Now in regards to this specific post, I'm going to finally finish my Okinawa writeup (part 2). In Part 1 I talked about the first few days of my trip to Okinawa in which I went to the famous Churaumi Aquarium and had a beach day at the tiny Minna Jima island. Now, I'll detail the next few days of my trip including my experience in Naha City, scuba diving, and Shuri Castle.
Naha City
After the beach day we had to grab a bus back to Naha City, which would be our base for the second half of our trip. Traffic was terrible, and we didn't arrive until a bit late into the evening. Still, we wanted to check out the main street, Kokusai-dōri, and get something to eat before settling in.
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| Kokusai Street is a lively strip of shops, restaurants, and bars |
Scuba Diving
The next day Patrick and I did a full-day scuba trip with a company called Dive Shop Blue Field. Since neither of us were certified, we elected to a beginner's course called "discover scuba." Previously I had done scuba diving, but it was Pat's very first time. I was really happy with the company, as they took care of everything for us, including pick-up from our hotel and drop-off at the end of the day. We left early in the morning and returned by evening, and the entire thing cost us around 16,000 yen ($160).
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| On Blue Field's boat going to our first dive spot |
It took a while to get the company's dive shop, but once there the boat was quickly loaded up with all gear and we were on our way. There were about a dozen other people with us on the boat, but Pat and I were the only foreigners so a bilingual scuba instructor stayed with us for the whole day. Initially, we had planned to go around the Kerama Islands, a really beautiful area for scuba diving, we heard. Unfortunately, bad weather prevented us from going there and instead we explored three different spots around the main island.
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| Scuba Diving near Zanpa-zaki |
Both Pat and I really enjoyed our scuba experience. The first dive went well. Despite the cloudy day and relatively few fish swimming around, it was good to get in the water and get used to doing scuba again after so many years. Pat had no problems during his first dive ever, but the instructor stayed very close to him the whole time while giving me a little more freedom. The only bad luck I had was during the safety briefing after we first jumped in--I accidentally swallowed a mouthful of seawater which later made me feel nauseous. As a result, when we got to the second dive spot I elected to chill out on boat for a while while Pat and the instructor just did some snorkeling. Quickly, it was lunch time so we all headed back to the dive shop to eat. An hour later, we jumped back on the boat and went to the third dive spot. We were thrilled to see the boat approaching Zanpa Coast, because it's one of the places we wanted to see on our trip but thought there would be no time during the trip to do so. Lucky us! By this time I felt fine to dive again, so we all hopped in the water and swam down to the coral and fish. There were many interesting things to see down there, lots of valleys, crevices, neat rock formations, and of course, colorful fish of all shapes and sizes.
After finishing the dive, we showered and changed clothes on the boat, and then returned once again to the dive shop. From there, the staff drove us back to the hotel and our scuba diving day had come to an end. We were exhausted, yet we made sure to eat a full slate of local Okinawan food (if I have time, I will update this aspect later with details!)
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| Streets of Naha City |
Shuri Castle
The following day we took a short train ride to Shuri Castle (Shuri-jō, 首里城). The weather was lousy, grey and rainy. It wasn't a big deal for us though, and there was much to see inside the castle anyway.
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| Shuri Castle, Okinawa |
The castle was built in the 14th century and was the palace of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, which ruled the area of islands called the Ryukyu's from the 14th to 19th century. The area consists of a number of Japanese islands spreading from Kyushu to Taiwan, with Okinawa being the largest. For over 400 years, it was the central point for trade, politics, and culture in the region. In the late 1800's, Japan seized the Ryūkyū Kingdom and took control of the castle. The Japanese military used the site for its headquarters for some time during World War II, then later established the University of the Ryūkyūs in its place for several decades. In the 1990s the main building of the castle and the Shureimon Gate we reconstructed and today it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Here are a few pictures of the castle and surrounding area. One of the really interesting aspects of the Shuri Castle is the Chinese influences that can be seen.
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| The Throne Room |
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| Just outside the main castle building |
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| Shureimon Gate - and another thumbs up for Okinawa! |
Outside the Castle Grounds
Besides the castle and the castle grounds, Pat and I walked around for awhile and enjoyed the surroundings.
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| At a pond near the castle |
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| Came across this cute scene in a tunnel near the pond |
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| Okinawan statues called Shisa can be found everywhere |
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| Okinawa is also full of many beautiful flowers, even tiny ones like this
After our day at Shuri Castle and exploring the area, our Okinawa trip had just about come to a close. We enjoyed many great places and fun activities, and I hope to go back again someday (hopefully when the weather is better, too).
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