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Okinawans mainly follow a plant-based diet, with most vegetables and beans grown locally. One of the experiences the hotel offers is a home-cooked dinner prepared by the founding sisters’ mother, Michiko Nakamoto, in my lodge. She prepares a dish using purple sweet potatoes – an Okinawan staple – and serves it alongside other cultivated seasonal produce. Each plate is brimming with colour, and the fresh flavours sing on my palate.
But it’s not just the food factor that helps many Okinawans become centenarians, but the ways of life, particularly being immersed in nature. I join Ogimi village boat builder Teppei Hentona for a two-hour tour along Shoiya Bay onboard a sabani. Fishermen have used these traditional hand-carved wooden sailboats for centuries, powered by wind and human strength. My paddling is put to the test using an oar resembling a giant cricket bat. It’s a good workout, but I am grateful when the sabani’s white sails are hoisted, and allow me to appreciate the idyllic forested hill scenery encircling us without effort.
Hiji Otaki Falls in Yambaru National Park.Credit: iStock
Speaking of jungle, Yambaru National Park is a 20-minute drive from the lodge. I join a nature guide to understand the reserve’s complex ecosystem, embarking on a 2.7-kilometre stroll through subtropical forests. The trail covers multiple terrains – streams, stairs, boardwalks and a 50-metre suspension bridge hovering 17 metres above the Hiji River – and leads to the island’s highest waterfall, Hiji Otaki Falls, at 26 metres.
In addition to mountain greenery and cascading waters, Okinawa soothes with a chorus of butterfly flutters, bird tweets, cicada strums and cricket chirps heard throughout the island; there are too many songsters to count. I feel so connected to nature, my senses are heightened. Okinawa has that long-lasting effect.
The details
Stay
Yambaru Hotel Nammei Shinshitsu’s standard package includes two nights of accommodation, two breakfasts, one dinner, a guided tour in the community and one private activity from ¥52,500 ($A540) per person. See yambaru.co.jp/en.
The accommodation can arrange experiences on request.
The writer was a guest of JTB Australia and JNTO.