Neo Park



This is the entrance to Neo Park. Looks cool, doesn't it?

There is a huge map on the board.
It tells you where to go and were you are at.

It was a sunny day when we went to a famous zoo called ‘Neo Park’ in Nago. As everyone living in and around Nago knows ‘Neo Park,’ we thought, “why don’t we go check it out.” We expected that Neo Park would be boring and just a zoo where you can see so many birds, but actually we enjoyed it a lot.



A grey-crowned crane begs for food. It is tall and looks scary,
but actually it is nice. You can feed it by hand. It won't hurt you.

Flamingo Lake

This area is the first zone in Neo Park. At first, before you go, you should get some food for the birds. Flamingo Lake shows many kinds of birds which live in Africa, and the lake is based on Naruku Lake in Kenya. You can feed the birds by hand. They have become attached to people, so they approach you and beg for the food.

Scarlet Ibis. It is very beautiful and easy to find.

Amazon Jungle

You can see red-orange birds in here. You can enjoy feeding birds too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underwater Tunnel

We found a pleco fish kissing a glass tank. Oh, don’t forget to find the prarucu fish. They are huge, so you can’t miss them.

 

Peccary Ranch

Peccaries look like wild pigs but they are not! If you are lucky, you can watch them eat food.

 

Freai Hiroba (petting zoo area)

This is popular among all ages. You can come in contact with animals such as dogs, rabbits and capybaras. They are very friendly and nice. There is a Galapagos tortoise, and you can ride on its back.




We touched an alpaca's nose. It is said that if you touch its nose,
happiness will come to you.





You can feed a capybara.

On our way to a different place where you can see animals living in Oceania, we found ostriches. We were watching them sit on the ground for a while. And suddenly, it happened. One ostrich stood up, and something pink came out of its butt. And then white stuff came out from the same spot. At first, we didn’t know what it was. But we kept looking at it very carefully, and we found out that it was ostrich’s poop.

 

Ostriches look evil.

 

When we got to the Oceania Flora and Fauna, we saw beautiful peacocks, and a wallaby there.

The eyes on the tail display as part of courtship.

The wallaby looks like a kangaroo but is smaller than a kangaroo.

 

Research Center for International Species Conservation

This facility is for protecting and breeding rare wild life all over the world. In here, we can see the Okinawan rails.

Directions

From the Kyoda interchange, go north on 58 toward Kunigami town for 20 minutes. Go past AEON in Nago and turn left at the first traffic signal. The gate of Neo Park Okinawa [ネオパーク 沖縄] is your landmark.

Cost

Entrance

• Adult: 660 yen
• Youth: 330 yen
• Juvenile: 220 yen

If your group has more than 15 people, the entrance fee is 10% off.

Okinawa Light Railway

• over 13 years old: 660 yen
• from 3 years old to 12 years old: 440 yen

Petting zoo area

• 300 yen

Research center for International Species Conservation

• 300 yen

Koki is petting dogs.

Kohei is holding a guinea pig. So cute!

Café Hypno

We will introduce the café “Hypno.” Hypno contributes to Nago. The company, which is called “Social Support ESPERER,” helps people who have some problems, such as mental disabilities, physical disabilities, depression, and Asperger syndrome. The company teaches them how to cook, grow vegetables, and serve. The company wants them to consider their future and find a positive way of living through work! Also, Hypno uses local food production and consumption. That yields a profit for Nago.

This cafe has lunch time from 11:30 to 15:00 and café time from 15:00 to 17:00. Also, Sunday is a regular holiday. There are about 20 seats. So, you should make a reservation.

It is not easy for you to find this café because its theme is a hiding place. Please look for a house with a small sign that says Hypno. The appearance is natural. When you enter, you can hear a nice music performance. There are a lot of instruments: piano, guitar and so on. And what kind of music the performer plays is jazz, rock, and folk. You can smoke only outside of the café. The garden of the café has plants and these make you calm. You can enjoy the stylish atmosphere with your eyes and ears, not everyone will be excited by lunch. 

Next we will introduce the menu. You can choose one of four main dishes at lunch time. The price is about 1,000 yen. If you pay 300 yen more, you can have a free drink and a cake. The main dishes are fish or chicken or pork or beef, and you choose rice or bread. Before the main dish comes, you can eat an appetizer and soup. The appetizers are colorful. You can enjoy various vegetables dishes you have never eaten. Also, if you order a dessert set, you can eat cookies for free and a different cake each day. In case you are full or you don’t have enough time to eat, you can get takeout! You can spend unhurried time here. 

This café is “Local production for local consumption.” So this café’s menu uses local materials. You can eat fresh food, for example, Okinawa soba is used as pasta. Next you may feel a quiet atmosphere that represents Japan. If you ask the performer, you might be able to listen to Okinawan music while eating. So you feel Okinawa!!!

We want to recommend this café not only to local people but also foreign people. If you have a chance to come to Okinawa, you should visit here. You can have a great time!

Directions:

Café Hypno is in Agarie in Nago city. If you have a car, first, you leave Meio university and follow the road to the first traffic light. Then, turn left and follow the road till you go through eight traffic signals. At the 9^th traffic signal, you can see “the koban” on the left side. Turn left then and follow the road till you go through 3 signals. At the 4^th traffic signal you can see “Manekineko” (it is a karaoke). Turn left, then at the 1^st signal you turn right. Then soon you can see a big yellow advertisement. Turn left then and follow the road until you see this sign:

Café Hypno's address is:

3-18-11 Ohigashi

Nago City

Okinawa

 

BLUE TRIP CAFE

Do you know the “Blue Trip”? This is a café restaurant in Nago. Lunch is served from 12:00 to 18:00. Dinner is served from 18:00 to 24:00. You can choose from 3 menu items for lunch. For example, a lunch plate of rice and jerk-chicken. This chicken is from Yanbaru and is so delicious! The plate has some rice and some salad. In addition, the menu has soup and a drink. The price is about 1000 yen so you can eat very inexpensively.

Also, there is a dessert menu item. This name is “Blue Trip’s original cake.” The price is 420 yen. However, if you eat the lunch menu, the price is 300 yen! You have to eat lunch and dessert together.

The dinner has a lot of menu items and there is some variety: salads, rice and a la carte. The whole menu is very fashionable. If you order, you have to order 1 drink. The price is a little higher, but you can feel a good mood there. If you are going to have a date with your girlfriend, we recommend the café! Haha!

Then, we’ll tell you the way from Meio to Blue Trip. First, you should go down the hill from campus. You will look at the Lawson and then turn left there. Next, you should go down again to route 58 and turn right. After that, please go straight for a long time. When you get to the intersection where there is a fire station, you should turn right. Drive straight ahead until you reach the breakwater. Then turn left please. You can  find the café on the left if you go straight about 700 meters.
 

Blue Trip is a very wonderful café, because it has a good seascape and delicious dishes. At lunch time, we could see the beautiful seascape, so we were moved by the seascape when we went there. You can enjoy eating lunch while you look at the sea. And at dinner time, we could enjoy the night sky. The light is a little dim, so we felt a good mood in the café.

Blue Trip has a good vibe, and we could eat the dishes with relaxed minds. And the view is very beautiful day and night, so we didn’t only eat good dishes, but also watched the beautiful seascape. Everyone can enjoy spending a good time, and eat delicious dishes, so you have to try to go there.

Fu-Cafe

Our recommended cafe!!!

                                      

 

We decided to go to Fu-café in Sesoko Island in Nago because we wanted to eat delicious country food. Let us introduce you to our recommended café!!

The café is about 30 minutes away from Nago City. On the day we went, the weather was so fine, and the temperature was very comfortable. Moreover, the sea was very blue and beautiful. 

We will tell about the route. Leave Meio University and go straight through the first traffic light. Go to the bottom of the hill and turn right. Then, when you see Lawson turn right. If you continue driving along the coast, you can see a big bridge on your left. If you cross the bridge and turn at the seventh corner on the right, you can find the restaurant on your right. The address: 557, Sesoko, Motobu-cho, Kunigami-gun,Okinawa

There are some beaches on the island and many tourists were playing on the beach. The café is surrounded by nature. Fu-café's seats are divided into outdoor and indoor. The outdoor seats have hammocks and swings. You can feel the Okinawan wind. The indoor seats are made of wood, so it looks like a log house. The place has a quiet interior, so if you come to this restaurant, time slows down to an Okinawan pace. You may feel as if you wandered into a forest.

        

The Food

Many country foods were being used for the menu of the café. For example, fish, shellfish, seaweed, meat, and so on.

　　　　                       

Toru and Takuma ate the same food. That is pasta with seafood. They said that the seafood sauce matched the pasta, and the taste was so exquisite. We felt as if we were under the sea. We can enjoy eating pasta because the pasta changes every day. We will not get tired. In addition, we drank a cup of coffee after the meal. It was really delicious!! Koudai ate seaweed on rice. He said that the texture of the seaweed was wonderful because it was so colorful and delicious. There were also pieces of juicy meat. Katsuya ate chicken curry and rice. The taste was so spicy and a little hot. The boiled rice was peculiar and contained several kinds of grains. The balance of the menu was very good because it had several vegetables. The chicken was boiled considerably well, so it was so soft. There was a large quantity and it made him very full. Every menu item satisfied us and made us very happy!

      　　 

There are several reasons to go there. First, when we searched for some famous restaurants in Nago, this restaurant has a good reputation, so many people who went there said. "I want to go to this restaurant!!" in magazines. Second, it is near the sea, so we can go to the beach in about 5 minutes on foot. Third, the price is reasonable for not only students but also all tourists. The price: about 1000~1500 yen. We thought that we could relax and feel comfortable because there was no noise. We heard only the sounds of birdsong, the wind, and the sea. It seemed to welcome us for coming!! It was the most splendid restaurant which we have gone to. We want to recommend it by all means.

Time：11 a.m.～sunset

Phone Number: 0980-47-4885

Parking Space:20 cars
 

By: Takuma, Katsuya, Koudai, and Toru

 

 

 

Pineapple Park

Have a good time in Pineapple Park!!

Why we decided to go there?



A small water fall

Nago is famous for pineapple and there is a Pineapple Park near Meio University. But we had never been there, so we decided to go! And also, a lot of tourists come to Pineapple Park, so we want to know more about it!

What to do there?

We rode a pineapple car and saw some beautiful pineapple fields, flowers, and plants. There is a small water fall. It cooled us off! There is an automatic camera and we had our picture taken. You can buy the picture if you want! It is about 1,000 yen. We entered the building and we ate pineapple. It was so sweet and made us feel great!

The next building was a wine factory. We wanted to see how to make a pineapple wine but the factory was not working at this time. (too bad...)



A pineapple quiz.

On our left side, there was a quiz about pineapples. Next, we went to the souvenir shop. There were many kinds of pineapple juice, cookies, and chocolate. There were some Chinsuko. Do you know Chinsuko? This is a famous Okinawan cookie. We tasted all of them! They were so delicious!



How does this information help foreign students?
In the pineapple car, there is a voice recorder that explains what is in the field. The voice speaks in four languages: Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean. You can learn about many kinds of flowers, trees, and pineapple easily.

Why are there sea shells in Pineapple Park?

The Kyushu Okinawa summit was held in Nago City in 2000. In commemoration of the summit, Pineapple Park displays the shellfish which have been collected from all over the world and Nago Bay.

What we want to tell?

Let's learn about how sugarcane and pineapple contribute to the economy of Okinawa!

Nago will become a sightseeing spot like southern part and central part of Okinawa.


Directions: Go straight on Route 58 from Naha to Nago. You can see Super Hotel on your left side. Turn left at that intersection. Go straight until you can see Family Mart on your left side. Pineapple Park will be on your right.


Information
Phone number: 0980-53-3659

Open: 9:00 A.M. Close: 6:00 P.M.

Address: 1195 Bimata, Nago, Okinawa 905-0005

Fee: Adult (over Jr. High school student) 600 yen
Child (under elementary school student) 300 yen
Group (over 15 people) 10% off from adult fee

Website: http://75pain.com/english/ (this is English website)

Souvenir shop!

 I

Cape Hedo (Hedo Misaki)

Absolutely Great Scenery for Everyone

It is approximately 120 km from Naha to Cape Hedo. It’s located on the northernmost tip of Okinawa Island. The dynamic scenery at the cape surely fascinates you. On fine days, you can see many islands from the cape such as Izena, Iheya, Yoron and Okino-erabu. If you are lucky, you can see a group of humpback whales from January to March. When we visited the cape, unfortunately we could not see any of them, but we found interesting places and people.

How to get there

Cape Hedo is located at the top of the island of Okinawa. Passing through Ogimi Village, you’ll reach Kunigami which is the northernmost village in Okinawa. You do not have to turn right or left, just drive a car straight along Route 58. It is so simple. 

 

There are two ways to get there, Route 70 or Route 58. We recommend you take Route 58, because it is the simplest way. Also, you can enjoy beautiful views of the ocean along the way.

It takes two hours to get there from Nago City. On the way to Cape Hedo, you can drop in many places, though it takes more time. We found some good shops that sell souvenirs of the villages and good spots to take beautiful pictures along the way. Be sure to check the locations of gas stations and convenience stores on the way, because there are few of them near the cape. 

Where to drop in

To make your driving much better, we will recommend some good places to drop in.

Firstly, you may want to stop by a convenience store. There are a few of them in Kunigami, and this is the one located on the northern tip. 

 

Secondly, Michinoeki in Ogimi Village. Ogimi is famous for its long lived people. You can take a break and eat Okinawan traditional food. 

 

Thirdly, when you enter Kunigami village, you can see gorgeous hotels, and you can enjoy all-you-can-eat. You can find this place on your left side. This is the last space for relaxation, so you should look around with extreme caution.

Lastly, after you pass through the last convenience store, you can find the last gas station colored in red.  Be sure to check the fuel of your car.

 

Also, do not forget to take lots of pictures of the beautiful ocean.

 

 

Who visited? ~our experience~

We had an awesome encounter at Cape Hedo. When we went there, we saw a lot of people from all over the world. This means the cape is an interesting place for everyone. We can enjoy the comfortable sea breezes and some monuments. We met a couple on the way home. They were from Switzerland and looking for transportation there as buses were quite few. They wanted to visit Okuma beach before the sun went down. When we found them they looked so upset, so we asked them if they wanted us to drive them somewhere. Therefore, we picked them up and enjoyed driving to Okuma beach. It was so wonderful because we could talk about each other’s cultures, hobbies, and more in English. Like our experiences you may encounter some wonderful experiences just going there. It is sure that people visiting there like nature.

Yanbaru

The northern part of Okinawa is called Yanbaru, which means ‘vast forest spreads’. There are fewer places to shop or eat here, but there is a lot of nature. You can see beautiful mountains, seas, rivers, waterfalls and the cape. Those will give you healing and refreshment. When you are tired of being in buildings, visit Yanbaru. The blue of the sky and the sea and the horizon welcome you.

 

Ie Island

We want to tell you about a good sightseeing trip. If you go to Ie island, you must take a ship.

There are four ships from Motobu port to Ie Island every day. It is 30 minutes from Motobu port to Ie port. If you are 12 years old or older, it’s 1,370 yen for a round trip. If you are at Naha airport, you go to Motobu. You go along national highway 58, and go to Nago. Then, take route 449 toward Motobu. The port of Motobu is just before Sesoko Island.

We suggest that you borrow a rental car when you see the sights of Ie Island. If you borrow it, you can go around there for about 2 hours.

First, if you drive for 7 minutes by car from Ie port, you get to Niyathiya dou. It is a cave. It is also called “Sennin Game,” and it was used as a bomb shelter during the Battle of Okinawa in World War 2. There is a legendary rock in the cave, and it is said that if a women lifts it, she will soon have a baby. When it feels light, you will have a girl baby. When it is heavy, you will have a boy baby.

 

Second, Wajee view point is about 10 minutes by car from Niyathiya dou. Wajee is a water spring on Ie Island. It is on the north coast. We can see a wonderful view. It is so high from the sea . If it is sunny, you can see the good sea, the sky and nature

Next, let’s go to Mt. Gusuku as a symbol of Ie Island. It is a sacred mountain of Okinawa. You can climb to the top in 15 minutes. The top commands a view of the whole island and nearby islands.

Last, Hibiscus Park is a big flower park of Ie Island. We can go to this place by bike in about 20 minutes. Hibiscus Park has more than 1,000 types of hibiscus.

The biggest type is a hybrid of Hawaiian and Ie Island hibiscus, with a diameter of around 30 cm. There is an indoor exhibition space that allows you to enjoy it even on rainy days. It is open 9:00~17:00 every　day, and admission is free.

by Aimi, Karen, Keisuke, and Haruno