The Perfect Day on Ie Island

Saturday we hopped in the car with some friends and drove an hour north to a port to catch a ferry 30 minutes away to Ie Island. Once we were on Ie island, we walked over to the rental place. Jake was disappointed that they wouldn't let us rent mopeds, but I was content with our beach cruiser bikes.

 It was an absolutely beautiful day, sunny, not to hot, and a slight breeze. We spent the morning riding our bikes through beautiful farmland and picturesque beaches. Our first stop was at the hibiscus garden. It was a giant greenhouse full of huge hibiscus in every color combination possible. They were incredible. Jake even bought me my own hibiscus plant.

As we continued along the coast of the island, we found lots of lookout points with insane views. The northern part of the island sits on top of cliffs, providing an amazing landscape. We even climbed down parts of the cliff to look at the tide pools.

After sweaty uphill riding, we reached the lily festival. As we were winding up the road to the festival, Jake was goofing off on his bike, causing our friend to crash her bike into some lilies. The lilies and soft mud caught her fall and so she wasn't hurt, but we couldn't stop laughing about it for the rest of the day. Maybe you had to be there. The lily fields were stunning and overlooked the sea. The smell was so amazing. I love that Okianwa loves flowers so much and has so many flower festivals. We took a quick food break, where I devoured some amazing mini corn dogs. The Okinawans do their corn dogs right.

We said goodbye to the perfect sea of white lilies and continued to our last stop on our bike tour, Wajee lookout. Out of all of the incredible sights we have seen since moving to Okinawa, Wajee definitely tops the list. The brilliant colors were indescribable. I wanted to stay on the side of that cliff forever.

Tired, sweaty, and full of appreciation for this beautiful place, we rode our little bikes back to the port and got back on the ferry to take the 30 minute ride home. This day will forever be at the top of my list of all time favorite days. The laid back way of life on the island, meandering through fields on our cute bikes, good laughs, beautiful views, it was absolutely perfect. Ie island, we will meet again!