The FREE Attractions of Okinawa

People have been asking me to update the blog, but to be honest there really hasn't been much to say. Life started to get in the way of our fun, and we haven't done anything picture-worthy (or blog-worthy) since Memorial Day. But this last week we were all starting to feel like Krista in this picture (LET ME OUT!!), so we signed ourselves up for a Newcomer's Tour. It took us to a bunch of places that were free within 45 minutes of the base.

We started out at the Zakimi Castle Ruins. The castle was built 600 years ago, and all that is left is the foundation. But the walls of the foundation provided a great view of the surrounding farm country and the ocean in the distance. It was built on the highest point in the area, obviously with defense in mind.

The girls and I standing in front of the first use of the arch in Okinawan architecture.

And, of course, Ed and the girls on top of the foundation wall.

And the beautiful views.

Next we headed to the Yomitan Pottery Village and saw the kilns where they make the pottery. Very interesting, but the pottery shops were a tourist trap, in our opinions. Some of the pieces were really neat, but the prices were not. We didn't buy anything.

Kimberlee is standing in front of one of the kilns (all boarded up with the pottery inside - they were going to break it open the following morning), and the picture on the right is the first pottery shop we visited. Some of the pieces on the top were 85,000-100,000 yen (about $850-1000).

After the Pottery Village we stopped at the Onna Glass Factory, my favorite part of the tour. We saw Mr. Miyagumi, a master craftsman famous throughout Japan, demonstrate how he makes a flower, and then we went through his shop and saw his masterpieces. At the end he gave us all a small glass heart (our tour guide said he was in a cheerful mood - apparantly that was abnormal). Kimberlee calls it her "crystal" and loves it. We didn't buy anything there either, but will go back and find something special later.

We stopped at a Farmer's Market for lunch. Most of the Okinawans shop at farmer's markets each day. We got some Okinawa Soba (noodles with meat and broth), and tasted some sweet potato chips. Ed also tasted some sweet potato ice cream - he said it was purple and yummy.

Our last stop on the tour was Ryukyu Mura, a folk village full of the oldest structures from all over the island. Everyone was dressed in beautiful kimonos. We didn't get to see much of the attraction, since most of it costs money, but they had some little shops to look at and then they did a show of some of the varieties of Okinawan dance. I have a video of some of it, but, yet again, our computer is not cooperating. Sorry - maybe later.


These are the Shisa lion dogs. They are in front of almost every building here (including on the base). They protect those within - often they will have a pair of them, one with his mouth clenched tight to ward off bad luck, and the other will have his mouth wide open to bring in good luck.

And finally, our favorite little naked elf. They say if you can see him there is a tourist attraction nearby.

We went home tired, hot, and a little wiser about Okinawan culture.

More pictures to come next week. Kimberlee has a new fashion statement she would like to show off.