🌸 Cherry Blossoms at Yaedake and a Northern Drive | Picking Tangkans and a Day with Mom
The other day, I headed out toward Nago.
Mom said, “I want to send my friends some Okinawan tangerines called ‘tangkans,’” so we decided to make the trip all the way up to the northern part of the island.
🍊 In Search of Okinawa’s Winter Delicacy: The “Tankans”
The “tankans” are subtropical citrus fruits widely cultivated in southern China, Taiwan, and the Ryukyu Islands.
On Okinawa Island, the Izumi district of Motobu Town is particularly famous for them. When the season arrives, they pile high at roadside stalls.
Each household has its “go-to shop,”
and ours is always the farmers’ market “Yanbaru Market.”
Inside, we carefully inspect the fruit, checking shape and color.
This year, I noticed many beautiful specimens.
We selected a good box, loaded it into our cart, and completed the checkout and delivery arrangements.
🍚 Lunch at our usual spot, “Chie Shokudo”
After sending the tangerines, we headed to the Izumi district in Motobu Town.
When we come here, lunch is always decided: Chie Shokudo.
Their miso soup is famous, and it’s fun how the vegetables inside change with the season.
This time, it had lettuce.
We timed it a bit off-peak, so the place was quiet,
and my mom and I could sit down and relax.
After a while, some tourists who looked like they were from Taiwan came in.
They quietly ordered while looking at the menu pictures,
but the owner, an older lady, could speak Chinese,
so they just switched to Chinese and managed to order just fine.
🌸 The cherry blossoms at Yaedake are about “60% in bloom”
After eating, we headed to Yaedake.
Being a weekday, there were tourists but it wasn’t overly crowded.
Looking over the whole mountain, trees with blossoms mixed with those without,
so overall it was about 60% in bloom.
Even so, everyone was enjoying taking commemorative photos with the cherry blossoms as a backdrop.
Full bloom will likely be around early February.
We’ll probably have to brace for traffic jams then.
Last year we went during peak bloom, and the sheer number of cars made it tough.
We parked at the park lot and looked at the cherry blossoms,
but Mom said, “I’m not walking anymore, just looking from the car window is fine.”
So we pulled the car close to the blossoms, opened the window, and let her enjoy the view at her leisure.
It wasn’t cold, and the temperature was just right, which was nice.
🌼 On the way back, we stopped by my mother’s parents’ house.
On the way home, we also stopped by my mother’s family home to check on my aunt and chat a bit.
The flowers in the garden were blooming beautifully, so I took some pictures too.
On the way home
When heading back, traffic reports showed congestion on the expressway, so we took the regular roads since we weren’t in a hurry. However, there was a traffic jam from Kin Town all the way to the Yaka traffic light. As usual, I drove patiently without rushing.
When going to see the cherry blossoms, expect traffic jams on the way home. Let’s head back patiently, without rushing or panicking.
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