Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The 85-foot (26-meter) cascade at Hiji Falls.
11
ŌKUNI-RINDO
大国林道
Let's say that you've returned from the Hiji Falls parking lot to the intersection of Route
58 below Okuma Village. That's 1 mile (1.5 kilometers). From this point it's a 15-mile
(24-kilometer) straight shot north to Cape Hedo. Along the way you'll pass the western end
of Route 2 and you can make an interesting side trip from there. From the traffic light at the
junction of Route 58 and the Hiji Falls road, it's 4 miles (6 kilometers) north to the tiny vil-
lage of Yona (
与那
; Yona). Look carefully and double check your map, for it's pretty easy to
miss the right-hand turn on to Route 2 if you're going too fast. You can drive right by without
seeing it.
Habu Snakes (Genus Trimeresurus)
Why aren't these guys an endangered-species? I don't know, but I do know that the only safe way to
handle them is in a jar of
awamori
liquor, as shown here.
Habu
(
波布
) is the generic Japanese name
used to refer to about a dozen venomous snakes in the pit viper family. They're dangerous and can be
deadly. They can be irritable and strike fast. Maybe their only good characteristic is that they're noc-
turnal and thus not usually encountered during a day's outdoor aciviies. They are fairly easy to re-
cognize due to their enlarged triangular-shaped heads. They average around 4-6 feet (1.5-2 meters)
and have a heavily built body. Their various species are found throughout all the Ryukyus with the
notable excepions of Yoron, Okinoerabu and Kikai, a fact that residents of those islands never fail
to remind you of. Good islands for snake-a-phobes. It's easy to get overly worked up about these
creatures. Stay out of the trees, jungles, sugar cane fields, old tombs and caves, especially at night.
