When I participated in Harii (dragon boat racing) years ago, we were practicing at Tomari Port in Naha City, and I noticed an unusual cemetery across the street. I discovered that tucked in-between a convenience store, a school, and the busy Tomari Port, is a 1/4 acre of peaceful land that has been set aside as a final resting place for foreigners. This historical site was designated a Cultural Asset of Naha City in 1987, and includes the tombs of people from several different foreign countries, including some Americans who were with Commodore Perry on his visits to the island in the mid-1800’s (for more info about Perry, check out the geocache GC4YD35).
This is a very unique cemetery compared to traditional Okinawan burial sites, and is fascinating to walk through the sacred grounds finding tombs that date back many years ago. It is said that the earliest tombs date back to 1718 and 1785, but I was unable to locate those specific stones. Many of the stones have become eroded due to time and weather, and therefore unreadable.
In order to log this virtual cache, please visit the site and find the stone that is marked with the following information: 1. What year was the cemetery rebuilt? 2. Why was the cemetery rebuilt? 3. What organization helped the City of Naha with the rebuilding? The stone with this information isn't a plaque...it's an actual stone near a wall.
Once you find the stone with those answers, post a pic of it with yourself or your GPS and attach it to your log. No need to send the answers, just the pic will do! A LOT OF CACHERS ARE POSTING PICS OF A PLAQUE--THIS IS NOT THE CORRECT STONE! Please read the description fully before posting the wrong picture.
Also, if anyone finds the oldest tombs from the 1700’s, I would love to know where they are located. The oldest tomb I could find was 1843. I couldn't find anywhere there are visiting hours listed, but usually cemeteries are dusk to dawn, so please enjoy this virtual during daylight hours. The front gate is always closed, but not locked. You are welcome to open and enter; just please close it when you leave. Enjoy!
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.