Yanbaru
The Miracle Forest
The Blue Zones Premium

Tour Schedule

• DAY1

  • Former Shioya Elementary School

    Start the tour from a nostalgic old school

    

    

    

    Shioya is a quiet, small hamlet surrounded by tall forests and a calm bay, renowned as one of the eight scenic spots of Ryukyu. Facing the bay, the former Shioya Elementary School is a nostalgic abandoned school with more than 100 years of history. Here, the guide will give an important briefing to outline the overall story and review the objectives of the tour.
  • Shioya Village and Shioya Community Center

    Unraveling the Continuation of Traditional Culture and Community Life

    

    

    

    

    

    

    The 500-year-old Okinawan festival held in honor of the sea gods in Shioya Bay is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset of Japan. It is a traditional event that still retains the original form of the festival. The festival is held jointly by seven districts, and has survived over the years because of the trust that has been built and maintained between the residents of the districts. At the Shioya Community Center, we will hear from the Shioya district head and learn how the festival has been kept alive by the love and strong will of the local people, and how important it is to have neighborly relations. The trip will begin with an exploration of the village, which has kept these traditions alive to the present day, retaining traces of its past.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Moai
    • Attitude
  • Shabu Shabu Restaurant

    Healthy Pork Shabu Shabu with Island Vegetables Grown in Yanbaru Forest

    

    

    

    In Okinawa, it is customary to eat pork. At dinner, you will enjoy an Agu shabu shabu course, which is the secret to healthy longevity. The owner-chef, who says, “In my pursuit of delicious ingredients, I came across Yanbaru,” has selected Agu pork, a very rare breed of traditional pig, native to Okinawa Prefecture, and seasonal island vegetables from Yanbaru. The abundance of plant-based leafy vegetables is like eating Yanbaru's forests. By purchasing vegetables from a wide variety of farmers, customers can taste seasonal island vegetables that change with the seasons. This gives customers a chance to get to know Yanbaru's farmers, and it also allows for a change in flavor. Please enjoy healthy shabu shabu eating fresh vegetables from Yanbaru.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Plant-based.

• DAY2

  • Visit the traditional Okinawan home of a long-lived couple

    Enjoy soft yushi-dofu (tofu) made from soybeans

    

    

    

    

    You will visit a traditional house with a red-tiled roof and a stone lion shisa, a guardian deity, and meet a couple who have lived as farmers, and who understand longevity. While chatting with the couple, you will be served soft yushi- dofu. Okinawan island tofu, made from soybeans, is harder than regular tofu, but yushi-dofu is the softer form that has begun to harden with nigari. The shelves in the room are lined with Okinawan sake, Awamori, and the locals feast on Awamori. In Okinawa, there is a custom called Moai, which is based on the spirit of mutual help, in which people gather once a month with their friends to feast and give out a decided amount of money each, and the money collected each month is divided among them in turn. Through the custom of Moai as told by the couple, you can learn the importance of neighborhood friendship.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Soy products
    • Moai
    • Attitude
  • Emi no Mise

    Okinawan home-style cuisine with fresh vegetables harvested from their own vegetable garden

    

    

    

    

    

    In Ogimi Village, known as a village of longevity, this farmhouse restaurant is a kitchen connected to the fields. You will enjoy a delicious lunch of colorful, nostalgic homemade Okinawan cuisine. The vegetable garden is located across from the restaurant, where familiar Okinawan ingredients such as mugwort, Korean lettuce, and shikuwasa are grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Once harvested, the vegetables are brought directly to the kitchen for cooking. They hope to recreate traditional Okinawan homemade cooking at home, and to have their children feel the importance of the traditional diet.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Plant-based
    • Medicinal herbs
  • Visit a Ship Builder Who Preserves Tradition

    A ship builder who has devoted his life to the tradition of the Sabani boat

    

    

    

    

    

    Small wooden sailing boats used in the past for both transportation and fishing are called Sabani. They have fallen into disuse with the passage of time, and these days you rarely see a Sabani. However, with the holding of the Sabani Sailing Race, the demand for Sabani has increased, and there are signs of revival. You will visit the studio of a shipbuilder who has made up his mind to preserve the tradition of the Sabani for future generations and pass on the art of shipbuilding. You will listen to his story about the history, building process, and ship operation method. Today, the number of Sabani builders has been decreasing. You will board one of the Sabani boats and row out into the Yanbaru ocean to deeply understand the beauty of Sabani, with the hope of keeping the traditional Okinawan culture of Sabani alive and passing it on to the next generation.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Ikigai
    • Sunshine
    • Active
  • Visiting a Medicinal Vegetable Garden

    Discover the charm of a vegetable garden in an ever-growing garden

    

    

    

    

    

    A mountain side in the middle of nowhere with a view of the sea in the distance, close to the World Natural Heritage Yanbaru Forest. It is an edible garden where a small ecosystem circulates. Touch, smell, and taste medicinal herbs. You will experience harvesting medicinal herbs growing wild in nature and making pizza. The owner of the inn, Mr. Kitahara, started by preparing the soil with a subsoil environment. He has adopted the concept of permaculture, in which medicinal herbs grow wild without water or fertilizer, and plans to achieve no-till cultivation in the future. This vegetable garden will grow as the years go by. Please enjoy a dinner of pizza and herb tea made with herbs and plants harvested from the garden, while enjoying drinks and conversation.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Medicinal herbs

• DAY3

  • Kayak to the World Heritage Forest

    Have the great secret Yanbaru forest all to yourself

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    You will step into the World Natural Heritage Yanbaru Forest. This is a rare and precious experience of canoeing through the World Natural Heritage Yanbaru Forest, soaking up the true thrill of nature with your whole body. The paths that were once inhabited, and therefore allowed to be walked on, can only be reached by canoe, and you will walk through the mountains with a local guide leading the way. As you start paddling the canoe, the scenery changes as the waterway gradually narrows and the trees close in, amid the spectacular scenery of the Yanbaru forest. You may be refreshed by the breathtaking nature while you are excited by the adventure of walking along the ropes and climbing over the rocks.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Active
  • Visit a Farmer

    A farmer who is laying the foundation for the next generation Okinawa of agriculture

    

    

    

    

    

    Yanbaru Forest is gradually being affected by climate change. Meet a farmer engaged in Okinawa's agriculture and sensitively aware of the effects of such changes. He is not only concerned about the future of agriculture, but has turned it into an opportunity to create a new basis for Yanbaru farming. You will visit his farms, learn about Yanbaru's seasonal vegetables, and hear why he is focusing on spice cultivation as a new approach. You will cook with him using the vegetables and spices harvested there. Enjoy his passion for the future, and experience how natural food from his farm can be deliciously cooked.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Gardening
  • Ada Garden Hotel Okinawa

    A resort hotel built in the forest and wilderness of Yanbaru

    

    

    

    Located in Yanbaru National Park, this is the northernmost resort hotel in Okinawa, coexisting in harmony with the wild nature of Yanbaru. Surrounded by the Yanbaru forest, which is home to the Okinawa rail and the Okinawa woodpecker, both of which are national natural treasures, the Ada Garden Hotel stands alone in a place where there is nothing but forest as far as the eyes can see. With only the sounds of insects, birds, and other creatures echoing in the air, you feel as if you have become a resident of the forest. Enjoy the night sky full of stars, or go for a walk in the forest while soaking up the morning sun.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Sunshine
    • Active

• DAY4

  • Show gratitude at Utaki, the sanctuary of the village

    The grand finale of the trip, concluding with the secret of longevity

    

    

    

    

    

    In Okinawa, it is believed that ancestors watch over their families to ensure that the family lineage will prosper. There are customs of ancestor worship, in which ancestors are respected and revered, and nature worship, in which nature is believed to be inhabited by gods.
    In each village, there are places of worship where local guardian gods and deities are believed to be enshrined, called Utaki. This belief has been handed down from generation to generation because of the strong ties among the people of the community. The discussions among residents, including setting rules, and how to pass on the sanctuary, will protect the plants and animals that live in the area and help the forests of Yanbaru to grow into the future. Beliefs and neighborly relations are inseparable customs, and they are also a way of life.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Ikigai
    • Moai
    • Attitude
  • Enjoy wild herb cuisine

    Lunch with Yanbaru plants and wild herbs for health and longevity

    

    

    

    

    The tour ends with a wild herb dish that allows you to taste the plants you have become accustomed to during the trip.
    
    Wild herb cooking began with the owner's desire to introduce the tea of Karaki, a plant known as Okinawa's cinnamon, which she has been familiar with since her childhood. She goes into the mountains to harvest the herbs three days before serving the meal, and uses Okinawan ingredients that are in season at that time of year, creating a delicious meal that captures the natural beauty of Yanbaru. The ingredients are seasoned to their fullest, and even the decorative leaves and flowers are edible. We hope you will take home healthy and long-lived lifestyle habits learned from encounters and experiences with the long-lived people who live with the forests of Yanbaru, and use them in your daily life.

    The Secret of Longevity

    • Plant-based