Northern Okinawa, A Private Nature Day.

The day.

• Morning

  Into Yanbaru

  A Toyota Land Cruiser, quiet and spacious, with Okinawan teas, chilled water and island snacks within reach. The city thins out behind you. Then the forests of Yanbaru close in, and the air turns cool and green. A jungle trail follows the sound of water to a hidden waterfall, where few visitors ever stand.

• Midday

  A bowl of soba

  Okinawans love their soba. It is wheat, not buckwheat, served in a clear pork and bonito broth with slow cooked pork laid on top. It is eaten at lunch, after work and late at night, and the island keeps a day for it every October 17. Lunch is at one of the most celebrated soba houses in the north, a local name that rarely reaches the guidebooks. For a lighter table, there is a vegetarian friendly café deep in the forest.

• Afternoon

  Under the fukugi trees

  In Bise, old fukugi trees line the lanes of the village, planted generations ago to shelter homes from the wind. You cycle slowly beneath them, the sea appearing between the trunks. Along the way, the lanes lead to a quiet place the village still holds sacred, one the islanders speak of as a power spot. A moment to stand still before riding on. Then a pause by the water. Salt is treasured in Okinawa, drawn from the surrounding sea and fine as powder. The islanders call it yukishio, snow salt. Here it goes into a mango smoothie, or into a salt coffee for something darker. It sounds unusual until you taste it.

• Evening

  Home, unhurried

  The coast road turns gold as the sun lowers over the East China Sea. The forest falls away behind you, and the conversation slows to the pace of the day. Somewhere south of Nago, the island lights begin to come on. You arrive back at your door with sand still on your shoes and the north still with you.

The practical bits.