Naha
I arrived when it was just getting dark and therefore didn't see much on the first day. The next day I spent sightseeing in Naha (and getting sunburnt because I underestimated the sun... again).
Apparently, Okinawa is famous for its pottery. There is a nice pottery museum and an entire street consisting solely of pottery shops. The museum showed a pretty interesting film about how the various pottery items are made, starting from the preparation of clay, to modeling and shaping, glazing, decorating and burning. Some of the items really look amazing - the lions, for example - and can also be seen on many houses and fences in Okinawa.
Another interesting site is Shuri Castle. Up until the 19th century the Okinawan islands did not belong to Japan, but formed a separate kingdom, the Ryukyu kingdom. Shuri Castle was their palace. Unfortunately, the original castle was destroyed in WWII, so all buildings are pretty recent reconstructions. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see how the Ryukyu architecture and decorations leaned more towards the Chinese, and not the Japanese style.
After Shuri Castle, I went to see the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum. The museum is very well-designed and covers the entire history of Okinawa, from its earliest beginnings until now.
My final stop for that day was the beach - I was on a subtropical island, after all. However, the only beach within easy walking distance turned out not to be of the postcard-perfect kind. Instead of a gorgeous view over the ocean, the beach had a gorgeous view of... the elevated highway that crosses the bay directly in front of the beach. Less than optimal, as far as beach vistas go.
Zamami
On the second day, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and made a day trip to Zamami island. I started with a long hike along the coastal road, walking about halfway around the island. Then I turned inland and climbed the island's highest peak, Mt. Takatsuki at about 140m above sea level. The nature on Zamami is incredibly beautiful. The lush forests were brimming with life (though most of the time I was the only human around), and the sounds of birds and insects were the only sounds to be heard.
In addition to that, there were many, many gorgeous butterflies and stunning views. Amazing!
I finished the day with a bit of sunbathing (getting sunburn, stage 2) at one of the island's great beaches.
Ocean Expo Park
Finally, my third and last day turned out to be rather cold and rainy - perfect weather for a visit to indoor places, such as the aquarium and the other museums in the Ocean Expo Park. I had initially thought the park would be great to fill half a day, but a reality check of location and bus timetables quickly expanded this to a full day, including roughly six hours of bus travel.
The Ocean Expo Park is a rather big park which contains a few museums and some outdoor exhibits. Throughout the park, you can see cute animals made from flowers, such as this owl:
I already wrote about my thoughts of Churaumi aquarium in another blog post, so I won't repeat myself here. After the aquarium, I went to the Tropical Dream Center, which is basically a museum exhibiting tropical plants and flowers. What can I say - I love flowers, and I love colors, and this place combined the two! They had tons of orchids in almost every color imaginable, and several flowers I had never seen before. Gorgeous!
