Japan Day 19: Okinawa
January 19.
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Today I get to wake up in a hotel and go back to sleep in the same room for only the fourth time, and last time, on this trip. I don't have much on my itinerary for today, so I could go all the way up to the Aquarium if I really wanted to, but that's two hours one way. It's the same with the Peace Memorial to the south, over an hour to get there each way. I'm kind of tired, and there's a few things to do closer to downtown, so I'm going to stick to my plan of laying low and seeing sights.
There's a seaside park behind the hotel called Umisora Park, and that's going to be my first destination. This park is very pretty, showing off views of the Pacific Ocean, and there are so many wild cats here too as well. There's a an area where the public can relax and have a barbecue, but being the winter this all appears to packed up and blocked off. I find this funny though, because it's 62 degrees and beautiful grilling weather, as Okinawa is at about the same longitude as Miami, Florida.
Just down the walk is what Google tells me is an observation deck, and the building is made in a brutalist style of architecture, reminding me of my wonderful home city of Boston and its ugly brutalist buildings. The weird thing about this observation deck is that there's no signage anywhere for it, the only entrance is locked, and what looks like it could have been a storefront appears to have been abandoned for years. This observation tower is apparently the ventilation shaft for a tunnel below, but it's very bizarre to find it closed considering the location.
Walking back into downtown, I made my way over to the mall that has the Pokemon store, and a place that sells Okinawa Soba. Soba on the main islands is made with buckwheat, whereas Okinawa doesn't naturally have buckwheat, they use flour instead, so it's fairly close in texture to ramen noodles, but still unique in it's own way. Pikachu is on an island vacation, and I found some Team Yell merchandise as well.
Following the quick lunch and shopping trip, I hopped on the Monorail to go over to Shurijo Castle, which unfortunately caught fire and burned to the ground last summer. It was most well known for it's bright colors and artwork. Okinawa is equidistant from the Japan main islands, mainland China, and Taiwan, so there's a significant amount of Chinese influence in the artwork. It was largely abandoned before World War 2, and almost completely destroyed in the war, but after decades or restoration work, it caught fire again and all that's left are crumbles. It's truly sad.
Yesterday I briefly visited Kokusai Dori shopping street, so today I decided to actually walk the strip and see what kind of shops and touristy trinkets they had available. It was about 40 minutes walking from the Castle down the hill before I arrived, and there were loads of cool shops selling everything from touristy tchotchkes, to swimsuits, clothing, ice cream, seafood, candy, everything. I found another soba shop that specialized in tebichi soba, or as we'd call it back home: Pork's Feet Soba.
Following late-lunch/early dinner, I went back to the hotel for a bit to recharge my batteries, both for the electronics and my own person, and planned out a walk over to the Onoyama Sports Complex for the evening. Onoyama Park features an indoor building for basketball and gymnastics, an outdoor baseball stadium, an archery range, and tennis courts. There's also playgrounds, a few ponds, shrines, and it's all located along the Kokuba River. Walking through here at night was peaceful and quiet.
Flying back to Tokyo first thing in the morning, the last leg of the trip.
Today I get to wake up in a hotel and go back to sleep in the same room for only the fourth time, and last time, on this trip. I don't have much on my itinerary for today, so I could go all the way up to the Aquarium if I really wanted to, but that's two hours one way. It's the same with the Peace Memorial to the south, over an hour to get there each way. I'm kind of tired, and there's a few things to do closer to downtown, so I'm going to stick to my plan of laying low and seeing sights.
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| More island cats, Okinawa. |
There's a seaside park behind the hotel called Umisora Park, and that's going to be my first destination. This park is very pretty, showing off views of the Pacific Ocean, and there are so many wild cats here too as well. There's a an area where the public can relax and have a barbecue, but being the winter this all appears to packed up and blocked off. I find this funny though, because it's 62 degrees and beautiful grilling weather, as Okinawa is at about the same longitude as Miami, Florida.
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| View out to the Pacific Ocean, Umisora Park, Okinawa. |
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| Lazy island cat, Okinawa. |
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| Playful island kitten, Okinawa. |
Just down the walk is what Google tells me is an observation deck, and the building is made in a brutalist style of architecture, reminding me of my wonderful home city of Boston and its ugly brutalist buildings. The weird thing about this observation deck is that there's no signage anywhere for it, the only entrance is locked, and what looks like it could have been a storefront appears to have been abandoned for years. This observation tower is apparently the ventilation shaft for a tunnel below, but it's very bizarre to find it closed considering the location.
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| Half observation deck, half tunnel ventilation system, Okinawa. |
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| Brutalist Architecture, Okinawa. |
Walking back into downtown, I made my way over to the mall that has the Pokemon store, and a place that sells Okinawa Soba. Soba on the main islands is made with buckwheat, whereas Okinawa doesn't naturally have buckwheat, they use flour instead, so it's fairly close in texture to ramen noodles, but still unique in it's own way. Pikachu is on an island vacation, and I found some Team Yell merchandise as well.
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| Okinawa Soba |
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| Island vacation Pikachu, Pokemon Center Okinawa. |
Following the quick lunch and shopping trip, I hopped on the Monorail to go over to Shurijo Castle, which unfortunately caught fire and burned to the ground last summer. It was most well known for it's bright colors and artwork. Okinawa is equidistant from the Japan main islands, mainland China, and Taiwan, so there's a significant amount of Chinese influence in the artwork. It was largely abandoned before World War 2, and almost completely destroyed in the war, but after decades or restoration work, it caught fire again and all that's left are crumbles. It's truly sad.
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| Tea House, Shurijo Castle, Okinawa. |
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| Main Entrance Gate, Shurijo Castle, Okinawa. |
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| Interior Gate, Shurijo Castle, Okinawa. |
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| Water Dragon, Shurijo Castle, Okinawa. |
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| Shurijo Castle Ruins, Okinawa. |
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| Panorama of Naha City from Shurijo Castle. |
Yesterday I briefly visited Kokusai Dori shopping street, so today I decided to actually walk the strip and see what kind of shops and touristy trinkets they had available. It was about 40 minutes walking from the Castle down the hill before I arrived, and there were loads of cool shops selling everything from touristy tchotchkes, to swimsuits, clothing, ice cream, seafood, candy, everything. I found another soba shop that specialized in tebichi soba, or as we'd call it back home: Pork's Feet Soba.
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| Knock off tee shirts, anyone? Kokusai Dori, Okinawa |
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| Batman, Kokurai Dori, Okinawa. |
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| Big Boy, Kokusai Dori, Okinawa. |
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| Busy shopping day, Kokusai Dori, Okinawa. |
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| Tebichi (Pork Feet) Soba, Okinawa. |
Following late-lunch/early dinner, I went back to the hotel for a bit to recharge my batteries, both for the electronics and my own person, and planned out a walk over to the Onoyama Sports Complex for the evening. Onoyama Park features an indoor building for basketball and gymnastics, an outdoor baseball stadium, an archery range, and tennis courts. There's also playgrounds, a few ponds, shrines, and it's all located along the Kokuba River. Walking through here at night was peaceful and quiet.
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| "Stingray" Arena, Okinawa. |
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| Okinawa Cellular Stadium, Okinawa. |
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| Night kitty, Onoyama Park, Okinawa. |
Flying back to Tokyo first thing in the morning, the last leg of the trip.
January 19 by numbers:
- Photos: 248
- Miles walked: 14
- Steps: 31001
- Total Calories Burned: 4377
- Bowls of Ramen: 0
-Joe
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