefecture. Geographically, a part of Iheyajima belongs to Kagoshima Prefecture (above 27 degrees northern latitude), but this place has been made an exception, to be politically in Okinawa Prefecture.
The reason why I came to this island was because I’d met a guy from here at the house of sugar two days earlier. He said it was a beautiful island, and I was looking for one island to go to before I left Okinawa. So I arrived after an hour and a half of boat ride.
1300 people live in Iheyajima. In October, they hold a race called Moonlight Marathon, where the run starts around 3pm and by the time the runners come to the finish line, the full moon lights up the island. How romantic! Going around the island is about 40km, so it’s perfect for a marathon race. I’m not good at running, but I’d love to participate some day.
All I could say when I was cycling around the island repeatedly was, “How pretty!”
Hardly anyone or any car was around as I cycled, it was almost a private island. After all there’s only one traffic light on the whole island, but even that, they don’t really need it. They just have it for educational purpose for kids.
Instead of cars and people, many butterflies flew around with me, some I’d never seen before. There was a pretty black butterfly with a few little white dots, as if a tiny Chanel dress was flying around me. One of them flew so long along with me that I checked the speedometer. It was flying at 17km/h. I never knew that butterflies could fly so fast.
Their famous pine tree called, Nento Hiramatsu:
That evening I stayed with Oshiro Family’s friends. The grandpa grew onions, so I joined in the harvesting. Surprisingly, the onions came out very easily as I pulled. It felt good to get big onions with not much force, one after another.
I even joined in their daily evening walk. It was an absolutely beautiful family walk in the nature of the island.
Along the walk, grandpa gave me the wild silverberries that he’d just picked. He said they were rich in amino acid and very good for you. They were kind of sour, but I ate them all.
I must have some luck with food, I came just when they were holding a BBQ night with their grandchildren. Some other family members came too, with the octopus that they’d caught that day. It was so good, cooked perfectly with just a little bit of salt.
We also had the onions that we’d harvested that day. Raw and thinly sliced, they were the sweetest onions I’d ever had in my life.
I went to deliver some souvenir to Oshiro Family’s friend, Ms Nakagawa, in the city hall. There I also met the mayor of the island. Ms Nakagawa took me out to dinner the next night, where I had some delicious island fish. The lady who cooked this fish was really fun and happened to be a good athlete, who participated in the Moonlight Marathon.
I had a bit too much Awamori (Okinawan sake, very strong) with these ladies. My goodness these islanders can drink.
Before I left, the grandma of the family who hosted me gave me a handmade good luck charm. In Japan, salt is used in many occasions to purify spirits. This charm has Iheyajima’s salt in a shell.
So much kindness and love fill the beautiful island of Iheyajima. I was given a piece of them.
About the Author: Sachi
« Day 21-22 There’s A Huge Squid On My Bike & I’m a Sugar Maker Day 26-28 See You Okinawa, Hello Cyclists! It’s Ohanami Time! »
