Here I am, sitting at Stockholm Airport Skycity, waiting for my Norwegian flight to Helsinki. The skycity seating offers great views of the aircraft movements and the runway. I have embarked on my month-long sort of around the world trip, which will take me to Europe and United States.
Before I forget, I want to permanently store my memories in this blog. So let me continue my previous post on the trip to Okinawa.
Before I forget, I want to permanently store my memories in this blog. So let me continue my previous post on the trip to Okinawa.
This is the Le Bilon hotel in Naha that I stayed in for 2 nights. The rooms are on the small side and the view is of a wall. However, the positives include comfortable sleeping pyjamas, toiletries for bathing and showering and the food is quite memorable, especially the Japanese miso soup. The broth is thick and is so much better than what I get in Singapore.
Hotel decorations
As I had only 2 full days in Okinawa, I wanted to visit the two main attractions: Shuri castle and the Aquarium.
The Shuri castle is easy to visit. It is located at the last stop of the yui rail monorail in Naha. However, from the station, it is a 30-minute walk to the castle compound.
This is the main castle compound. Parts of it are under renovation.
A lot of tourists were taking this picture, so I took it too!
An impressive replica of the Shuri castle
From the castle viewpoint, the city of Naha can be seen. Looks to me like any other city, full of modern buildings. We never see these advertised in Okinawa tourist information.
After the castle tour, I went to Kokusai Street to do some shopping. This is the equivalent of Orchard road in Singapore. It is also not pedestrianized, though the vehicular traffic is restricted to two lanes in each direction.
These shopping alleys are replicated in other parts of Japan as well.
Found this A&W, long disappeared from Singapore. I guess must be a lot of American presence in Okinawa.
On day 2, I visited the churaumi aquarium, which is outside Naha city. To get there by public transport, there are several bus options. I took the direct bus that started from the airport, with many stops before reaching the attraction.
The bus fare is distance-based, costing about 2000yen from the airport. It is displayed on the tv screen in the bus. Board first, get a ticket stop number, then pay when you alight.
This payment procedure is not consistent, as on the return bus, it is pre-paid during boarding.
The aquarium !
The star attraction behind me, 2 whale sharks in the large tank.
On the day I visited, which is a weekend, there are some food stalls set up in tentages selling native, affordable okinawa food, albeit in small quantities. Need to purchase coupons before buying the food.
The aquarium is located by the coast, so the surroundings offer some great views of the sea!
Yup, so this wraps up my quick tour of Okinawa. Definitely a nice part of Japan to visit.
