Late the following morning we arrived in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. Located at the southernmost area of Japan, Okinawa consists of 57 islands. Truly subtropical, Okinawa is a southern paradise where colourful flowers bloom all year-round.
Once, Okinawa was a Kingdom of its own called the Ryukyu regime. During that period the island thrived as a great trading centre through its relationships with China, Korea, and South-East Asia.
The immigration processes, which involved finger print scanning, photo taking, and thermo-scanning, ran slow and we hardly made it on time to join our tour to Shurijo Castle.
Once on shore we were taken by bys to Kokusai Street - Naha’s commercial centre. The flyer we received the night before said that the street was “boasting department stores, hotels, souvenirs shops and restaurants.” I imagined another Hong Kong... I was quite disappointed not only with Kokusai Street (with its one department store) but with Naha in general. The place lacked character (mostly white and off-while, cube like buildings). Where Saigon was dirty and poor... yet pulsating with colours and sounds, Naha was just hugely uninteresting, uniform, and “tasteless”... with nothing to inspire imagination. Hence, no pics were taken there.
Once on shore we were taken by bys to Kokusai Street - Naha’s commercial centre. The flyer we received the night before said that the street was “boasting department stores, hotels, souvenirs shops and restaurants.” I imagined another Hong Kong... I was quite disappointed not only with Kokusai Street (with its one department store) but with Naha in general. The place lacked character (mostly white and off-while, cube like buildings). Where Saigon was dirty and poor... yet pulsating with colours and sounds, Naha was just hugely uninteresting, uniform, and “tasteless”... with nothing to inspire imagination. Hence, no pics were taken there.
What caught my attention though was a difference in Chinese and Japanese cultures (everyday one-to-one interactions). I have found Chinese to be a particularly unpleasant lot (pardon my generalization): pushy, “ME-first,” disregarding of others, and when called on their rude ways, sheepish and apologetic. In Naha, on the other hand, I observed and experienced nothing but politeness. As we were walking down Kokusai Street I was on the lookout for a garbage can to throw away a few things I was holding uncomfortably in my hand. At the point when I was starting to get really annoyed, a man standing by his restaurant motioned to me to give him the garbage. I was so surprised by this uncommon gesture that my first reaction was to guard my precious trash at all cost... It took me seconds to understand his intentions and I parted with my refuse flabbergasted.
We then proceeded to Shurijo Castle. The castle is vermilion-coloured and used to be a seat of power during the 500-year reign of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The stone walls conceal beautiful gates leading to the Seiden or Main Hall.
It was a pleasant visit... the castle and the gardens around it were well taken care of. The experience would have been nicer if we had been able to fully appreciate it. E had a particularly bad day – no naps and early wake-ups two days in row were not helpful in keeping him happy and well-behaved.
It was a pleasant visit... the castle and the gardens around it were well taken care of. The experience would have been nicer if we had been able to fully appreciate it. E had a particularly bad day – no naps and early wake-ups two days in row were not helpful in keeping him happy and well-behaved.
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