Remembering WWII in Okinawa

Since it was the anniversary of the WWII Battle of Okinawa, we decided to visit Peace Prayer Park on a very nice (but very hot) Saturday. It is a venue we have been planning to check out for a while now. John, Amanda & baby Cayce were our chauffeurs & companions on the excursion. And we were certainly not the only people on Okinawa in our decision to do something so appropriate on such a day! The park was quite busy, as were the roadways nearby. Let's just say parking was an adventure (& not a quick one)! There were special memorial services set up that attracted the largest crowds. The language barrier did not make those quite as meaningful to us, so we mostly concentrated on what we could definitely absorb.

Peace Prayer Park

We absolutely recommend a visit to the park, if you're able. It was HIGHLY informative in regards to Japan's history related to WWII, especially what happened on Okinawa (both during & after the fighting). The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of World War II, with more than 12,000 Americans and 107,500 Japanese troops killed, along with at least 42,000 Okinawa citizens dead. Make no mistake, it was sobering to learn of the horrendous effects of war, especially on innocent civilian lives that are most likely taken for granted by both sides of the conflict. But it was good to see such a venue for us, dedicated to achieving peace through understanding the experiences of others. Since we did not experience any of that piece of history first hand, this type of memorial allowed us to get as close to being there as possible. Time ran out on us before we could visit the Memorial Hall monument (including Butterfly Garden & Art Gallery) so we'll probably be back at this park again! Come join us!!

Another gorgeous sunset - June 19

We took 8 good photos of this one!

Okinawa Zoo

We visited the much maligned (by those few who we know have visited) Okinawa "Kodomo no Kuni" (a zoo & kid's park), which is not far from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa City. The weather cooperated for us (especially considering that it's very much rainy season right now) & the animal collection they housed was actually pretty decent, in terms of quantity, variety & exoticity (is that a word?). I guess, coming from North America, it's not hard to show us animals that we'd consider exotic. We were a little saddened by several of the habitats (mainly the ostriches & hippos & a few others), but otherwise we thought it was worth the time & 500-yen entrance fee.

Okinawa Zoo

The centrally located pond was kind of amusing. Walking along the boardwalk, the carp would actually follow you because they were so used to people throwing food (which was sold in vending machines) to them. And when people did throw food in, it was utter madness seeing all the teeming mouths gaping to get the crumbs. The way they behaved you'd think they were starving, but they were all fat & huge! The Okinawa Marine publication recently did a nice little write-up on the park (which includes a couple more attractions targeted directly at kids)/

Drink? Pack of cigarettes?

What does it mean that my first thought upon observing these 2 vending machines was, "Hey, those drinks are 10-20 yen cheaper than normal!"? ;-) Only Betsy was immediately impressed at the proximity of the cigarette to drink machine. Am I just becoming immune to the pervasive cigarette use, price & availability here? :-(

Weekend in the Keramas!

As a fun & fond farewell to our good friends, Aaron & Masayo, who will be spending the next 6 months living & working in Fiji, we spent a delightful 3-day/2-night weekend on Tokashiki Island, largest of the Kerama island group, about 35 km west of Okinawa. We can prove we had a good time with the 200+ photos we captured (between our 2 cameras):

Tokashiki

We had good weather (considering it was the rainy season) & enjoyed some fantastic snorkelling each of the 3 days that we were there. The waters were blue & clear, boasting such fascinating marine life as large sea turtles (that we each got to pet) & sting rays & eels. The hotel (Tokashiku Marine Village) where we stayed was quite comfortable & provided delicious Japanese breakfast & dinner buffets. Masayo was amused at our enthusiasm to sleep on futons upon tatami mats, but we had fun (kind of glad we don't do it every night at home though). The only sad part of the weekend was saying goodbye at the end. Thanks for the fun weekend, Aaron & Masayo! We'll miss you!! Hope to see you again soon, either in Fiji or back in Okinawa!