Melody Road

12-12-15

 

There is a road up North in Futami (Nago area) called Melody Road.

A little history lesson first:

 In 1945 sometime during the war, two Okinawans, by the direction of US Forces, were told to vacate the Mabuni area (present day Itoman). They had first moved to Yonabaru, but then finally settled in Futami on June 20th, 1945 just days before the end of the war. Shortly after (perhaps out of inspiration for surviving a hellish and war-torn region), they decided to write a song about their new home, Futami. For two months they worked on it and in November of 1945, the Okinawan folk song, Futami jōwa, was born.

Over a Half-Century Later. Sixty-seven years later, inspiration returns to Futami once again. This time with the help of science. For several months using math and the laws of physics, road crews carved out specially cut grooves along 340 meters stretch of road. Driving over it makes a special sound. The end result; a road that plays music. The song,...Futami jōwa. Late November 2012, in the same month that the original song was created 67 years ago, an official ribbon cutting ceremony was conducted and 'Melody Road' was officially open to the public, and the villagers of Futami were once again filled with great honor.

The Song's Meaning. The song is written as a duet between a man and a woman. In summary, it is a song of love and of hardship about a man from Shuri and a woman (origins not specified) longing to be with each other, never to be separated again. The song starts out describing a wonderful place with pretty mountains next to a beautiful ocean,... a place called Futami. And it is there, the couple wish to marry and to forget the past, to forget the war, and to live happily every after.

I needed a little google help to find out more information about this road. The website where I got the information also have a video to play so you have hear the song.

http://www.mapitokinawa.com/2013/01/melody-road-futami-nago-city.html

It is amazing how clear it sounds as if it is coming from the radio. We had to turn around and drive over it three times! Such a beautiful song. 

The blue music note marks the beginning

You have to drive 40kph to hear it correctly

The city takes great pride in keeping the road well maintained

View of the ocean next to the road







Since we were already up north we had to stop at our favorite "dump" beach.

It helps to close your eyes?

 Kayden needed to practice some more skipping rocks

Makayla really loved this piece of coral she found. We also collected about 30 shells that actually look like a rock almost. They are very neat. I feel like they should be used for currency. They are fun to keep in your pocket lol

 I thought this was a good picture. The rocks looks like shark fins

I guess I didn't take any pictures of McKinley, but this was her special find at the beach