Third day of my Okinawa trip, the typhoon was gone but the waves were still big and so again I lost my hope to go to this isolated island. Reluctantly, I went to take some pictures of the busiest street in Naha for there were particularly nowhere else I wanted to go to, and then I went to have a look at this shrine where the biggest number of people pay visits in Okinawa and is located on the water and at the same time has a beach right next to it. The shrine’s called Naminouegu (na-mi-no-oo-eh-goo).
It was from pure curiosity that I went there – next to the beach and located on top of the water? How can I not go have a look? It was surprisingly close to Kokusai Street, but lesser and lesser people could be seen as I got closer to the shrine and before long the atmosphere became quiet and calm.
I passed through underneath the torii (shrine gate) and climbed up the mild stairs, and at the top faced the quiet but dignified figure of the bright vermilion shrine pavilion. I was lucky to come here at that particular moment, for it seemed like it was praying time for the mikos (female attendants). Young mikos who looked no older than high school students were quietly praying to the shrine with serious yet graceful expressions. I bet they’d want to hang out on the Kokusai Street which is just out there... I mean, they were that young... but I was very impressed by their mature-ness.
Though I was impressed by the mikos, I couldn’t really feel like being on the water so on my way back I took the other way (the stairs were split into three directions) that I didn’t come on. As I went down the steps I soon found the beach that I heard about. I proceeded further on to the beach and looked back... and sure, the shrine looked like it was on the water. Precisely, it sat on a cliff about 10 meters high, but the side of the cliff was carved by the waves over centuries so it looked like it was on the tip of a diving platform sticking out to the open sea.
The beach was very small. It was no larger than a swimming pool separated from the open sea with a helpless rope, but because the big waves were shut out by the embankments the shallow waters were calm and quite a bit of people were splashing in it.
It happened to be just around sunset and the ocean was glittering in gold, the sky was painted with a beautiful gradation of red to yellow and the view of the shrine on the cliff was absolutely gorgeous. Actually, gorgeous wouldn’t explain it well enough. I felt sacredness there.
After a while of enjoying the texture of sand on my bare feet I headed back to the commercial avenue.
That night I hung out on Kokusai St till quite late at night and enjoyed the last night in Okinawa. Having said that, my trip was not over. I still had my last and final day (of hope) to enjoy so I hit the bed with heart full of excitement and hope.
Tomorrow, the final day!! See ya!
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