Before Okinawa, there was Ryukyu, an independent kingdom ruled by its kings. In 1609, Ryukyu was invaded by Satsuma Han forces and incorporated into mainland Japan's Tokugawa Era "bakuhan" feudal regime. During the Pacific War, the people of Okinawa were engulfed in the war's only land battle on Japanese territory. After the war, America retained control of Okinawa until 1972 when sovereignty reverted to Japan.
Our tour today is "Naha Highlights". Because we have to go through immigration and temperature checks, we were called to the theater by groups. So because of this, the tour left latter than expected.
Once we passed through immigration, we were on our way. The day was cool but at least the sun was shinning. This is the city of Naha from the ship.
Our first stop was to the Shurijo Castle. It is thought that it was built in the 14th century. It was reduced to ashes in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. It was restored in 1992. The Castle is painted in brilliant vermilion, represented the rebirth of the history and culture of the Ryukyu Kingdom and is said to be the symbol of Okinawa.
As you visit the Castle, you pass through at least 5 different gates. This is one of the gates.
The outside of the Castle. It is not a castle like the castles in Europe.
The view from the grounds of the Castle.
The front of the Castle. The day we visited there were many school children also visiting. Notice that the wear their uniforms even though it was a Sunday when we visited. They must wear the uniforms on all school trips.
The girls hamming it up for us. Most of the children do not speak much English. English is taught in the schools now but only one class per week. In the past it was not taught at all.
No pictures were allowed inside the Castle until this room. All the rooms we saw were empty of furniture except for this room. We think this was the throne for the king. We had to take our shoes off as we walked about the Castle.
As we left the Castle, we watched a show. This is the band that played while the lady danced. Danced is really a push as it is slow, slow, slow. Sort of like watching grass grow.
This is the dancer.
As we were walking toward the parking garage, we found these roots. Pretty impressive.
The next stop was to Kokusai-dori Street. This street is closed to traffic until 6pm. And it is a shopping street. Most of the stuff for sale is junk. But along the way we did find a McDonald's where we got a coffee for Bob and a coke for me plus we shared some fried. As no one speaks much or any English, you point to what you want on a mat. If you can see the prices, one dollar is equal to 100 Yen.
This is the shopping street. It is nice that you can walk around and not worry about traffic.
We got back on the bus and returned to the ship. As we got back late, we dressed for dinner and forgot the cocktail and headed right to Compass Rose where we had a nice table for two.
Back to the suite and bed. While in Japan waters, we do not have internet access. Sorry I am late with this but as you know, on sea days the internet is so slow. So I have to wait until most of the passengers are off the ship to upload the pictures.
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