Naha, Okinawa

Back in Japan today at their lowest island which is along way south of the main Japanese islands. This island formed an important sea trading port during the early days of both European sailing mid 1500s onwards and also for the local countries of the time. The population is over 300,000 and it was flattened in WW11 when the allies drove upwards towards Japan. Apparently there are still US defence bases stationed at various places around the island. Okinawa is a nice island and very Japanese - by that I mean, after leaving China, order is back everywhere, nice roads, extra clean taxis, less traffic and hassle. We visited the Shurijo Castle, which belonged to the Ryukyu kings from 1400s to 1800 (Okinawa didn't become part of the Japanese empire for a very long time). The castle was a very good example of Japanese buildings of the time even though it was a full reconstruction was necessary after the war when it was flattened. I liked it because it wasn’t as big as the other castles we had seen so far , therefore it was easier to get around and see it. The castle garden had some really well presented bonsais. It rained so much today and the humidity was up. The main shopping street was like a very long shopping street of shops. There were school kids everywhere at both the castle and in the main street of town. We walked down International Street, which is like an normal street style shopping centre, and the girls did some shopping. We left the port just after lunch.
During the afternoon, the captain informed us that due to a chance of poor weather at Taiwan caused from typhoon Lupit sweeping up into that area, that on safety grounds, we could steer around it and head straight on for Hong Kong.

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Part of trip: Asia

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