The Ryukyu Islands

[AmericanRonin]

So I used to live in Okinawa when I was a kid. I desperately miss the place and want to go back sometime this year and kite the ryukyus. Has anyone done any kiting around there before? Anyone know any good places to stay that won't require me to sever digits in order to pay for it? Best time of year to go?

Any and all info is useful at this point. Thanks.

Van

[ryuu]

IMHO I would stay away from the main island.
I too lived there 32 years ago, from what little I have seen lately the bases have taken their toll.
It's not what it was.

I have posted this before because I think it has some good info
http://www.windgirls.com/japankite.html

Ishigaki was an awesome island but we didn't ride any there, just flew in, checked it out and took a boat over to kohama (aka obama ) that is a fantastic and very small island.
If this link works you can see some video clips of our trip, it's called the yaeyama tour
http://209.85.143.132/translate_c?hl=en ... 9qYag#main

Downside of the little islands is there is very little english but memories that will last forever!

[ryuu]

If you plan on walking in the water be sure to take something to wear on your feet!
There is a lot of old coral, I cut the hell out of my feet but would do it again any day!

[AmericanRonin]

Thanks for the tips, ryuu. I've only been to one of the lesser islands in the Ryukyus (tokoshiki) but I loved it. I've read that article before actually, it seems you're right. The smaller islands are the place to be. It was just recently in the news that Japan and the military have come up with an agreement to move most of the Marines on Okinawa to Guam. Hopefully that'll help our image over there (though I doubt it).

I'm relearning my Japanese from my childhood and don't plan on going over there until I'm at least functionally proficient, so the language barrier shouldn't be too much of a problem. It seems like the most troublesome part of the trip will be the long voyage from the U.S. east coast and the high costs.

God, I can't wait to get back though. The pictures from that article are incredible! Now if only I could get the girls to join me...

[mr_daruman]

I currently live in the capital, Naha. Just had a blast riding today, nice and steady 17knot!
Winter time we get pretty strong and gusty winds (from the North), the best season would be Fall time from October to December. Other good time of the year is from March to May though I haven't lived here long enough to confirm this.
Avoid summer time, extremely light winds unless a Typhoon swings by
Like ryuu said you need protection for your feet, tons of small coral shards. There are a few areas that are nice and sandy though.
Once you get out the main island there are amazing places to kite, including Ishigaki island, Miyako island and my personal favorite Kumei island which includes sand dunes in the middle of the ocean, you can kite any wind direction and its flat one side, choppy on the other, and has waves on another side.

For more info check out the local clubs here:
http://www.kiteclub.biz/ (japanese)
http://www.patriotkites.com/ (english)

There's a yearly festival/competition going on this weekend; I'll try to post some pics.

current wind in Okinawa:
http://www.windguru.com/int/index.php?sc=98381

Hope this helps!

[mr_daruman]

Forgot to add this link; some info on the main island and the major kite spots.
http://kitesurfing.kujira99.com/index.html

[AmericanRonin]

Kick-ass, Daruman! Thanks so much for the intel.