Located on the northwest corner of Motobu Peninsula, just 10 minutes by walk from Ocean Expo Park and Churaumi Aquarium, Bise Fukugi Tree Street is a ... More
Located on the northwest corner of Motobu Peninsula, just 10 minutes by walk from Ocean Expo Park and Churaumi Aquarium, Bise Fukugi Tree Street is a pictureque and peaceful area made of traditional houses and old streets lined with approximately 20,000 tall trees.
Both sides of these special streets are delimited by Fukugi, a tree with thick leaves that is very resistant to fire. The characters of the word "Fukugi" mean "Good Luck Tree", and the reason is probably related to its properties. Being the island of Okinawa often hit by strong winds and typhoons in summer, and monsoons in winter, locals decided to plant this tree in the whole village, to get a protection against these natural dangers. The Fukugi tree is very resistant to wind, but has one problem: it grows very slowly. For this reason, residents did not get the benefits until 300 years later. It was a thoughtful act, to protect future generations.