In Search of Fuu

I am woefully behind, friends. As I write this, we are in the middle of a fun visit from John's parents, aka Grandma Maggie and Poppy, but because I am Type A +, you probably will not hear about that visit for a few more weeks. Blog must be in chronological order!

Cool bridge!

A couple of weeks ago, we went in search of Fuu Cafe . We had heard about the great coffee, and were in need of some. There are many things we miss about Durham (a topic which merits its own post), and Bean Traders Coffee (the beans, the community, the vibe, the owners) is high on that list. 

Fuu Cafe is on Sesoko Island, one of the many islands in the Ryukyu chain, and a part of Okinawa Prefecture. Sesoko is connected to the Motobu Peninsula (near the amazing aquarium) by a bridge so we did not need to figure out the ferry situation. (Although riding a ferry is definitely on our list of fun things to do ...)

(I do not know why this posting already has so many parentheses already. I am sure my subconscious is trying to say something. Feel free discuss in the comment section. And yes, I realize that the parentheses are probably not necessary or correct. So be it.)

Anyhow, we traveled the cool bridge and quickly found Fuu Cafe, tucked in a lovely, peaceful garden spot. There was a garden swing and a hammock, and a lovely selection of coffees and desserts. 

Fuu Cafe on Sesoko Island

Enjoying the garden swing with Zo-Zo

When we arrived, they had not started serving their lunch menu yet, so we were forced to eat cake. Since it was only 11 am, we figured we should be reasonable and just order two (enormous) pieces of cake to share. I selected the chocolate cake and a caramel chiffon cake.

We made a rookie mistake and did not tell Zoe that these cakes were meant for the four of us to share. So the server brought our items and she claimed the chocolate cake (already a huge hunk gone in the above photo). The peaceful vibe up and went, but ohmygoodness the cake! the coffee! My drink was flavored with some local brown sugar and was amazing. The caramel cake? Why did not I claim that as my own? Zoe is a smart one. I could learn something from her.

After we left somewhat reluctantly (were there more cakes to try! more coffee to order!), We visited Nakijin Castle and then headed to Kouri Island, another of the Ryukyu Islands. We had to drive on a couple of bridges to get there. The main bridge is the longest toll free bridge in Japan, spanning approimately 2 kilometers. The water is stunningly blue. My iPhone camera cannot do it justice.

View from Kouri Ocean Tower

Kouri Island is small, with a population of just 350 people. About a year ago, the Kouri Ocean Tower  opened. Aside from the amazing views that the Ocean Tower offers, there  is also a shell museum with over 10,000 shells from around the world. They were amazing to see.

Shell museum ... again, can not quite do it justice!

The Kouri Ocean Tower also had a souvenir shop with plenty of goodies to sample (a common theme to souvenir shops here) and a Blue Seal ice cream stand. So much for us coming back svelte from an Okinawan diet.  

My favorite part of the Kouri Ocean Tower visit was riding the automatic golf cart up the steep hill to the entrance, and then back down to our car.

Maddox: Amazing! No one is steering
Zoe: Whatev. Not impressed.

The golf cart road

Family of foreheads!

After a cake-castle-shell-filled day, we headed back to Onna via the roads on the east coast of Okinawa. The car ride home often takes the wind out of my sails, so maybe being behind on the blog is a good thing . It helps me focus on the great memories we make on these adventures, and conveniently Lets me edit out the complaints from the minions.    Now, off to plan our next trip to Fuu Cafe. An hour's drive for a great coffee is reasonable, right? (Right?)