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Thursday, August 25, 2011

"Nago's Makiya Dam"

Nago's Makiya Dam


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Nago's Makiya Dam

     GPS
    LatitudeLongitude
     N 26 37.483E 128 02.134





Nago's Makiya Dam

Perhaps one of the least well known dams of Okinawa, Makiya Dam in Nago provides great opportunities for photography and a place to spend time with the family. Not as big as its sister dam just a few miles south (Haneji Dam), Makiya Dam is still an impressive site to see. You can see the dam from Highway 58 but if you are not looking to the east, you will miss it.

I parked my vehicle at the bottom of the dam and walked up to the top. There is a stairwell that leads to the top. I don't recommend you do that though. Park your car at the bottom, take some pictures of the water outlet below, and then, if you want to go to the top, take your car and find one of the side entrances that will take you up there. You will be able to cover more ground that way, plus it won't be a long way walking back (Personally, I don't like to be to far away from my car in a secluded area).

When you get up top, you will see open fields, the water on the other side, a large set of stairs (that I decided not to go on). You will know why, when you get there. But perhaps the most impressive part is the view as you look to the west and see parts of northern Nago. See photo album above.

At the bottom of the dam you may see some wildlife. There were two Common Moorhens walking around (see photo album) and we even managed to see a very, very large turtle that plunged in the water before we could snap a picture. Still trying to find out what kind of turtle it was.

Getting there. There were no clear landmarks that you can use to guide you off from Highway 58. Look at the map to get an idea of where to turn. There are multiple ways to get there. It's shouldn't be to difficult to navigate. I did mark a Family Mart on Hwy 58 to let you know that you are close to one of the turn offs. I also posted a landmark for the parking area of the dam. It is a cabana type of structure.

What to bring. Camera, lunch box, umbrella, water.

4 comments:

  1. Nice to meet you, Lou. Glad Mike inspired you to blog. I think you've got a great idea here. Nice photo, too!

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  2. Definitely an "off the beaten path" site but, I want to go back and snag a shot of that monster turtle.
    Cool shot. My fav is the one from above, looking down. Old legs still sore from humping those stairs !

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  3. Nice to meet you too Cathy. Good to meet another traveler and blogger. Look'n forward to your site.

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  4. Another Ryukyu roped in.Great, we can now see more of the place!
    http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.com/2011/08/travel-photo-thursday-aug-25th.html

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