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The next day, I went to Atsumama Utaki first.
It is near by the town’s main street and worshipped as a god of learning.
Shinto rituals such as bumper crop festival are held there.

Next, finally I head off to a mysterious(?) spiritual spot where is not generally known.
It is a stone garden of Mr. Sadakichi Shinjo. He already passed away but I’ve heard there is a person who is taking care of the garden. I arrived, said hello at the door and a woman came out of the house and gave me a guide map of the garden. Admission is 200 yen.

As I stepped inside the garden, it was like a nature trail rathan than a stone garden and
had an appearance like a jungle. Also, there is a grass space called a circle. You can see
huge stones which Shinjo digged up all alone more than thirty years here and there.

The garden is quite large and there are paths going deep into a forest, so I saw only part of it. Even so, it was a strange place as if I have wandered into another dimension. It seems some people feel powerful magnetic field energy there but I felt nothing.

I stopped by the door again when I was leaving there, and the woman I met earlier made me hold a coral fossil. And she put her hands above the fossil. After a period of time, my hands came to feel warm under the fossil. Then, she told me “The fossil energy entered your inside of the body”. I didn’t realize at that time but I didn’t feel sleepy and tired that day after all. But it wasn’t too nervous to sleep and I could have a good sleep.

After I saw the garden, I went to a museum, a tropical garden and headed off to Kurima
Island in the afternoon. Kurima Island and Miyako Island are connected by Kurima Bridge.
As I crossed the bridge, the beauty of the sea leaves me speechless. In the island,
there are nice cafes and variety goods shops. Of course, there are beautiful beaches.
It is an attractive island. And I found out that Kurima Island was also a power spot
along Ogami Island after I returned to Fukui. I suppose Miyako Island chose power spots for my trip this time. (H.S)

Mr. Shinjo’s stone garden. There are stones more than 560.
He digged up such many stones all alone.
It may be that his faith gives the “power”.

In fact, bougainvaillea’s flowers are the three small white parts and
the red parts like petals are flower bract.

Hibiscus with such color is pretty too.

Dragon fruit-flavored soft-service ice cream

There was a goat in Kurima Island. It is female named “Kirari”.
In Okinawa, there is a custom that they eat goats on celebratory occasions
and some people raise goats for the reason.
But I think Kirari will keep alive because she is kept to attract tourists.

I bought a plate of Okinawan pottery. Every time I come to Okinawa, I buy one by one.
I always look forward to buying ones.

Okinawan liquor, awamori “Tuyumya” only available in Miyako Island in a Ryukyu glass.

Grilled Miyako beef skewers. It’s very good, of course!

A quiet beach Nagama-hama in Kurima Island. (taken on Apr. 15th around 16:30 1'02")
You see people who are snorkeling in the sea.
The beach is known that you can snorkel and see beautiful sunsets.
Few people are there and you can relax just looking into the sea.

A little while ago, I was watching NHK BS TV travel program “Kokoro Tabi” (Heart Journey), whose autumn series would finish in Okinawa.
The last letter from viewers said “Please visit Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum and the memorial monument."
Tsushima-maru is the name of a ship and the letter was from the daughter of the captain of the Tsushima-maru. She is elderly and is unable to visit there, so she wanted the program to visit for her.

In fact, I have visited the Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum.
It was only one day after the Emperor and Empress visited there.
While I was looking around, tears filled my eyes, and I remember not only sadness but also swelling anger and indignation.

I will describe as follows about what kind of ship was Tsushima-maru and what happened.
For details, please see their website.

In 1944 as the war drew gradually closer, the old, the young, women and children were ordered to evacuate outside the prefecture. A large group of schoolchildren boarded the Tsushima-maru for evacuation, which left Naha Port on August 21. However, the ocean had already turned into a battleground. On the night of the next day, the 22nd, the Tsushima-maru was hit and sunk by a torpedo from the American submarine Bowfin. Of the ship’s 1,788 passengers including crew and soldiers, about 80% disappeared to the bottom of the sea.
(as excerpted from the museum’s website)

But the tragedy was not over.
Surprisingly, the Japanese government ordered the survivors to keep silent on
the Tsushima-maru was sunk. What was waiting for them were threat and discrimination.
And many people kept their mouth shut.

Didn’t the U.S.military know that women and children were on the Tsushima-maru?
Didn’t the Japanese government have any other way? Some suspicions still linger.
Anyway, there is no doubt that the children didn’t want to live away from their parents but boarded without knowing the danger of the ship. Then, eventually, they were thrown into the sea that a typhoon was approaching.

If you have an opportunity to visit Okinawa, you should visit the museum.
It is near from Kokusai Street so it is easily accessible.
Please see what happened with your own eyes and feel yourself about that. (H.S)

Near the entrance of the musuem

Exotic banyan trees and Ixora flowers near the museum

Here are from displays in the museum