#ryukuan

So this is the second part of my trip, I had booked a bus tour online a couple days before coming to Okinawa and I’m glad I did because it was such a good idea. I didn’t know I could see so much in 1 day on this island. Not to mention the scenery was so green and blue.

The first stop on the tour was a Pineapple Park! They had pineapple growing there and you could sample pineapple wine, pastries, ice cream, and eat pineapple on sticks (which was so sweet!). At the park there was also this awesome seashell exhibit that had so many different types of shells I hadn’t seen before. It was actually quite beautiful to see them all.

Next on the tour was Ryugujo Butterfly Park which was really close to the Pineapple park! We got to eat free noodles and wander through the butterfly exhibit. Although there weren’t many different kinds of species of butterfly at the park I thought it was super fun that they had set up these fake flower stands so you could hold them and take pictures without disturbing the butterflies. The butterflies were all so friendly too, they’d fly right up to you and like sit on your hand or hat.

The last part of the trip was Ocean Expo Park which is home to the Churaumi Aquarium one of the most famous aquarium’s in the world. They had this dolphin and diver show that I thought was pretty interest because instead of it just being merely for show the staff taught us a lot about the dolphin’s hearing ability and echolocation. Inside the aquarium there were a bunch of different species of fish (a stark contrast to the Kyoto Aquarium that I visited earlier). There were also many different tanks too. The biggest tank in the center of the aquarium was of course the most amazing. This tank holds 1,981,000 US gallons of water and is home to many different fish but most importantly whale sharks and giant manta rays.

So during the beginning of May I got to go on a trip to Okinawa with my friend! Unfortunately we had to take separate flights so it was kind of nerve racking to book a plane and a shuttle and like make sure I get everywhere on time but I managed somehow.

I used Peach Airlines, which has super cheap flights for domestic Japan trips and also internationally to nearby Asian countries, so my airfare was pretty decent!  

The first day of the trip was mainly me flying to Okinawa and trying to find the Airbnb, it took longer than expected cause my friend was taking a nap so she couldn’t give me proper directions to the place. But she eventually woke up after I messaged her a couple times and described the Airbnb building in better detail. After I settle down at the Airbnb we went out to Kokusai Dori, which is a street that’s filled with shops and restaurants - the perfect tourist trap. We ended up enjoying an all you can eat buffet on the street before heading back home  

The next day we walked all the way to Shuri Castle. In the grounds there were little stamp stops where you could collects stamps on your brochure and read up on the history of the castle while you do it. It was really fun, the only downside was that it took a while to walk to the castle that we didn’t have time to actually go inside. So instead  we walked around the outside (which was still beautiful and had plenty of stuff to see) and watched a Ryukuan dance performance. I took a sanshin class back at University of Hawai’i at Manoa so I was excited to see the dances that go with the music. At the end of the day we went to Mibaru Beach, the water was clear and beautiful! We spent a couple hours there taking pictures and sitting in the water and took a taxi back home.

So during the beginning of May I got to go on a trip to Okinawa with my friend!  Unfortunately we had to take separate flights so it was kind of nerve racking to book a plane and a shuttle and like make sure I get everywhere on time but I managed somehow.

I used Peach Airlines, which has super cheap flights for domestic Japan trips and also internationally to nearby Asian countries, so my airfare was pretty decent!  

The first day of the trip was mainly me flying to Okinawa and trying to find the Airbnb, it took longer than expected cause my friend was taking a nap so she couldn’t give me proper directions to the place. But she eventually woke up after I messaged her a couple times and described the Airbnb building in better detail. After I settle down at the Airbnb we went out to Kokusai Dori, which is a street that’s filled with shops and restaurants - the perfect tourist trap. We ended up enjoying an all you can eat buffet on the street before heading back home  

The next day we walked all the way to Shuri Castle. In the grounds there were little stamp stops where you could collects stamps on your brochure and read up on the history of the castle while you do it. It was really fun, the only downside was that it took a while to walk to the castle that we didn’t have time to actually go inside. So instead  we walked around the outside (which was still beautiful and had plenty of stuff to see) and watched a Ryukuan dance performance. I took a sanshin class back at University of Hawai’i at Manoa so I was excited to see the dances that go with the music. At the end of the day we went to Mibaru Beach, the water was clear and beautiful! We spent a couple hours there taking pictures and sitting in the water and took a taxi back home.