"Cruising is the tapas of Travelling" - why so?
A lot of the cruise itinerary allows passengers to have a taste of the exotic places with excursion options. Some say cruise will bring you to places that are not easily connected. This time round, we get to discover and explore Okinawa on day 2 of the cruise.
The total hours we had were about 7-8 hours. Hence, I went and researched and we went on this itinerary: Former Japan Navy Underground Headquarter-Kokusai Street-Shurijo Castle.
Wayne is so happy with the vending machine and the first thing he bought was Coca-cola of course!
We disembarked at Okinawa Harbour about 1pm. Okinawa is an island situated on the north part of Japan and it's not connected to the common Japan cities like Tokyo or Kyoto. This town is famous for its longevity culture where the average age one may live is more than 80 years old, way beyond a lot of countries. The reason for it is due to its eating culture.
The local traffic cum police man - he is very old, yet helpful. With the limited language we speak, he get us 4 cabs to the next destination
As we had limited time offshore, we moved around with taxi ride. In fact, we were a bunch of 15 pax and we quoted for a coach rental prior to the trip. With the assistance from Google map, we figured out that taxi ride is the most cost effective traveling mode for such semi large group.
The tunnel heading down to the operation sites of the former Japanese Navy HQ
Our first stop was the navy HQ. It's part of the itinerary as it's history, as well as Wayne's favourite. The entrance ticket was 440 yen per adult and we spent about 1 hour here. It's a pretty small tour, but you will get to explore how did the Japanese operated during war time.
This was the meeting room for important strategy discussion by the generals
Grandpa and his grandchild maneuvering in the underground site with the stroller provided by the attraction. The floor was wet and slippery though, for kids
There were images illustrating the situation or conditions during war time. This is the secret passage for them to either escape or return to the HQ
An operation map of the war period
The view from the hill top where the underground navy HQ is located - this is Okinawa!
Next, we head to Kokusai Street, the must go places of interest of Okinawa. It's a shopping street ad you could find literally anything and everything here. The walk from one end to another, window shopping kind, would take approximately half an hour. But if you are the kind that like to shop, I would suggest you spend 3-4 hours here.
The typical view of Okinawa street
hmm, what's the little one thinking that time?
For sure, the daddy also gets one shot as check-in!
We heard about Japan full of unique items and it's true when we wondered around Kokusai Street - the shopping street of Okinawa. It's one of the attractions in Okinawa. The items offered here are all in Japanese of course, but the variety of it, it's eye opening for sure!
The little one quickly got into the shopping mode especially when the decoration or display booths are so attempting...
So, the highlight is not that guy, it's the huge hot dog looking item on the right - it's one of the local product, layer cake. We tasted it and it was a bit sweet for us. The price is a bomb too!
For those who enjoys toy claw machine, there are quite a few of them along the street
Oh, grandma wants a picture with me!
When we speak about the food, guess you are thinking about the usual sushi and sashimi. However, surprisingly, this trip we barely seen sushi and sashimi, but we did saw a lot of seafood, pork and beef. Again, not the common Japan I guess.
The display of a restaurant - tempting kan?
Familiar brand - McD. We tried the unique flavor of Ginger Pork - oh, yummy, for real!!
The arch to the Shurijo area
Our family shot and our couple shot - the little one enjoyed climbing the stairs
This area is known as one of the world heritage sites. To be exact, the Gusuka Sites and related properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu were listed under the firms of UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 2 December 2000. Imagine the historical value in this tourist attraction - amazing...
So, where are we a?
The gate to Shurijo castle
There is also the interactive map where traveller could try to locate all stamps while they explore the area
As we were rushing, we didn't go for the paid tour. But trust me, the images taken at the outer ring area are good enough to give you the instagrammable moments.
My personal take on Okinawa will be that it's a semi small town with rich culture. Wouldn't mind to spend more time here in this part of Japan, but choosing the correct season. The weather was killing us! FYI, the weather was hot, like 38 degree celcius and all of us sweat till our undergarment all wet.
The view where we oversees Okinawa - from Shurijo Castle observation area
In terms of tourist friendly, it's challenging as they don't speak English. It's especially tough when we tried to get into taxi to next destination. The drivers can't speak minimal English and understand little gestures. We were thankful for one of the group member that she could speak basic Japanese.
The guard prior to entering the area
Family friendly, emm, not too bad. The roads are steady and flat, good for stroller and high heels. However, you can't see any changing room for babies nor baby seats available in restaurants. Public transport like taxi rides are a pleasant one as the cars are clean.
Somehow, I quite like this picture - the Japan post box
Pricing wise, we were taking 100 yen as RM4 as guideline. Overall, the items are not cheap, apart from local cosmetic products. A lot of the items priced above 100 yen to 800 yen.
One of the structures outside of Shurijo castle
Food wise, Japan gave me the impression of sushi and sashimi, aka raw food. Why I earlier mentioned that I might consider returning to this country as the main food is pork or beef, very minimum sushi or sashimi. This suits best to my sensitive tummy, also for the little one too.