CAPE HIGASHI HENNA -- MIYAKO ISLAND, OKINAWA stock photo

For those not familiar with this spot, perhaps a quick look at the ALL SIZES function will give you a better idea of the place. In Japanese, it is called Higashi Henna Zaki. It is a narrow finger of coral highlands over a mile in length, protruding from the island like a natural pier into the Philippine Sea, surrounded by multi-hued blue reefs and pools. There is a lighthouse at the tip that you may climb, and see amazing vistas all around. The road out to the lighthouse is also part of the cycling course during Japan's annual STRONGMAN TRIATHLON held on Miyako Island every spring. Go to www.miyako-net.ne.jp/~strong-e/ and click on Race Photos 2009 for a nice flickr set ! A fishing port is accessible by car. If you look closely, you will see it nestled amongst the boulders below and to the left of the lighthouse. Thankfully, it was built as unobtrusively as possible to preserve the view. It is one of my favorite places to take photos while hopping around the Okinawa island chain. The tidal flats and long pools strung together like a placid river at the base of the cliff is a great spot for floating in a snorkeler's dream. Critiquing my own photo, a longer focal length would have brought the lighthouse closer for a more dramatic view. However, you are seeing it here in a perspective that is closer to reality. I've posted a couple of other photos to give you an idea of the size of the scattered boulders strewn across the tidal flats. Here one of them : www.flickr.com/photos/24443965@N08/4955645139/in/photostr... Another flickr member caught the same view on a hazy day, from further back up the cliff, where the government installed railing to keep people from falling off. The railing was not there in the days when I first shot commercial 3-D images. In this photo, you can get an even better feel of the long, finger-like land form.... almost like a huge rock pier jutting straight out to sea : www.flickr.com/photos/kabochazuki/915874206/ As already mentioned, all of the beautiful sea to the EAST of the Okinawa Island Chain is called THE PHILIPPINE SEA. This nautical and hydrological fact is quite bothersome to many patriotic Japanese map makers, who prefer to leave the designation off many of their tourist maps and sea charts, skipping directly to the larger nautical address of the Pacific Ocean. However, since I also love the Philippines, I make sure to emphasize to the Japanese tourists I sometimes guide around that this is the Philippine Sea --- much to their "shock and awe". ;-) On the other hand, the Japanese seem to have no problem with correctly calling the waters to the WEST The East China Sea. Go figure. FOR YOU SCIENTIFICALLY MINDED FLICKEROOS : An explanation of how those rocks on the tidal flats got there, SEE : cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=22391076 * * * RANDOM SOBA : www.flickriver.com/photos/24443965@N08/random/