The flight there was two hours long (it's quicker to fly to South Korea!). There was a video camera in the cockpit, so we could watch the tarmac underneath us whiz by as we took off and see it come closer and closer as we landed. I can't imagine what nervous flyers think of that! The airport in Naha City was beautifully decorated with lots of orchids, including a Christmas tree made from orchids.
We went for our first dinner and decided to try the local specialty, goya. Goya is a very bitter gourd that is supposed to be very healthy. It's often cooked into a stir fry with spam and eggs. I thought it was just OK, but Karen loved it and made it her mission to eat goya everyday we were there!
We stayed all nine nights at the same hotel, which was quite nice and included breakfast. Breakfast was unusual... eggs, toast, yogurt, and bacon and sausage, as well as french fries, spaghetti, salad, rice, miso soup, fish, and goya. And except for how the eggs were cooked, it was the same menu every day. Luckily it was a buffet so we were able to pick and choose.
For our first sightseeing extraganza, we went to Shuri-jo, a Ryukyun castle. It was reconstructed after WWII but was originally built about 500 years ago. It was particularly interesting to us because it is more Chinese-style rather than Japanese (whatever that means, right? Well, there were lots more dragons, and it was red.)
In front of the castle is Shurei-no-mon which is pictured on the elusive 2000 yen note. I had never actually seen the 2000 yen bill but by chance got one while in Okinawa!
Onward then we went to Nakagusuku-jo (castle ruins) which was built in the 15th century. We felt as if we were in Scotland - lots of green fields, stone ruins, and dreary skies.
After that, we walked and walked and walked trying to find Nakamura-ke, a villa built in the traditional Ryukyun style. While we finally did find it, on the way we discovered these turtle-back tombs. The shape is really interesting, but what was more interesting was that a golf course had been built around them!
Nakamura-ke was interesting, but by then we were fairly worn out. We admired this shi-sa, a traditional gargoyle type creature (actually a lion-dog). They are often seen in pairs, one with its mouth open to scare off evil spirits, and one with its mouth closed to keep the good spirits in. This one was alone though on the roof Nakamura-ke.
And that was all in the first day! Poor Karen, I should have warned her! She was a trooper - I just had to keep reminding her what good shape we'd be in by the end of our trip!!
Blogging about this trip is more time-consuming than I thought! I'll post more about our trip tomorrow - considering I have all day tomorrow at school to write, while the students take their exams.
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