The Giant Lizard of Nago

I’m currently on a highway bus heading back to Naha from Nago, and I finally have some free time to post an update. I’ll catch up soon with the places I’ve been to over the past several days, but for now, this quick update will have to do.

Last time, I wrote about the geckos occupying the house I stayed in, so it’s only natural to continue along that theme. Yesterday, while walking near the Nago Jujiro intersection, I suddenly spotted a massive green lizard—tokage as they are called—climbing up a building. Definitely not something you see every day. Before you panic, no, it’s not real; it’s just a highly realistic sculpture that looks quite impressive, even from afar. The turquoise color of the building makes it stand out even more.

Apparently, this lizard has been a local landmark for over 20 years. The building it clings to is a commercial complex called Nago Plaza. The sculpture represents the Okinawan tree lizard, about seven meters in length (the sculpture itself, not the real guy). According to the owner of Nago Plaza, Nago City is the gateway to the Yanbaru region, and the sculpture was installed so that people would recognize the tree lizard—common in Yanbaru—and feel they had truly arrived in the north.