Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
no reason to return there. Rather, we'll go straight across, more or less due west, over the top
of Kadena Air Base, then north to Yomitan Village (
読谷村
; Yomitan-son) and the Zakimi
Castle ruins site (
座喜味城跡
; Zakimi gusuku-jōato). It's a total of 15 miles (24 kilometers).
The castle is 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) due north of the Yomitan Town Hall.
9
YOMITAN VILLAGE
読谷村
Locally, on Okinawa, Yomitan (
読谷村
; Yomitan-son) is well known as an agricultural pro-
ducer of sugar cane, chrysanthemums and purple sweet potatoes. In fairness, it must be said
that many places in Okinawa and the Ryukyus grow sugar cane, so that's not unusual. More
unusual, however, is the chrysanthemum trade. It's the leading cash crop of the town. Unlike
mainland Japan where it's too cold in the winter to grow chrysanthemums, farmers here can
raise their flowers all winter long for off-season blooms. They use vast quantities of overhead
strung lamps at night both for extra heat and to force blooming. You'll see all colors of the
rainbow in the fields when driving through Yomitan at certain times of the year.
Finally, Yomitan takes special pride in its production of purple sweet potatoes (
紅いも
;
beni imo
). Thought to have been brought to Okinawa from Taiwan over 1,000 years ago, you'll
find hot baked and steamed purple sweet potatoes everywhere in Okinawa. They're a healthy
sweet treat loved by everyone. Every fall, Yomitan hosts the Beni Imo Hometown Festiv-
al (
紅いもの里
; beni imo no sato) and holds a Miss Beni Imo Contest (
紅いも娘
; Beni imo
musumé). What do Okinawans do at the Beni imo Festival? What do you think? Eat purple
potatoes and wash them down with copious amounts of Orion Beer.
10
ZAKIMI CASTLE RUINS SITE
座喜味城跡
Yomitan's leading ancient attraction is the Zakimi Castle (
座喜味城
; Zakimi gusuku). It's a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated along with the others in 2000. The castle was built
by Gosamaru. Mentioned earlier for his role at Nakagusuku, he was a legendary warrior who
played an important role in uniting the many warring kingdoms of Okinawa under one king.
As a reward for his loyalty, Gosamaru was declared Lord (“Aji”) of Zakimi Castle. His role
was to keep an eye on rival lords to the north, namely at Nakijin Gusuku. Nakijin is the last
of the UNESCO-designated castles on Okinawa and we'll visit it later when we reach the top
of the island.
May 5, Children's Day
