Okinawa

Okinawa has been on our bucket list since we arrived in Japan, and this week we made it there!  Here is a run down of what we did for 5 days.

Day 1 - Friday Oct 6, 2023

We left from Haneda really early and arrived in Naha by 10:30am. The rental car pick up was madness as everyone who flies into Naha rents a car - literally plane loads of people all moving from the plane to baggage claim to the rental car counter! (there are very few train options, so it's rental car or the bus). Dad and I were surprised by how big the Naha airport is and by how many people travel through there each day.

Once we had a car, the next order of business was to get some lunch. I had several recommendation to try the Okinawa favorite - Taco Rice. So I insisted dad pull into the first place we came to that advertised Taco Rice. I think it must be a fusion food coming from the US military influence. It is pretty simple actually. Japanese white rice on the bottom, with seasoned ground beef taco meat, shredded American cheese, shredded lettuce, and a tomato slice on top. It is served with a ketchup/hot sauce that goes on top. It was ok...but not something to buy twice (in my opinion).  However, we saw this on the menu at almost every venue/restaurant we went to. It seems to be extremely popular!

Next we drove about an hour north to the Churaumi Aquarium. It's a great aquarium that features a giant whale shark. We did not make it to the dolphin show, but we were able to watch the trainers working with the dolphins in between shows. 

Not far from the aquarium is the Arashiyama Observatory. From the top there is a great view of the tiny islands in and around Okinawa. This view reminded me a little bit of Kyushu (Sasebo area). Japan is such a pretty place!

We then drove back down the coast to our hotel - Rizzan Sea Park Hotel. This hotel is huge and although it was very nice, it seems like it was built for a different time. (some outdated features in the room and just the overall feel of the place is dated)

The resort seems to be based on the cruise ship concept. It had so many things in common with a cruise ship. The inside of the hotel looked like a cruise ship. There were 7 different restaurants (several buffets, a couple of BBQ options, ethnic cuisine, and other small vendors, even a shave ice place). There was a child care center, an exercise room, arts and crafts, a photo spot, a bridal chapel, a spa, an onsen, all kinds of water sports you could book, several swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), musical performances in the evening, and lots of different gift shops/stores. It really was a cruise ship on land.

But as soon as we checked in, we had to head back out in order to make it to the Okinawa Temple Open House. We had tickets for the the 8 to 9pm tour. It turned out we were the only English speakers on our tour, so we had a private tour. I really love that temple. It has the smallest footprint of any temple. It is slightly larger than the new Guam Temple, but because the Guam Temple is a single story building and this is a two story building, it's footprint is smaller. But the architects have done so much with space! They added so many little touches that make it unique to Okinawa and have meaning to the Okinawan people. It felt like a special temple to me.

Day 2 - Saturday Oct 7, 2023

This was our WWII site day. We had a long list of sites to see, beginning with Hacksaw Ridge. Next we went to Shurijo Castle.  The Japanese took over this castle for their headquarters on Okinawa. When the US landed in April 1945, Shurijo was their main objective. But as the US fought their way closer and closer to the castle, the Japanese unexpectedly abandoned it and moved into the caves. The castle originally was a bright red color. Seeing pictures of it you can tell how beautiful it was. Unfortunately it burned down in 2019 due to an electrical fire. They are currently in the process of rebuilding it. Actually, they have built a building around the castle reconstruction project, so the castle is being rebuilt INSIDE a building that will one day be taken down. You can still visit the castle ground, and you can watch the workers from behind a plexiglass wall as they painstakingly try to recreate the castle. We were amazed that they work on the floor like that.

After the castle we went to the Japanese Underground Navy Headquarters. (each stop we moved further south since the Japanese military retreated to the south). These headquarters were dug by hand from the limestone rock and they are pretty elaborate caves (reminded me of the Churchill Bunker in London). They are still totally in tact and have not changed much since they were used in 1945. 

The story behind the caves is horrific because eventually, as the war got worse and worse for the Japanese, over 4,000 troops crammed into this cave area. They were hiding in the caves in the summer months, there are no toilets, no water source, and there is no fresh air. Not good! In June the General of the Navy and 5 of his staff set off grenades and killed themselves in one of the rooms. You can still see the shrapnel marks in the walls. We didn't take very many pictures. Not a happy place.

We skipped a few sites on our list because we were running out of time and the stories were getting hard to bear. Sadly, our last stop of this day was not any easier on that account. We visited the Himeyure Museum that was set up to remember a large group of school girls who were conscripted into the Japanese military (about 250 girls) They were trained as nurses and ordered to work in the caves to take care of the wounded soldiers. They were the ones who were sent outside to get food and water to bring back to the soldiers. Well over half of them were killed during the 3 months of fighting. 

As the Japanese began to lose the war on Okinawa they conscripted all school girls and boys ages 14 to 19, and even many old people to fight, and be nurses, and deliver ammunition. The Himeyure Museum tells the stories of the girls from one particular school. Although it was hard to hear their accounts, I felt proud of them for sharing their experiences. The museum had video testimonies (translated into English) from the survivors. The survivors seem to be very close and stay in touch with each other. It's too hard to describe what they went through here, but many of them came within a hair's breath of dying themselves. They all struggle with the survivors guilt, but this museum is a way for them help record their stories and encourage peace. Over and over the survivors' accounts we read and heard begged people to consider the costs of war and to commit to peace. They all said that they hoped humankind would never allow another war like this to happen. Over 25% of the Okinawan people died in the 3 months of the battle.

By the end of the day, we were overwhelmed. We found some dinner at a mall and headed back to the cruise ship. I went down to the spa and was able to set up a massage for that same night. It was awesome!

Day 3 - Oct 8, 2023

Sunday morning we drove back to the church building that is next to the Okinawa Temple. Our tour guides from Friday night told us their ward met at  that building at 9am. It was nice to see them again and the sacrament meeting was very interesting. Their ward had many members who served on the various committees for the temple Open House and Dedication. Each of the members who served on a committee shared their experience and how it had effected them. Of course we were in an English speaking military unit, similar to our own, so the perspective was from the American side. But everyone spoke about how touching it was to work with the Japanese members on these committees and how they had overcome the language issues to serve together. It was amazing, after reading all the history from the battlefield the day before, to then hear about the members working together to bring about the temple Open House and Dedication. Wow, what a turnaround!

After church we stopped by Kadena Air Base. Its the biggest base in Asia. Dad is familiar with so many places on Okinawa because he oversee the building projects on all the bases in Japan. He wanted to check out a certain area on Kadena that they have been working on.

We made it back to the ship in time for a late lunch. Included in our stay was one buffet meal each day. Saturday morning we had the breakfast buffet, but since we were fasting on Sunday we opted to try the lunch buffet. We liked it so much better! There were so many delicious foods from many different countries (and Taco Rice, of course - we did not waste stomach space with that). But guess what - while the desserts looked so fancy and good, they had very little sweetness. (it really was like a cruise ship)

We planned to have a low key day and one of the places on our schedule was the Zanpa Lighthouse. It was pretty close to our hotel. You can walk/climb to the top for a lovely view. I don't know if you can see but in the background of one of the pictures there is a couple taking wedding pictures. We saw so many weddings on the beach in this area. It must be the popular place to do it. But I can't imagine why because it was way too hot to be out and about! haha  We were melting in the shade. How hot must they be out in the full sun in wedding clothes!

After the lighthouse our plan was to kill some time until the sun got low enough so that it wasn't totally miserable on the beach by our hotel. Finally around 3:30 or 4 we headed out there. It was a nice beach and the water was pleasantly cool and even warm once you got in. 

We set up our towels away from the regular area because dad likes to have some space. There was a wedding party going on next to us (at the hotel wedding chapel) and it was getting a little loud when suddenly the wedding group moved outside and a guy in a tux came running down to the beach, stripped off his clothes, and jumped in the ocean! Maybe he lost a bet or some other crazy thing associated with the wedding party. 

 

That night I visited the hotel onsen. It was super nice and had several pools with all different temperatures. I like that so much better than just having one hot pool. Japanese onsens always have lovely body washes, hair products, and face lotions. You leave smelling so good!

Day 4 - Oct 9, 2023

We decided to buy snacks from the grocery store for breakfast so we could go back for the hotel lunch buffet. We re-planned our schedule so we could be back for lunch! 

First thing in the morning we visited Okinawa Cave. We weren't sure what to expect and based on all the cave stories from Saturday we wondered what this one would be like. 

This cave is quite big and has lots of great formations (like Timpanogos Cave). It turns out 300 people did live in this cave during the battle, but no one was killed and actually a couple of babies were born there. It is said to be a cave with a "good spirit" and at the end of the cave there is a natural opening in the shape of a heart. 

Japanese (and me) love illuminations, so they have added some colorful lighting to some parts of the cave. I thought it was beautiful!

Our next stop was the Ryukyu Mura. Ryukyu is the name of the Kindgom/people of Okinawa before the Japanese annexed them in 1879. This place was a re-created village showing what life was like before the war and modernization. They had performances and lots of exhibits. It was nice but again, too hot to be out and about!

So, it wouldn't be a Kimball and Suzanne trip without a hike to a waterfall, right?!  After another great lunch buffet, we drove up north again and hiked to Hiji Falls. It was a very well maintained trail but all trails in Japan seem to involve STAIRS, lots of stairs! We started hiking around 3:00pm hoping to avoid the heat of the day. Happily the hike was mostly in the shade, along a river. Even still, we were dying with the humidity. No evaporation happening at all. It felt like a jungle!

To cool off after the hike we drove about 10 min to Okuma Military Base Recreation Area. You need a military ID to get on base, so the beaches are not crowded at all. Okuma has some new cabins that looked really great, a big golf course, and camping/picnic areas with BBQ grills. They also have a beautiful beachside restaurant. No other purpose to this base except recreations. Geezz, feeling a little guilty about all that, considering how we kept reading in all the museums that the one thing Okinawans really want is their land returned. 

Right next to the beach there was a small convenience store. We grabbed some US snacks (sometimes its so nice to have a taste of home) and set up on the beach. It was very pretty, the sun was low and not too hot, and the water was refreshing and yet warm. We stayed until sunset.

Day 5 - Oct 10, 2023

Our flight did not leave until the afternoon, so we had some time in the morning. On Saturday we did not make it to one of the main WWII sites - the Peace Memorial Museum. Having taken a couple of days off from WWII sites we decided to hit this one before leaving. 

The grounds are just spectacular as it is set along the coast with the ocean as a backdrop. There is an impressive outdoor memorial - black rock walls inscribed with the name of every person who died in the Battle of Okinawa, no matter what nationality. There are over 200,000 names. Very sobering to see all the rows of names.

They offered an audio tour in English that was very well done but again, hard to hear the horrific stories and see the graphic pictures. This museum did a great job of giving the history of Okinawa and how it came to be the place for this large battle. During its thousands of years of history the islands have sometimes been part of China, sometimes part of Japan, and sometimes they had to pay tribute to both!. You really sense that mixed heritage here - there is a lot of Chinese influence in the culture. 

The museum covered the Battle of Okinawa in great detail and had testimonials from survivors, just like the school girl museum. But it also continued on and told about the history after the war. The islands were only returned to Japan in 1972. Per the museum exhibits, the conflicts over land are still unsettled.

In this museum we found was a picture of the Typing Pool for the US Military right after the war. This looks exactly like what Grandma Ohsiek was part of!

 

Even though the history is difficult to hear and see, this museum was a good one to end on - lots to think about! Dad and I both commented on how the war experience is still so present in Okinawa. Japan proper doesn't have this same feeling, but Okinawa continues to deal with the aftermath of war. It's completely rebuilt and seems to be thriving, yet there are still ongoing issues with the US Military and with the government of Japan. 

Overall, it was a lovely island and interesting place to visit.