Kunigami Forest Park
About 2.5 hours by car from Naha Airport,
Kunigami Forest Park is located at the gateway to the Yanbaru Forest, a World Natural Heritage area.
Inside the park, there are forest therapy trails where visitors can walk slowly in the quiet forest, surrounded by the scent of trees and the sounds of birds. Many people find that the forest helps release daily tension and restores a natural sense of calm and balance.
In addition to the YAAYA guiding fee, the park entrance fee is:
Adults (13 and over): 500 yen
Children (12 and under): 300 yen
Under 5: Free
Facility established: July 1978
Forest therapy walking trails were developed in March 2007.
Today, the park is operated as a lodging and camping facility that makes full use of the Yanbaru forest, and it is also part of Yanbaru National Park, designated in 2016.
Okuni Forest Road and Nagao Bridge
Okuni Forest Road runs through the mountains of Yanbaru, connecting the villages of Ogimi and Kunigami.
In the past, these forests were used as a source of firewood and timber for reconstruction. After the war, forest roads were developed to transport planted Ryukyu pine and other timber as part of forest management.
After Okinawa’s reversion to Japan in 1972, planned forestry and road development continued. Today, the road is used mainly for forest management, conservation, and limited access.
In 2021, the northern part of Okinawa Island was registered as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. The surrounding forests are home to rare species such as the Okinawa rail and the Noguchi woodpecker, found nowhere else in the world.
Nagao Bridge, located along Okuni Forest Road, is one of the best viewpoints in the area. From the bridge, visitors can enjoy a wide panoramic view of the Yanbaru forest, listen to the wind in the trees, and experience the quiet atmosphere of the mountains.
On the YAAYA tour, we walk slowly around the bridge area and to a nearby spring, enjoying the scenery and the forest air.