Okinawa, "The Hawaii of Japan"

February 24^th & 25^th – Naha, Okinawa

"The Hawaii of Japan"

Obviously when you are here and talking about Japan, WWII has to enter into the conversation.  It cannot be avoided.  I don’t want to delve into it too much here, but it is also something that the Japanese are aware of too.  A little history.

The battle for the island, which is the 5^th largest island of Japan, took place between April 1 until June 21, 1945.  More than 60,000 army and marine soldiers stormed ashore in the initial battle to take the island.   By the time the island was in the hands of the allies there were 545,000 U.S. troops involved backed by 12,000 aircraft and 1,600 ships.  This was much larger than even the D-Day invasion and would be one of the last major battles of the war. The unfortunate civilian population suffered more casualties than either side of the armies did.  Somewhere between 100,000 to 150,000 men women and children perished in the terrible horrors of that siege.   Once taken, Okinawa afforded a base just 350 miles from mainland Japan and spelled the beginning of the end of the war in the Pacific.  You know the rest.

After the war, the U.S. military controlled Okinawa.  It wasn’t until 1972 that we gave Okinawa back to Japan.  Some Okinawans are not happy we did this, and they would have rather remained more independent.  In fact, some identify more with China than with Japan.  They feel a bit like those on the main island of Japan look down on them and are not equals.  There may be some truth to those feelings.  Our guide mentioned that even today when you look at a Japanese world map that Tokyo is at the center of the map rather than on the eastern edge.

The U.S. still has a large military presence on the island today.  As many as 32 military facilities are active on the island.   While the Okinawa people do not strongly support our presence here, they know that with the ever growing presence and possible aggression from China that is reason enough to accept the more than 30,000 American military personnel for defense against any possible future aggressions.

We had a long tour today as there is much to see here.   Ironically, our first stop took us to the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum.  Their Memorial Day is June 23rd. This park is dedicated to the fallen of the battle for both sides.  Very similar to our Vietnam Wall of honor in Washington or even Carnton Plantation at home in Franklin.  There are large granite stones with the names of Okinawans, Japanese and allies who died.  It is very somber and sobering.  

After you spend time there you go inside the museum and a self-guided walking tour shows you how the war affected life on the island.  They didn't allow cameras here, so visit the website to learn more. The Okinawans know that war is not the answer, and they are all about peaceful solutions to conflicts.  Hopefully, this attitude will be the answer in times to come.

Our next stop was the Gyokusendo Cave located in Okinawa World.  This cave was even bigger than the one in Ishigaki.   While these two particular caves were not used as such, we did learn that the cave systems were used extensively during the war for both military and civilian purposes.  The military forces used these caves to avoid the bombardment of thousands of shells that were fired to try to reduce the enemy forces.  The Japanese forces were entrenched securely and it was a very difficult and dangerous task to clear these caves out.  On the civilian side, thousands of people lived in these caves during the war simply because they had no other choices as their homes were destroyed many times over.  

Okina World is a theme park where there was lots to see and do.  You could paint your own Shisas or blow some Okinawan glass, or how about sitting with your feet in the water where fish will nibble your calluses away?!  There was even a brewery there called Nanto Brewery. Marty enjoyed his local beer of the day, Kolsch.  

We stopped for lunch at Novotel Hotel and enjoyed some great food.  There was Okinawan food as well as Japanese food.  To me it was just food.  Vi thought it was the best food we'd had on a Holland America tour .... ever!  I still wonder what they think when three buses of Americans come charging up the steps taking over their restaurant.  "The Americans are coming!"  We can be an unruly bunch.

Our last stop today was at the Shikinaen Royal Garden, the vacation house and gardens that was originally constructed in 1799 for the royal family and their guests of the Ryukyu Kingdom (the original Okinawans).  It suffered major damage during WWII, but underwent a major restoration from the 70's - 90's and now the gardens are whole and peaceful again. Today it is a Unesco World Heritage site.

After a full day of touring, about 15,000 steps by Vi's count, we were exhausted!  We spent the night  aboard the ship in the Naha port.  The next morning we wandered back out with a couple of friends.  It was an overcast day, but we braved the drizzle!  Port days without tours afford more time to just be and experience things at our own pace.

We took a leisurely stroll up to the Fukushuen Garden.  It is a beautiful traditional Chinese garden.  

The rest of the day was spent on Kokusai Street.  It is an area known for its shops, restaurants and bars.  It is a network of shopping extravaganza!  There was beautiful Okinawan glass, all shades of blue.  Vases and jewelry galore ... Vi loved them all!  There were jars of Alamora that contained pickled vipers!  Habushu (ハブ酒) is its Okinawan name.  It is an awamori-based liqueur made exclusively in Okinawa.  It is also called Habu Sake or Okinawan Snake Wine.  Yeah, we didn't try it!  

We had a late lunch before heading back to the ship at Suitenrou.  When we first walked in, we saw tables on the floor with cushions to sit on.  Our knees said "no thank you", and we were seated at a table with chairs.  We all had taco rice bowls and dumplings.  The chop sticks were an adventure, but the food delicious!

Okinawa was fun, and yes, we would come back!  Definitely bringing our friend, Google Translator, with us!  Next stop .... Tokyo!  Thanks for following us as we go.

LeRoy and Vi

P.S. One last fun fact.  Did you know Okinawa is the birthplace of karate?  Think Mr. Miyagi and the Karate Kid!