Okinawa

Saying goodbye to new friends is always tough.

Departing Akajima in the early morning, me and a few other guests made our way to the ferry. On the way to the ferry, I made friends with a local that had spent time in Edmonton. He kindly offered to give me a ride from the ferry port to my hotel when we docked.

A short 50 minute ride later, I was back in Okinawa. Naha, to be specific.

I ended up being chauffeured around by Shinjo and his lovely wife from the ferry to my hotel, to lunch (wouldn't let me pay!) and on to the castle. I felt an odd mix of grateful, humbled, and kidnapped by kindness.

Convincing them I was more than comfortable taking a bus or monorail by myself, they dropped me off in front of the castle.

Shurijo castle functioned as the central structure of the Ryukyu kingdom over a period of approximately 500 years. Due to the unique history of Okanella standing as its own kingdom and interacting frequently with China, the castle itself is bright red and features many golden dragons in a combination of Japanese and Chinese styles.

The main attraction in the interior of the castle is the king's throne room. Called the Usasuka, the king sat on his resplendent throne here and presided over the political and ceremonial activities of the kingdom.

The pillars had recently been beautifully restored by hand.

A highlight of my trek to the castle was definitely a demonstration of Ryukyu dance. The Ryukyu court coordinated the dances and performances primarily to entertain envoys from China. The dance magistrate was tasked with instructing and supervising the performers were involved in production.

I happen to be in attendance on a day when they were accompanied by live classic chamber music on traditional instruments.

Taking a seat right by the stage I settled in for the first dance. The first dance is a celebratory dance performed on the main island of Okinawa as well as outlying islands and was commonly the first test performed for the king.

Next up was a dance called Zei. It was a powerful dance that used strong steps and hand movements. This dance was a tool used to during the period of Civil War Japan by the military commanders to control and signal on the battlefield.

Next was a dance traditionally performed by teenage boys. It is supposed to capture the exuberance of life, hopes, success, and ideals of young people with a long future ahead of them.

Last was a delightful dance involving a young couple that plays lively adventurous games with one another. The couple is celebrating day-to-day life down by the water when they get swept up in each other's company.

 After the beautiful dancing demonstration, a few of the foreign guests and children in the audience were invited to try their hand at the traditional guitar like instrument. Despite some communication struggles, we learned a few lines of music on the shamisen.

(Awkward self portrait time)

Everywhere I went around the castle, people would introduce themselves or say a friendly hello to me. However, those who know me know that being out in the sun and heat can sometimes make me cranky. Okinawans are very friendly. To the point of annoyance. Or maybe it was just the fact that I had sweat through all my clothes by mid-afternoon and smelled terrible, but I didn't feel like standing in the blazing sun and chatting...

I started the walk back to the monorail by cutting through a little garden park with some noisy residents.

Easily making my way back to the hotel on the incredibly efficient monorail system, I had just enough time to grab a shower and ask for directions to the main tourist street. It had been a long day, so I hung out in the hotel for just a little while hoping to head out when things got a cooler around 7:30 or so. Let me tell you one thing about Naha, it never cools down! Yeah, check out that timestamp at almost 8:30 PM.

Deciding the heat couldn't be helped, I set out for the lively Kokusai-dori Avenue. It's a street lines on both sides by souvenir shops, restaurants, and clothing stores. There were many American and specifically Hawaiian stores along the street.

In an attempt to spend my remaining yet, I went a little hogwild in some of the tourist shops. Sometimes it was hard not to go in out of sheer curiosity.

For my last night in Japan, I decided to go for a sushi train again. However I dillydallied so long in the shops that I think I missed prime time as the selection wasn't nearly as good as the other times we went for sushi.

Again absolutely saturated with moisture and sweat, I headed back to the hotel for my last sleep in Japan before the monorail, plane, boss, taxi, plane, drive home the next day.

I wish I had more time in Okinawa as the beaches were supposed to be absolutely beautiful and the outlying areas full of very interesting attractions. Oh well, I guess that's what next time is for!