Location: for DOD who have access to Foster, this area is behind the barracks near Gate 3 (currently under construction). It is the forested area south of the gate, between the 130 and the road that goes to the Movie Theater/Tsunami Scuba.
There is a grass clearing visible from the road that heads up the hill to the Movie Theater/Exchange/Tsunami complex. We had to wonder why this area was important enough for the contractors to mow every couple of weeks. Turns out it is a natural spring which was important for the town and farms that existed on this site prior to the war. The following article was written in 1999, prior to the renovation of the area. http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=4287. On page 66 of the PDF file (page 59 of the report) the military discusses the renovation of the area: http://www.fws.gov/Endangered/pdfs/DoD/Tech_Notes.pdf.
The spring now babbles out into a 3-sided stone bath-like structure. The spring site has spiritual significance to Okinawans and was a site of village rituals. The spring then empties into the paddock and meets another creek which comes from higher up the mountain. The water is quite clear and clean. Up the hill towards the barracks, there is a row of trees on what feels like an old village road. On the other hill, there are cave tombs and more foliage. The whole place is quite pretty and tranquil, and would make a nice spot for a picnic. As you walk through the area, you get a sense of how difficult it must be for Okinawans with ancestral claims to these lands to allow them to sit inside fences, inaccessible.
