The Zuiderdam arrived to the port of Naha, Okinawa in the early morning darkness. The clearance happened right away around 8am, and everyone was free to go ashore, since we had done the face-to-passport drill yesterday. We went out on the promenade deck around 9am, and caught the last of the traditional dance performed by local kids. Dressed in bright red costumes, the little kids were the best. Then we saw the line-up of officers at attention alongside the ship. They were waiting for the President of HAL , Gus Antorcha, to arrive with his colleague. When they appeared, they rushed to help them with their luggage and escort them onboard. The next three days will be filled with special events.
We did not realize that 160 islands make up Okinawa with Naha being the capital. There are a total of 330,000 people living here and have the distinction of having the longest lifespan in the world. It is no secret that their diet consists of healthy foods, but on the other hand, they enjoy the fattiest beef and pork. Perhaps due to the high price of the delicacy, they eat small amounts. Two of our friends went to a steakhouse while in Ishigaki yesterday, and shared one of those special steaks. They both claimed they never had tasted anything like it as it melted in their mouths. We may have to check this out ourselves while we are Japanese ports.
With warm weather, this island attracts 6 million visitors a year - mostly from Japan, but also worldwide. There is a lot to see and do in and out of town. This island is rich in military history as it was heavily involved in WW II. One of the most visited sights is the Peace Memorial Park, 12 miles south of Naha. It was the scene of the final confrontations of the Battle of Okinawa, where 200,000 people lost their lives in 1945. Other sights out of town were Shurijo Castle Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Shurei-mon Gate, the symbol of Okinawa. There are even caves to explore called Gyokusendo Cave about 10 miles out of town. Our former host, Tom, was taking a group of his clients to the cave today, but he claimed he was waiting on the outside until they went through it. He may have a 2 hour wait but did not mind since he can't take tight spots like that. We get it. The same feeling overcame one of us while exploring ancient caves in Turkey several years ago. We were never warned that we would have to crawl on our knees to access some of the caverns. Nope…never again. Anyway, the ship's tours ran from $135 to $210 (with lunch). A couple of them ended up at the Kokusai Street district, where we intended to walk.
Leaving the ship was tricky, since we were directed to go through the terminal building, where we had to show our passport photos to the officials. That involved going upstairs across the building then down an escalator where the info desk was set up. Here we got a good walking map, and some other booklets and pamphlets for extra info. Following the orange cones, we made our way out of the dock area and to the main street.
Our destination was Kokusai Street about 1.2 miles from the port gate. This district is located in the heart of Naha and is full of department stores, shopping malls and arcades, souvenir shops, hotels, and steakhouses and many eateries. The most recognizable spots had to be A&W, KFC, and McDonalds. The rest of the cafes and restaurants were 100% Japanese cuisine. You can't go by the photos, since you had no idea what was in the food. Common to Japanese dishes are oyster and clam juice…..both lethal to one of us. So if we are not sure of the contents, we have to pass it up. We did see one steakhouse after another, but many would not open until dinnertime.
What we did find amusing was a mini robot that was vacuuming the area in front of a building. It must have been programmed to stay within so many feet of the front patio and doorway. It was still operating when we walked back two hours later. And some folks from the ship were also watching it like we did, getting a laugh out of it going in circles. At least that part of the sidewalk was very clean. One thing we did notice when exploring some of the side alleyways were piles of cigarette butts, discarded in front of the bars and small cafes probably at night time. Another good reason to make use of the vacuuming robots.
So we window-shopped hundreds of stores as well as the arcades, making it as far as McDonalds. By then, we had walked over three miles and decided to head back down the same way. On the corner where we turned up this famous street was a huge modern mall, so we went inside to check it out. Yep, a big mall with all of the familiar high end shops and boutiques. On the bottom level there was a grocery store and a deli. It was very busy as it was already after noon, and people were lined up buying lunch. We decided to head back to the ship and get lunch there. We could always explore more tomorrow.
We did spot the Okinawa Urban Monorail which runs right through town to the airport. We know of some folks that will take that Yui Rail, as they call it here, to see some of the further out sights tomorrow. The castle, Gate, and Gardens can be explored from the monorail stop.
At least the weather was in our favor. Despite the high overcast, it was comfortable with temps in the high 60's. Perfect hiking weather for sure. We took our sweet time strolling back down towards the pier, admiring some gardens with blooming cherry trees on the way. Passing by the guardians of the street were the two Dragon Pillar Monuments. These lion dogs as we call them, are actually called Shisas here. About every building in town has some form of shisa on them, especially the roofs. They are used to protect the occupants according to their culture and beliefs. It was about then that we spotted the Costa Serena coming into the harbor. She docked in the other cruise terminal, much further away from downtown.
Back onboard, we ordered lunch and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Downloading the photos kept us busy. Once again, the TV reception is zero and all that can be viewed is HAL programs. At least we have access to many movies, even though most of them are really old. One of the newer ones, Crazy Rich Asians, was on the grid, so we watched it before dinner. So many of the places in Singapore that were in that movie, we recognized. Now we are happy to be going there later on this cruise.
Some Japanese items were on the dining room menu tonight. We had one lumpia and one other Asian appetizer with two salads. Mains were the sesame chicken with sweet and sour sauce and jasmine rice. Very good. Desserts were an unconventional strawberry cheesecake, and one hot fudge sundae with nuts.
Murder on the Orient Express was on the big screen in the World Stage. Or, we could watch it on our room TV, but without the popcorn.
One more full day in Naha, then we will have two sea days before arriving to Tokyo.
Bill & Mary Ann
