After two trips taken to Nago to see the cherry blossoms, I knew I had to share some photos to show just how gorgeous these trees are! Not to mention, both Mt. Yaedake and Nakijin Castle are already beautiful places to visit while you’re in Okinawa. The Japanese cherry blossoms are only around for a few short weeks before all of the petals fall to the ground. They represent the fragility of life and are a perfect reminder that life is incredibly beautiful, but also extremely short.  Okinawa is the first part of Japan where they bloom because of how far south the island is located in comparison to the mainland.  If you’re in Okinawa during late January-February, I highly recommend taking a trip up to Nago to see them!

My husband and I first visited Mt. Yaedake. There’s parking lots at the bottom of the mountain, but we choose to drive up the winding, narrow road, passing by the trees on both sides. There’s a couple of small parking areas along the way up, as well as a parking lot all the way at the top. We parked at the one on top so we could walk down a bit and view them up close, then parked again about halfway down the mountain. The views of the cherry blossoms were stunning, as well as seeing Okinawa’s beautiful trees from so high up!

I absolutely LOVE these trees!

I can’t decide which color of the blossoms I like more… they’re both so pretty!

About two weeks later, when the cherry blossoms were a little more in bloom, we took a trip to Nakijin Castle. To enter, it was 400 yen per adult. This was my first time here and I have to say that this was my FAVORITE castle to visit since I moved to Okinawa last year.  It was nice visiting here because we were able to park our car in one spot and walk around all over the castle to see the blossoms up close. The views here are just BEAUTIFUL. You can see the mountains surrounding you, with the ocean off in the distance.

After you enter the castle, you’ll go down this stone walkway with trees on both sides of you.

Such a gorgeous view!!

We spotted a tangerine tree too!

And this is what your shoes will look like after a cold and rainy day, exploring all over the castle. 🙂

I hope you all enjoyed looking through these photos, and I hope even more that you get to see these beauties in person!

xo