A weekend in Okinawa

I just got back from Okinawa with Asuka yesterday. We left Saturday morning and got back late last night for a pretty fun filled 3 day trip.Okinawa is about a one and a half hour plane ride from Hiroshima and it was still pretty warm in mid-October. It was nice getting back out the shorts and walking around in T-shirts again, as Hiroshima has gotten colder the past few weeks.

On Saturday, we rented a car (with my new license) and drove around the main island of Okinawa. The car rental was really cheap at abour 35 dollars for the day.

We first went to the Himeyuri monument, which was a monument erected in remembrance of 219 female high school students and teachers who supported the Japanese Army as nurses, but were killed during the Battle of Okinawa. It also had a museum that chronicled the history of the Okinawa Women’s Normal School and the First Prefectural Girls High School and various personal stories of the students. After the monument, we had lunch at a traditional Okinawan house and some of the local cusine that Okinawa is known for. Very simliar to a lot of Chinese food, so it was nothing overly surprising. (Picture Below: Inside the converted resturant which use to be a private house)

After visiting the monument we drove to the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum which had a very detailed museum chronicling the conflict and a large park full of various memorials for both the American and Japanese soldiers and civilians who perished. I looked at the American casualties and was surprised to find a solider who died with the last name Wong.

It was quite horrific what occurred on Okinawa, especially to the civilians as 1 in 4 Okinawan’s died during the battle of Okinawa. Personally, I find it hard to visit some of the memorial parks in Japan, as there is always a degree of propaganda and some mix feelings over what occurred during the war. But, nevertheless, the people there suffered greatly and it’s good that there is a place for people to remember them.

After the memorials, we drove back to Naha city, the capital of Okinawa and dropped of our rental car and checked into our hotel. Our hotel was really affordable and and nice. Part of the reason, could be that it was located in a shadier part of the town; but the lobby and the rooms were all really pretty. For dinner, I sort of had another birthday dinner at a popular Maui Steakhouse. Maui Steakhouse

The restaurant was a tad pricey, but the atmosphere and the food was excellent. I ordered a steak and they cook everything right in front of you on a hot plate built into the table. The steak just melted in my mouth, Asuka had lobster which was just just as good. The chef cooks all your food in front of you and even has flair doing it, as they juggle and prepare your food with some showmanship. Overall, it was just a great meal.

The next day Asuka and I got up earlier and went to a beach with a diving and snorkelling company. We had intended to go snorkelling on an uninhabited island , but the winds were to strong, so we ended going to a beach on the southern tip of the island. We wore wetsuits and hit the water for a good 4 to 5 hours snorkelling and swimming with the fishes.It was a blast and some of the most fun I’ve had. I was also able to utilize the snazzy underwater camera I got a few months back and took some great pictures underwater of us feeding the fishes. It was really cool seeing the schools of fishes swim at you and having the fish so close to you. Some of the fish give you a little nip on your finger and it can actually hurts a bit too. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone.

At night we walked around International Street, the main area of Naha and visited a lot of t-shirt shops and tourist shops. It’s a real fun place with a food market and even a place where you can pick any kind of fish you want and have them cook it upstairs at one of the restaurants. I also managed to pick up two t-shirts and Asuka got a cool hat and some earrings.

The next day we visited the Shuri castle, the main residence of the former “Ryukuian” or Okinawan kings. The castle, as with much of Okinawa is rebuilt as the War pretty much destroyed everything on the island. The castle grounds is huge and had lots of gates and various other artefacts from the Okinawan kingdom. The castle looked really nice, as it had just been recently rebuilt. Okinawa is a really interesting place because of its history. The people don’t really look Japanese because they really aren’t, as Okinawa use to be its own nation called the Ryukyu kingdom until it was invaded by Japan. The people are a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Mulay. When you go to Okinawa you really feel the uniqueness of the people and the different customs and traditions they have. It was a real good trip and it was a lot of fun.

Japanese factoid #34 – Okinawa is famous for a few things, for one it was where Karate is thought to have originated. Okinawa is also famous for its own version of “Shochu” called Awamori, which is distilled from rice and not brewed like other forms of Shochu. But one really cool beverage we saw and purchased was Habu Sake. Habu is the name for the 4 species of venomous snakes found in Okinawa. The alcoholic drink contains Habu venom and some bottles even has a dead snake inside.