Futami jowa is a famous folk song written in 1945 at the close of World War II.  An Okinawan couple had to vacate their home shortly before the end of the war and eventually settled in Futami.  They decided to write a song about their new home and dreams of their life together   The song was completed in November of 1945.

“Futami jowa” is a love song that is normally  sung as a duet by a man and woman.  The song  starts out describing the beauty of Futami which is located near mountains and Oura-wan bay. The couple sing of their love for each other, the hardships of war,  and how they hope to never be apart again.

Decades later, the idea was conceived to create a road in Futami that played “Futami jowa”.   Road grooves were carefully created to make it possible for the sound they emit to play the song, and are embedded in 340 meters of the road.  In November of 2012, there was a ribbon cutting ceremony and Melody Lane was opened to the public.

Melody Road is on a back road by the Oura-wan bay.  A huge blue treble clef marks the spot where the song begins.  To get the song to sound right, a car should travel at 40 kilometers per hour – kph, which is very difficult to keep steady if you don’t have cruise control.  We must have gone back and forth about 8 times on the road just to get the car to travel at consistently at 40 kph, but also because it was neat and we wanted to keep listening to it. It is truly a unique experience to hear a love song played by a traveling car!