okinawa - naha

i'm finally getting down to posting pictures from my okinawa trip! i didnt take that many photos - lazy cos there's a DSLR nearby - but i think i have some interesting ones!

okinawa is southwest of the main islands of japan and is actually nearer to taiwan. i wont go deep into the history of okinawa - its somewhat complicated - but suffice to say that it has been very heavily influenced by Chinese and Korean culture throughout its history, having had close trade and political ties with those two countries. it formerly existed as part of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and only became part of japan in the last few centuries - or less (im very hazy on this). as a result, it has a culture different from that of mainland japan, and may appear as similar to its east asian neighbours as it does to japan. the presence of the USA bases on the islands also has an impact on its culture - you see a lot more english signs and 'western symbols' - including the very very awesome A&W!!

osaka was cold when i left - and it is cold once again, dammit - but okinawa was nicely tropical and sunny. due to the tropical climate, the vegetation that grows there is more or less the same as what you get in singapore, and it REALLY reminded me of home when i first stepped out of the airport:

does it totally look like a multi-storey carpark in sg?

a view of the monorail track - its the most convenient way to get around the main area of naha. however, its really dumb cos the monorail doesnt extend to this world heritage park that's just about 1 station-distance away from the last station on the line. the only way to get there is by taxi from that aforesaid station.

i think this part looks quite cool!

i love the curve.. although okinawa seems rather urban from these few pictures, it actually isnt that urbanised. the buildings arent that high and are a comfortable space apart, and its calm and quiet there, even in the crowded areas. it was a very stark contrast to osaka. food is cheaper too - lunch on the first day was less than 1000yen, and included salad, clam rice, a main, side dishes of pickles and some claypot rice, soup, a drink and dessert. so cheap!! once you get of the city, it reminds me a lot of thailand actually.

the japanese are very fond of having cute drawings on their signs, and the above monorail door is a good example. check out the 2 cartoon figures on it:

the crab reminding you to watch out for the door..

and a crying boy warning you the pain of getting your hand stuck in the door. haha.

you get your fair share of amusing signs in okinawa too:

the above just sounds wrong on so many counts..

people who like bittergourd should go to okinawa, cos thats one of their famous products! it was a bit troublesome trying to avoid eating bittergourd when we were there.. any salad or veggie dishes usually contained it.

my ultraman impersonation in front of one of the shops along the main shopping street.. we walked up and down that street every night we were in naha, partly cos there's nothing else to do, and partly cos we somehow always found the need to go to one shop or another..