CONTRIBUTED BY DASHA GARIEPY
If you've done any driving lately on 84 heading towards Ocean Expo Park, you may have noticed signs reading "Beach Rock Village". I started noticing them about a month ago, and wondered what the heck it was.
It just so happens that Kelly and Joelle surprised the Okinawa Hai editors with a "mystery lunch" last week. Guess where? 
)
What a surprise Beach Rock Village turned out to be! Think "Bohemian Gypsy" - it's part cafe/restaurant, part camp ground, part playground and part nature experience that has an American 60's psychedelic hippie edge with a Peace Corps feel.
It's staff includes college age international volunteers, and the entire site is a mish-mash of cultures and art - as if everyone who's ever visited left a bit of themselves behind in an artistic footprint. Take this unusual door for example:
or these groovy lilly pad steps (left) or the inlaid tile on the ladder (right).
However, there's so much more than the unique decor. Beach Rock Village has something for everyone. The playful among you (like "Tara of the Jungle") can hop on a Goliath-sized swing to swoop over the tree tops:
Or if you're really daring, like Pamela here, you can forgo sitting on the swing all together and dangle from the ropes instead! Just make sure you're not wearing a skirt or the whole camp might see your nickers! 
If swinging's not your thing, you can follow Kandy's example and climb to the top of an outrageously high tree house that sports an acrylic floor:
Hungry? Then head over to the central area and choose a seat at either a table in the tree house:
or a pillow in the tent:
There are also open air picnic tables, and even tables on top of one of the buildings! This place is all about freedom of choice - including what you eat.
Among other things, the menu includes curry (too spicy for my wimpy taste buds):
a super tasty Taco Rice and Cheese:
and several types of pizza.
Yes, friends, it's as delicious as it looks. A word of caution, though: be prepared for a loooooong wait for your food. It takes forever to serve, but it's well worth the wait. Plus you'll be completely entertained by the cook staff who sing along at the top of their lungs to some crazy-loud music. I'm telling you, this place is interesting!
If you need more than than afternoon to take it all in, then feel free to spend a night (or two or three) in one of Beach Rock's unique sleeping accommodations. For various prices you can choose to sleep in either a cottage:
or a Tepee (Larissa likes this one!):
or a yurt.
A what?
(A yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia.) This was a total Harry Potter moment - the outside of these things are raggedy and pathetic. But open the door and woah!
As if by magic, the inside is enormous and clean. Puts me in the mind of "Arabian Nights"... one only needs some scarves and a carpet to be transported to another world.
Speaking of transportation, if you get tired of walking around, you can hire a horse on site:
I'm telling you, this place has it all. Unfortuantely we didn't have time to see it all the day we went. We missed seeing the waterfalls. Or the river. Or the beach. And, believe it or not, the map we were given says that there is an ELEPHANT on the premesis. An elephant in Okinawa? I guess it's no stranger than eating pizza in a yurt!
For more information (cafe times, prices, etc,) visit the Official Beach Rock Village Page (google translation)
What others are saying about Beach Rock Village:
DIRECTIONS: Beach Rock Village is located in Nakijin, on the Okinawa northwest side. Take the Expressway to Kyoda, then Highway 58 to Nago. Once through the city, turn onto Highway 84 headed toward Ocean Expo Park. Take a right Route 72 (toward Nakijin) passing through Kogayama Tunnel. Just before a second tunnel, Otoa Tunnel, look for the sign pointing right to Beach Rock Village. The telephone number to Beach Rock Village is 0980-56-1126.
Great post Dasha! I am half Okinawan and sometimes I think I know everything about this island but I didn’t know about this place! I can’t wait to visit it
Funny you should say that Vanessa, I mentioned it to a friend last weekend who is also half-Okinawan and who has been living here for the past 12 years, and she had never heard of it either. Her friend who was with us, and who is married to an Okinawan woman, had also never heard of it. Surprising how many little hideaway gems there are on this beautiful island!
That place looks amazing!
One word, “Amazing”.
I’d love to check this place out one day soon, get a group of open-minded galpals together and spend a whole day just discovering… away from the everyday norm, just pretending we’re just mini- charles darwins of our time, seeing the world differntly..lol…yes this place will be put onto my list of things to do here;) Thanks ladies!
(Lookin’ good, adventurer Tara – that looks FUN!!!)
I wanna go! Great post – this looks fantastic. I may not come home.
I agree Jannine, there are many little hideaway gems on this island! It never ceases to amaze me. I highly recommend to take the ferry in Naha and visit the neighbor islands, Tokashiki or Aka, amazing places with nice beaches!
OHmygosh – this place looks SO cool. Desperately wish/hope/a girl can dream that I can find a way to get before I move in 2 weeks.
The pics are great.
Editor’s Note: I totally forgot to mention that by night, Beach Rock ROCK’S! There is a stage for live music performances, and an extremely well-stocked bar!
I am so there! I like what the guy’s blog says about it – “like disneyland for hippies.”
Great post Sis. Looks like an awesome place. Maybe next time you go you’ll get the see the elephant.
Fun to relive our adventure!!! I’m so glad I skipped the swing and enjoyed the curry!!!
Did they take credit cards, or yen only?
They only took Yen – no credit cards. AND (I don’t think Dasha knew this because she was off swinging like Tarzan while those of us who were pregnant or had toddlers with us ordered the food), you might want to get there early. Because it’s a small establishment, they only have so many of each dish pre-made and available. We ordered the last three pizzas (one of each kind, all of which were YUM); the group of Japanese tourists who came in behind us had to “settle” for the other yummy dishes instead.
We spent Monday night in a yurt (they call it a tipa).
I was a little hesitant based on the cost, but it was well worth it considering the meals. Check in time is at 3, but we went early to explore and have lunch. Lunch was good, but not nearly as good as dinner or breakfast. When you are an overnight guest in a private room, you are served these meals in the cottage (tent dwellers are served in their camp). We were the only guests, so we had private, home cooked, fresh meals. Dinner was a clear broth soup with potato and green onions, brown rice, a macaroni type salad, and a vegetable stir fry. Breakfast was miso soup, brown rice, a green onion stir fry, some sort of egg dish, and a stringy noodley vegetable dish. Amazing.
The beach is NOT close to the village. Their beach area is private, you need to call ahead to make reservations. For some reason it was closed while we were there, but the staff drove us to the closest public beach (it was about 30 min). You can arrange to pay to sleep on their beach in a large tent too.
The tipa was quite comfortable, especially with the current weather- we were lucky with a clear cool day and night. There was plenty of room inside for us to set up a pack and play. I didn’t anticipate how close the tipa was to the bar… bring ear plugs if you plan on retiring before 1am or so!!
Thank you so much for posting about this wonderful place. We had an amazing time and will definitely be back! Consider staying overnight to get the most out of your trip.
My husband and I just checked this place out last weekend. The two tipis and the two tipas (yurt) were already booked, so we paid 690 yen each to sleep in a provided tent and sleeping bag. That price includes dinner and breakfast, which you eat with the staff when you stay in the tents. The food was amazing, and in Okinawan style, breakfast was the leftover dinner which you mix together in a bowl and crack a raw egg over. By the way, you do your own dishes when you stay in the tent! We didn’t find the swings, though, so they might have been removed since last year. It was a great time!
This place looks amazing… but I am a little confused and would like some more info. for those that can share? We have 3 boys ages 13, 10 & 8, is this place where they can go and have fun with us? Can we just go for the day and eat or is the ‘idea’ to stay the night? I noticed some rates included food and a nights stay… so is there a separate menu for those staying and those just eating? If we do stay the night, can the kids stay and how do we make a reservation? Sorry lots of questions, it’s just quite a hike up there and I want to have an idea what I am doing before hand
My family and I saw these wonderful pictures and post and thought what the hay why not check it out. Well, needless to say we didn’t quite make it all the way down to this cozy little gem in the ruff. The road was VERY small, tight, and pretty scary because of this. Is there a different entrance or way of getting there. I’d love to go and enjoy it espeically if it doesn’t look as rundown as it’s road.
@Sky – the road is pretty narrow and scary. It stays that way all the way to the end. I don’t know of any other way to get in… Sorry you didn’t make it. It’s quite the “rough diamond”!
Thanks Joelle, we’re going to try again in my husband’s car next time when the weather is a bit warmer. I’m determined to go here and spend a weekend. It just seems relaxing a beautiful. My family is into the camping thing. So here’s hoping to good luck for next time.
My husband, 2 children and I decided to take a trip to this diamond in the rough and planned to spend the night in hippie land relaxing. Needless to say it was nothing like described above. As described above, the road leading to “yurt-land” is very narrow and dangerous. Once we arrived in the area, we found a building labeled “office”, so we went in to get some information as to where we would be staying as well as a lay out of the land. The clerk said to keep going to the parking area and then proceed by foot to the cafe where we could have some tea. We did as instructed, and were very glad we did. Once we reached the café, we asked to take a look around and from there went to the sleeping areas. The Tepees and Yurts looked as though they had not been taken care of. We did not look inside, as we quickly decided we were not going to stay. We did however walk a little further to the tent area where we were greeted with a swarm of giant flies and barking dogs. The dogs were just outside the tents, which were crammed together under make-shift coverings, and anytime we moved they barked. I can only imagine trying to sleep through the night with them barking 5 feet outside my tent. Perhaps the volunteers are on vacation and enjoying some time to themselves, but this place was not taken care of at all. Judging by the pictures above, at one time this place was nice, now the Tepee’s and Yurt’s look filthy and are falling apart, and now resembles a last stop before homelessness. Luckily, as we were leaving, we caught another couple and their children arriving and we warned them of the facilities and grounds. They said they had made reservations, I hope they didn’t have to pay anything. Oh, and my daughter wanted me to say there are no horses to ride.
My husband and I trekked up this way for a night this weekend. It has been a few years since this article was written, and yes, a few things have changed. However, keep in mind that this is primarily a CAMP SITE. If you go expecting otherwise, you will be disappointed. We stayed in a Tipi at a rate of 4000Y per person, which included dinner and breakfast. While they looked a little worn on the outside, the Tipi was very clean inside, and came with futon mats, comforters, and towels, all clean and fresh. The food was great, but lighter than typical American cuisine, no meat, primarily fresh veggies grown on the premises, brown rice, soup, and tea. The pizzas, curry, and taco rice in the article were available at lunch time in the cafe tent at an additional charge. We went during the off season, so we were really the only guests there. A few notes… many of the staff we interacted with spoke little or no English, so go prepared. Everyone was friendly and helpful and worked with our limited Japanese. After dinner, the cafe turns into a bar. Music was playing and people were out drinking and talking until about 3 in the morning. The bar and the tipis are directly next to each, so it was a little noisy. The dogs mentioned above are indeed in a pen directly across from the tent area. However, we did not hear them at all at night, so they either were taken elsewhere or settled down. From what we understood, the horseback riding is offered as a day trip, as well as river trekking and a trip to the beach. Overall, we had a great weekend. It was relaxing and laid back, the food was good, and the accommodations were comfortable and clean for camping. I wouldn’t necessarily say this was the greatest place for children, due to limited things to do during the day (unless you arranged a day trip with the staff) and the noisy night time atmosphere. If you are looking for a night or two off the beaten path in a beautiful place, go for it. Keep an open mind, and you will have a great experience.