Yambaru refers to the northern part of Okinawa’s main island. Rich in nature, it tops the destination list for many travelers. A day on beautiful Okuma Beach or spending time at Expo Park is what many have in mind when visiting Yambaru, although it may take several hours of driving. But you don’t necessarily need to go deep into the north to have some fun. There are some locations worth visiting in the southern part of Yambaru, especially in Nago City. One day in late March, I hit the road to visit several places in the host municipality of Camp Schwab.

My first stop was Orion Happy Park, a beer brewery that belongs to Orion Beer, a local company. The brewery offers a popular tour where visitors can get a closeup of its production line at work. I had to make a reservation on company’s website to secure a spot.

Although I am not much of a beer enthusiast, when the company was acquired by Nomura Holdings and Carlyle Group in 2019, I felt sad. Since 1957, Orion Beer has been considered a symbol of Okinawa. Seeing the local brand sold out to the Japanese and American investment firms made me think a lot about the change of times.

I was very curious to see if the brewery was any different from the last time I went there. It is located by Nago Castle Park, which is home to 20,000 cherry blossom trees. With the pink flowers long gone, the park looked relatively quiet when I pulled into the parking lot of the brewery.

Checking in at the reception desk, I received a yellow tin badge stating “I will not drink today! Today’s designated driver,” which indicated that I was a participant of the tour but would not be able to sample beer.

Before the tour began at 11 a.m., I spent time looking at Orion Retro Kan, a section dedicated to the history of the brand. Looking at old commercials on the monitor and a replica of a local grocery store with old Orion Beer bottles on the shelf put me in a nostalgic mood.

When the tour began, I was with roughly 20 other participants. We fell into two lines, like students on a school trip.

At the beginning, our guide briefed us on each process of making beer, such as mashing, maturation and filtration.

Next, we looked at the ingredients like malt, hop, rice, corn grits, starches, and barley flakes. We even tried smelling samples of malt and hops. The malt was fine, but the hop smelled way too strong to me, to the point that I almost felt drunk, which couldn’t be true because I had my yellow badge on!

Once the briefing on the process and ingredients was done, we were guided to the tanks for mashing to make wort. The tour guide explained that the mashing process takes 12 hours, with ingredients boiling at more than 212 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature of the mashing room itself could be as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit. We entered the room and peered through a small window on the tank to see what was happening. Watching condensation on the glass in the humid room literally felt like being in a sauna.

Next, we saw towering fermentation and maturation tanks by looking through the window. The big ones, measuring 16 feet in diameter, 62 feet in height, have a capacity of 190 kl. Replicas of the bottom parts of the huge tanks were exhibited in a room as well, with monitors visualizing how beer yeasts eat wort and their transformation into alcohol and carbon dioxide. When I looked up closely, the massive tank felt more like a spaceship than a part of the beer brewery.

The bottling or canning line was another feature that was interesting to see. On this day, the line for bottling was not in operation, but the canning line was busy at work. Just like the tanks, the line’s huge conveyors and canning machine made it feel like a set from a sci-fi movie

According to the guide, the brewery can produce 80,000 bottles, 200,000 cans and 5,000 barrels of beer a day. Bottled beer used to be their main product, but now it accounts for only 10% of total production, while canned beer is at 60%, followed by barrels at 30%. On this day, the bottling line was not in operation due to the decreasing popularity of bottled beer, which made me a little sad. There was also a presentation of many 350 ml beer cans stacked on top of each other against a wall, which looked like a curtain of cans. According to the guide, there were 1,200 of them, equal to the amount of canned beer the brewery produces per minute.

After walking around in the aroma of hops for 40 minutes, I was in the mood to chug a beer. But my yellow badge said otherwise.

At the end of the tour, we were guided to a restaurant in the brewery building for sampling. Although I was allowed to drink only non-alcoholic beer, I was given a bottle of black beer as a souvenir.

Washing snacks down with the soft drink while thinking about having a small beer party at home made me smile.

Things to know

• GPS Coordinates: 26.587036, 127.989533

• Hours: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

• Admission fee: Brewery tour costs 1,000 yen for those 20 years old and above, 350 yen for those between elementary school age and 19 years of age. Free admission for those six and under.

*Reservation via the website (https://www.orionbeer.co.jp/happypark/) is strongly recommended.

Once the tour at Orion Happy Park was over, I decided to stop by Subaco, a visitor center at the foot of Mt. Nago. This location always intrigued me as I heard that it functioned as a café as well as a coworking space where locals visit for a quiet environment.

Although I didn’t have any desk work to take care of on that day, I wanted to spend some time there to enjoy the superb view it’s known for.

After about 15 minutes or so of driving through winding, narrow roads, I finally found the sign that read “Subaco.” I pulled into the parking lot, and the modern, glass-walled two-story building was striking against the lush green surrounding it.

The sleek exterior continued inside where the wooden interiors truly made it feel like a birdhouse as the name “Subaco” suggests in Japanese.

On the first floor, there is a souvenir shop and snack bar. The menu items included coffee (450 yen, approx. $2.82), a kokuto ginger latte (brown sugar ginger latte, 550 yen) and herb tea (380 yen). A staff member told me that the visitor center is about 100 meters above ground, which motivated me to see a view from the second floor.

After buying an “Okinawa Ginger Ale” for 480 yen, I went upstairs. The second floor felt spacious and I could see Nago Bay shining in blue beyond the lush green of the mountain.

I took a seat next to the glass wall to enjoy my beverage and the view. The Okinawa Ginger Ale had a distinct taste thanks to the brown sugar and spices used to sweeten and flavor it. A perfect treat to accompany a quiet moment in this serene space.

Things to know

• GPS Coordinates: 26.591716, 127.997539

• Hours: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. (last order at 4:30 p.m.)

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*Coming from the north entry (26.597535, 127.995150) to the park will let you approach this location on a relatively wide road.

Nearby, Tenjo Tenbodai also offers a view of the ocean and surrounding landscape. The word “tenjo” means celestial and I found that this spot could really live up to its name on a clear night when the stars can shine brightly.

The observatory itself is an impressive brutalist-style structure with two towers each standing three stories high to reach about 30 meters high, according to Nago Castle Park’s website. It’s a simple, bare bones design made intricate with a series of intertwining staircases and covered passages in an L-shape.

Visitors can also enjoy birdwatching using the guides along the barriers depicting the local avian fauna.

I wasn’t there for birdwatching this time, but I did get a great view of Nago Bay, the northern and southern parts of the island, Mt. Nago and the surrounding forest from this interesting structure.

Things to know

GPS Coordinates: 26.590349, 127.999358

It’s no secret that Okinawa is a hot spot for this American franchise. But the Nago City branch has a special place in my heart. On our way back from visits to relatives of my mother’s side of the family in the municipality, I often begged my father to make a stop at this hamburger joint before heading home.

Now as an adult, taking a break for A&W is still the best way to conclude a trip to Nago. A classic hamburger (290 yen, approx. $1.82) and a hot coffee (290 yen) were just the touch of nostalgia I needed.

Things to know

• GPS Coordinates: 26.579414, 127.984743

• Hours: Open 24 hours a day.

Before I left Nago City, I decided to make a stop at Todoroki no Taki (Todoroki Falls), a waterfall located in the Sukuta District of the municipality. Just like Subaco and Tenjo Tenbodai, this location has been on my bucket list for a long time.

Whenever the idea of going there crossed my mind, I ended up not doing so, mostly because of some people around me saying, “You will be disappointed.”

Compared with Tataki Waterfalls, an intriguing pair of waterfalls in Ogimi Village, or Hiji Otaki, a big waterfall in Kunigami Village, they say, this waterfall in Nago City would not be appealing.

Given what I discovered at Subaco and Tenjo Tenbodai, I thought I should at least go there and see the location myself.

Heading south on Route 71, I made a left turn at Sukuta Intersection onto a road that runs along the Todoroki River. Five minutes later, I found myself in the parking lot dedicated to the waterfall.

Now called “Todoroki no Taki Koen (park),” the falls got a makeover of a neat public park.

Entry to the park is 200 yen (about $1.26) and with my admission, I started along the riverside promenade. On the lawn field that spread by the river, there were kids who appeared to be on a school trip. Hearing them cheer in joy, I remembered my mother telling me she’d visited for an elementary school trip when she was a girl.

I eventually ended up at a pavilion from which I could see a waterfall bigger than I imagined and bigger than what everyone else had described. The water was running down a huge boulder, which had several layers like stair steps, making the flow several turns before coming straight down to the basin.

It’s true that the waterfall is much smaller than Hiji Fall, and the amount of water flow was much lower than that of Tataki. Todoroki Waterfall looked intriguing, still.

According to a brochure, the waterfall measures 30 meters in height, with the basin being six meters wide. The boulder was formed 15 million years ago, noted the brochure.

A description posted near the entrance said it had been recognized as a location with a beautiful landscape from the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429 – 1879). A record dated in 1721 by the hands of a Chinese envoy touched on the waterfall, and, in 1804, King Shoko of the kingdom is thought to have built a house by the waterfall for a refreshing view.

While the view appealed to visitors in the old days, it continues to dazzle today’s tourists as well.

“Just like everywhere else on the island, it’s gorgeous,” said John, who was traveling with his wife, Dawna, and enjoying the landscape from the pavilion.

“So much history here, it’s breathtaking. It’s absolutely breathtaking. So happy to be here,” said the tourist from Canada.

When I pointed out that Todoroki Waterfall is smaller than those in their country, Dawna agreed but said it was still a beautiful sight. “It’s so exotic. It’s a different forest, altogether,” Dawna added.

“It’s a really different world than Canada. It’s absolutely remarkable,” said John, agreeing with his wife.

The couple said they were on their way to see the northern half of the island, after traveling to the southern half.

As I said goodbye to them and left the location, their words lingered in my mind. Although the island of Okinawa may be small, it has hidden gems to fascinate visitors wherever they come from, just like the small waterfall proves.

Things to know

• GPS Coordinates: 26.562295, 127.988271

• Hours: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

• Admission fee: 200 yen for adults, 100 yen for those between elementary and high school ages. 100 yen for those 70 years old and above.

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