Torii Gates and Typhoons: River Trekking at Fukugawa Falls

What does this girl do day two of being back on island to help with jet lag...take a hike up a river to see some awesome waterfalls! So the journey begins by heading to the North end of the island, from where we live that is about a 2-3 hr drive depending on traffic and how far North we had to go. We made great time and got to the turn off for the trail about 3:40pm. We then proceeded to drive into the jungle down a one-way windy road to the middle of no where. I kept thinking, is Bill taking me to the forest to dump my body. There was not a single sign of civilization till we reachers the trail head. Even there it was devoid of actual people, there cars were parked. I thought, well we will see people on our hike.

I had read up on the hike and knew that the first part was easy and well groomed. The post that I read was correct. There was a gravel road that lead to a clearing with the Map of the trail. Then you headed over a wooden bridge and off into the woods. At this point the groomed part stopped. The trail was no more than a beaten path through tall grass. And then all of a sudden we come across a covered picnic table. I thought, well at least were are where we are supposed to be. Then came an up hill trek with large stairs. In Japan, stairs are one of two things, giant that require two steps for each step up, or incredibly small, where your foot does not fit on the stair and it is not a normal height for a step up. These stairs were giant! So we climbed, and climbed, at this point we passed a family with small children. and just over a small hill there was the 1st water fall!

It was beautiful! But there were about 10 people there and we figured we would head off into the woods to seek the 2nd waterfall. Now I regret there are no pictures of this next part of the trail. It would have been hazardous for us to stop and take pictures, our full attention was needed to navigate this part of the hike. When we headed up the hill, large, large hill, I was not sure if we were headed in the right direction. All I knew was we had to get up and around the 1st waterfall. It was a muddy, beaten path, few have traveled. We were using roots at footholds and trees to help us climb. After a very quick assent, we were able to see that the river had leveled out again.

It was now time to head up stream to find the 2nd waterfall. There was no real path to hike, except straight through the river. On a hot July afternoon, the cool water was very refreshing.

This was staged, Bill wanted it to look like we had to walk a fallen tree. I kept thinking if one of us falls and hits our heads, we are going to be in BIG trouble. We were far, far from the car and far from cell service and farther from help.

Hiking through the river was lots of fun. I got the impression that Bill did not think it was going to be fun when we started. But he quickly changed his tune when we got to this part of the hike. He kept saying, this is fun, I like this, we should do this more often. I kept screaming and jumping every time something touched me, there were bugs and spiders and things I do not like. But I trekked on.

Here is a calm part of the river. The hardest part was finding a place to put your foot so you would not slip and fall. The rocks were very slippery.

Waterfall number 2! After about 30 mins up the river, slowly climbing a hill we made it. We could hear it for quite sometime before we saw it. It was a glorious sight. Looking back at these pictures I am not sure I enjoyed all of Mother Natures beauty yesterday. I am sure I was more worried about bugs.

Bill had to climb up into the waterfall. I kept saying, if you fall I can not save you. He kept saying, I am being safe, don't worry. I am not going to fall. He was right. He did not fall, but I was nervous.

After cooling down in the water and playing by the falls, it was time to head back down stream. Now at this point, we are trying to make an event on time as well as beat out the rain that is upon us. There was thundering, but luckily it never rained on our trek down.

I learned it was much easier to go up stream than it was to go down stream. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. Bill would fall, I would ask are you ok and then I would slip and fall. Neither one of us ended up hurt, but we do have a few bumps and bruises.

At several bends in the river, we stopped to take pictures. It really was a great hike.

Once we made it down the river and past the treacherous part over the first water fall, we stopped for a photo opportunity. Looking at this picture, I realize that this area really was a beautiful part of Okinawa.