Okinawa: Unexplored, undiscovered, and unexperienced

by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.    

You do not get a fair view of the main island of the Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, with just a half-day stay and no excursion, but that is what we did.  Some could probably argue that you can’t even get a fair view of anywhere without an extended stay — and that is probably an accurate point of view.  We did not exchange enough money (we had just 2,000 Japanese yen — $22.6 U.S.) which was not enough for a taxi ride to and from Shuri Castle or the World War II Memorial.  They are both a fair distance from the downtown area of Naha, the capital, where our shuttle from the ship dropped us off (a mere 15-20-minute drive), and the time to get there (to the castle or the memorial) and back could have prevented a walk down the main shopping street.
    
The Okinawa Prefecture consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands.  They stretch southwest for about 600 miles from the Japanese island of Kyu-shu — to within 75 miles of the island of Taiwan.  Okinawa lies about half way between Japan’s mainland and Taiwan.
    
Instead of being dropped at a high-end mall we were left off in front of a government building, and even the guides at the drop-off (we had no tour guide on our bus) spoke poor, broken English.  Also, the main tourist information area was a 15-20 minute walk from our drop-off point.  The guide at our drop-off point suggested we walk to the information booth before deciding to go to any other destination points.
    
Shuri Castle, one of our potential destinations, was used as a palace by the Ryukyu Kingdom, and it was completely destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa.  From original photographs and historical records, it was reconstructed in 1992, and it remains today as a huge tourist attraction.  You can see 20 images of Shuri Castle at the Google website of the same name.
    
In addition to the Shuri Castle, there is a memorial on the island to the many people who died when the U.S. bombed it/destroyed it in World War II.  We did not visit the memorial, although we wanted to, because of the distance from our drop-off point, and the cost for hiring a taxi (more than we had exchanged).
    
We did walk the main shopping street in Naha to make positive use of the short time we had, and I have several observations regarding our walk along the main shopping street.  First, it was very busy with lots of people.  Second, there are no hawkers, few sidewalk vendors, and streets are clear of litter and refuse.  When we stopped to have our lunch on one of the benches along the sidewalk, we stopped opposite the “salesroom” (sidewalk) of a local street vendor.  Not only did she sport dreadlocks, she wore the clothes of a San Francisco hippie from the 1960s.  Her products were bracelets, necklaces, pendants, and various other crystals and jewelry-like items (all looked very homemade) — just exactly what you would expect from a person dressed like this.
    
We turned into “the covered Heiwa-do-ri Shopping Arcade and Makishi Public Market, a massive shotengai [a style of Japanese commercial district running along a certain street] filled with fresh fish, meat, and produce stands, restaurants, tourist goods shops, and liquor shops . . . ,” according to Wikipedia, and we knew we were in a place of special interest because of the number of people from our ship, the Diamond Princess, taking excursions there.  (Excursions are often revealed when you see a tour guide leading a group of people with his or her “Princess” sign held high for all those on the tour to see and follow.)
    
What I found most interesting about this shotengai was the mix of stores.  You could have a small shop selling various kinds of grains, for example, right next to a high-end clothing shop, or a place that sold only lotions and perfumes, next to a market, a souvenir shop, or a place that sold only umbrellas or liquor — or fresh fish.
    
My wife was looking for a “smart casual” top she could wear for the evening on board ship, and she tried on a couple.  In one place, to try on the top, she had to go to the back of a darkly lit, little, single-cubical store, where only one person could squeeze through the main aisle to the back where there was barely enough space to try it on.  It was already warm and humid; thus, going into this small, dark, poorly ventilated place was “an experience.”  (She purchased no top.)
    
One of the problems we discovered with clothes in this shotengai was that they were not specifically designed for tourists.  Clothes stores catered, as you might expect, to the local population.  What you may not realize about local Okinawan people is that they tend to be small.  The tops my wife tried on (despite trying on the largest size available) were all small and tight, and store clerks had none in her size (and my wife is not a “large.”)
    
We found a silver souvenir trinket with Okinawan letters on one side (we were told), and Japanese letters on the other, that we could use on our Christmas tree (we collect tree ornaments from the places we visit), and I found a tee-shirt at a store along the street that accepted credit cards.  Although we walked for eight or ten blocks, we bought nothing else.
    
The shops and streets were clean, people were nicely dressed, and we felt entirely safe wherever we walked in Okinawa.  People were friendly, but none of the vendors (or other store personnel) spoke any English at all.  Although there is a heavy U.S. presence on the island — the 14 U.S. bases here occupy 90 square miles or 18% of the main island — we saw no military personnel and few other tourists except those from our ship.
    
For all of the immigration papers we had to fill out, the fingerprinting, pictures, and thermal scanning (all before going ashore), you would think we had planned to stay on the island for some time.  It is too bad that we did not have a chance to see their pottery, textiles, or glass making (products they are known for).
    
Even though we got but a meager glimpse of Okinawa, the lack of big high-rise buildings, the palms along the streets, the modern bridge connecting the port with the city, made this an interesting place to visit, but for us, it remains undiscovered, unexplored, and unexperienced.
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 Okinawa.com is a delightful website where you can get a wide variety of information and links to even more.  Also, there is a photo gallery at the bottom of the first page (you must scroll all the way down) that highlights many of the special features you can see on the island.  This is one of the main tourist destinations for many of the Japanese people, and it is a place we would gladly return to based on what we saw in our brief sojourn there.

A gallery of outstanding photographs can be found at HDR Japan,  where all of the various areas of Okinawa are shown and discussed.

From food to entertainment and from culture to nature, you can find it all — and written conversationally by someone who lives there — at Okinawa Hai.  If you’ve been there, plan to go, or are just interested in all that is Okinawa, then this website is a great place to begin.
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Copyright May, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.