Naha is close to the airport and more than an hour with bus from the hotel and serves as the Okinawa administrative center. During the day here I visited Fukushuen Chinese garden with its koi ponds and Chinese architecture and waterfalls. Afterwards, I stopped at the Nominoue shrine and the beach next to it, but it was not a day for swimming since the rain was coming down and the wind had picked up too.

I instead walked up the Kokusai-dori, the main shopping street, buzzing with tourists, souvenir shops, and restaurants. Okinawa is a strange mixture of American, Hawaiian and Japanese. For instance, the Okinawa ice cream Blue Seal started in America, and also Spam is a huge staple here since it was handed out by American GIs to the Japanese after the war. You also find a lot of Hawaiian t-shirts, and hibiscus flowers. Even the Okinawan beer, Orion, gets its colors from the American flag. What’s particularly Okinawan is the “grape seaweed”, which is really good. It looks like tiny little grapes, and they pop in your mouth like caviar. Also, the purple sweet potato can be found as jam, butter, chips, pretty much anything.

On my way I made a very good friend who jumped into my lap and stayed for a good cuddle.

The Shuri castle is iconic for Naha, but as so many temples, shrines and castles in Japan, it burned down for the n’th time in 2019, and is being rebuilt. The reconstruction work is open to the public.

Before the long bus ride home we had some local protein rich food at a yakiniku restaurant: Showa Style bar Hinode Yakinikuten. Just like Korean style bbq you grill your own food. The owner was good fun, and insisted on a photo which Terry will probably share.