Funny how I thought of movies when we were at Cape Hedo.
Formed by an elevated coral reef, Cape Hedo is the northernmost point of Okinawa Island. It is located in a less populous Kunigami Village and standing on the cape with nothing but a vast blue-green water does feel like being in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: AT WORLD’S END. Too bad, no Jack Sparrow showed up but the view is captivating. You can’t buy the serenity that comes with the sound of the crashing ocean waves anywhere else.
Then I thought of the box office hit “A Walk to Remember”. Ever recall the part where Landon fulfilled Jamie’s dream to be in two places at once and brought her to the border of two states : North Carolina and Virginia? Well, interestingly, Cape Hedo lies where South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. As you stand on the rocks facing west, you are looking out on the South China Sea and as you face east, you marvel at the stretch of the immense Pacific Ocean. How awesome is that!
There is not much amenities at Cape Hedo except a toilet and a couple of stands for food and and a vending machine for drinks and there is hardly some shade to shy away from the sun. Nonetheless, some monuments at the cape are worth checking like the Monument in Commemoration of the Reversion of Okinawa to Japan. This monument built in 1976 is a reminder of the realized Okinawan dream to return the island to Japan in 1972 from America and gain its own sovereignty.
Another monument not to miss is the “Kariyushi”, a big white bird in honor of Friendship between Kunigami Village and Yoronjima. It is a local legendary animal with a head of a bird and a body of a fish.
Cape Hedo is also known as the site of the final clashes of the Battle of Okinawa and it is told that Japanese soldiers and Okinawans committed suicide here during the engagements by jumping off the cliff. Quite frankly, I was hoping to see some ghosts on site or perhaps catch any supernatural phenomenon on cam. I was feeling adventurous but that was sadly not my lucky day.
Movies comparison and horror legends aside, Cape Hedo is very much worth a visit. If you are not in love with this view, you might want to start to question yourself why.
i am uniquely and wonderfully made. 