I immediately saw differences in the landscape between this area of Japan and Hong Kong and Shanghai, China. Although Okinawa is not on an earthquake fault, there are no skyscrapers here. Unfortunately for the citizens of this area, their city had to be completely rebuilt after World War II, since it was completely destroyed during the war. Just looking around the city we saw quite a few buildings that were 12-14 stories high, but nothing much higher. Everything was built in a square box shape and there was very little color to the buildings. Everything was painted a dull, light tan color. The area was clean but had a very sparse look. There were no buildings which stood out for their unique architecture.
Our first stop this afternoon was a visit to the Okinawa Prefectural Museum. It was a meticulously clean, very modern building, with crisp, clean lines and well displayed treasures. The restrooms had exceptionally high-tech toilets with a wide variety of buttons to push. You could even play music to flush. Very interesting. Of course, it took me a few minutes to figure out how to do just a simple flush! Guess I'm just a low tech gal!!!!
In Japan, appearance is extremely important. All of the exhibits in the museum were expertly marked and beautifully displayed. It was not a large museum but it contained a good variety of Japanese artifacts. There were galleries for natural history, archaeology, political history, arts and crafts, and folklore pieces. As was the case in China, the people of Okinawa are very superstitious, but not very religious. We saw an example of a typical house with a wall built in front of the entrance. Our guide explained that the wall was meant to be a barrier to protect the residents from evil spirits.
Once we completed our tour through the museum we took the bus downtown to Kokusai Street, the town's main shopping district. Bob and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there. First our guide took us to a huge local market, which had a separate fish market. She was very excited to show us the brightly colored fresh fish for sale. I must admit that, for fish, the colors were quite vibrant. There were many of them with shades of yellow, blue, green, brown, and pinkish/red. Not sure what happens to the color when they are cooked but they made a very attractive (again, for a fish display)!
We then had some free time to explore and shop on our own. We had no trouble findings shops that accepted credit cards and we put them to use immediately. Prices were quite inexpensive and we found a couple of nice gits. One nice feature of buying items here is that the Japanese wrap everything BEAUTIFULLY! They even wrapped up a small, inexpensive fan I bought for myself, as well as the magnet for our stateroom door. I should have been paying much closer attention, since I am the world's worst gift wrapper!!!
We continued to stroll through the town and spotted a McDonald's. Previously, our guide had proudly pointed out that the town had a "MacDonaldos" Bob and I cracked up laughing because our daughter, Misha, used to laugh at her Japanese mom, because she would always say "MacDonaldos" instead of McDonalds because she could not say the English word. Then, when our tour guide pronounced it the very same way, we had quite a giggle.
Just as we were buying our last gifts it started to rain. Luckily, I was prepared with an umbrella and the bus was fairly close. We could have spent more time shopping and enjoying the sights and sounds of this active and vibrant street but it was time to return to the ship.
I have one last comment about our experience in Okinawa, Japan. Although we had very gracious hosts in China, I noticed significant differences between Chinese and Japanese culture. In China, people did not wait patiently in line for services. They were quite aggressive, and if you wanted service, or to secure a place on the bus, train or subway, you needed to push and elbow your way to hold your place in line!!! Here in Japan, at least in Okinawa, people were extremely courteous and well-mannered. We heard "excuse me" if someone accidentally bumped into us. People took the time to smile instead of barreling past us. Although there was very little English spoken here, as opposed to Hong Kong and Shanghai, employees tried to be as helpful as possible, trying to find someone who could speak some English to assist us.
Shortly after we returned to the ship there was a show on the pier, arranged for our passengers. It was absolutely delightful. Local students danced and played drums and a very cute dragon with bright white lights for eyes entertained us with cute and comical moves. The performance was accompanied by music and a laser light show. It was a really delightful experience and such a lovely gesture on the part of the residents of Okinawa.
When we finally returned to our stateroom for the evening our butler thought we might be cold after being caught out in the rain, so he placed rose petals all around our large soaker tub and filled it with a bubble bath. Boy, are we ever spoiled. I'm pretty sure I've never taken such a luxurious bath before - I better enjoy it, since it might be the last time we are so pampered!
Now, another sea day tomorrow then we arrive in Keelung (Taipei), Taiwan. Sometimes it's nice to have a day at sea to relax, read and catch up on emails, Facebook and the blog.
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