Ie Island Lily Festival

Lovely ladies making yummy snacks!

Beautiful East China Sea

Another interesting translation...

The biggest and most beautiful array of Hibiscus I have ever seen.

Yes, there are cows on Ie Island!

Shimamuraya Tourist Park. This is a sculpture of Hando-gwaa.

Ie island is the setting of a traditional Okinawan drama where a sad girl by the name of Hando-gwaa fell in love with a man named Kanahi, Ie-shima's headman. When Hando-gwaa learned that Kanahi had already wed she climbed up to Tacchu Mountain and hanged herself with her long, black hair.

I have a thing for Buddah

Families with boys hang colorful carp kites, called Koinobori, outside their houses- one for each boy, with the biggest representing the oldest boy at the top. This is all part of the Children's Day celebration.

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/childrens_day_japan.htm


Karen heading back to the port. Peace baby!

The people of Ie Island host their annual Lily Festival every spring. Friend Karen and I took the morning ferry over and had the best day. The lily fields were beautiful and the day was perfect. We did some exploring after the lilies and found a great little forest to walk through that led to the Hibiscus Garden where the flowers were so vibrant and colorful it was as if we had walked right into a rainbow. Truly amazing.

Here is a link to more info. on Ie Jima (island)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iejima