Naha city walking tour

The first day went slow, jet-lagged. I had a big walking plan of 25 km, however, I did 10 the most. I walked to Shuri Castle. Later I found out I actually didn’t go inside, I didn’t reach the entrance. I will try another day. After the castle, I walked to Zuisen distillery. Well…. Awamori is definitely tasted different from what I’ve tried before.

After the distillery, Shenriken Gardens were on the plan. I imagine the garden is peaceful and beautiful on a nice day. When I visited, it was very windy, cold, chilly…. I quickly walked around and left.

At that point I was hungry and I headed back to Naha city center. For some reason, okonomiyaki sounded very good and I searched for a place. Found one in the old market area.

Since a pottery street was just a couple of blocks away, it was the next destination. That’s where the day ended. On the way back to a hotel, I saw “an original” as a sign claimed, bakery. 3 pastries to try.

T&M Coffee came up in a google search. That was the place to try pastries along with a good cup of latte. That’s it…

Back at the hotel I watched a movie and fell asleep. 

Gyoku Sendo

An easy ride on a bus #83 from Naha Bus Terminal, platform #9 gets you right to Okinawa World. Some reviewers on Google said the place is boring and not interesting. Well…. It might be if you expect a large theme park. It is not… The cave alone worth the visit. I’ve visited many caves around the world, yet Gyoku Sendo had some pretty unique features like a 20,000-stalactite room. The highlight of the park itself was Eisu dance. Perhaps it wasn’t as much of a dance as what was happening during the performance. First, I’ve noticed a 3-year-old girl grimacing and covering her years with a sign of pain or disapproval of the loud music. When sisu, a traditional guard creature borrowed from Chinese culture, costumed people came out, another 3 or so year old next to me started hysterically crying because she was scared. Surprisingly her father didn’t try to take her out of the room, yet he kept covering her mouth with his hand… toward the end of the performance a boy, about same age 3-4 happily ran to the sisu (another spelling is kisu) trying to get his attention and touch.

The park has a brewery on its premises where beer and awamori with habu snake (very poisonous snake apparently) are produced.  The habu sake display was something. 

Sefa-Utaki

The next destination was Sefa-Utaki, a historical religious site. There are no direct buses, however, I decided to walk for an hour to reach Shikiya town, and then catch a bus. When I’ve reached Shikiya, a bus wasn’t coming for another hour. I decided to keep walking. The day was nice and sunny. Roads have little traffic. It was definitely an easy walk. Few nice viewpoints were on the way. In total it took me 3 hours to reach Sefa-Utaki with a stop at a hilltop Gusuku Road park. Google maps showed a site of Shikiya Ruins, however, I didn’t see any signs pointing there or roads leading to the spot. Maybe google location is wrong. At 5 pm there was a bus running back to Naha. Yes, there was a bit of walking. Why not.

Jumbo Tours

In the morning I walked to Jumbo Tours to purchase a tour to visit Daisekirinzan National Park. By googling I found that’s the only company that takes tourists there. Public transportation is available, however, from Naha would require 2 or 3 transfers. I haven’t checked bus schedule to see if it’s even feasible to do it in one day if busses schedule anyhow works connection-wise. Then I went back to a hotel to find a Whale tour operator. Booked one too. It’s good that I did it beforehand since tours don’t run every day.

Karate Kaikan

Afternoon I walked to Karate Kaikan to learn about famous martial art. It is a small museum, yet packed with history, a movie, and even interactive displays. I also inquired about private classes that they do. At first, a lady at the reception said they don’t do private introduction classes, but I insisted and she called someone who called someone and then got to a person who spoke very good English and was able to help.

There is a bus going there, however, I didn’t figure where a stop is for bus #101 from Naha center. On the way back, I stopped by the closest bus stop and after glimpsing at the bus runs schedule, decided to walk back. Walking took 1 hour each way. Not so bad if weather permits. That’s it for today. A late lunch spot and back to the hotel to work and do some further planning.  

Karate Kaikan

The first thing on today’s agenda is a private class at Karate Kaikan. On a previous day when I visited it, I asked for an intro class and a person arranged it for the next day. It was my first martial art experience. A teacher, woman in her 40s, didn’t speak English. The whole time she was talking in Japanese, but prior to the class beginning, a French man came by translating for the first 5 minutes. Pretty much all he said that if I want to learn Karate philosophy, history, and such, then I should head to the museum. The whole experience was exciting and under the “wow” effect made me want to look into a martial art scene more when I come back home. Will see if I stick to the plan. 

Toya Fisherman Village

After the class was over, I asked the Karate Kaikan personnel to call a taxi. Walking is always an option, however, to make sure I put into the rest of the day maximum possible in daylight, I got a taxi to Naha Bus Station to platform #3 where busses #28 and #29 depart. Actually, #28 is the one I needed because it makes more stops. #29 is more like an express… or perhaps it just has a slightly different route. #28 is the one to take. After about an hour ride, I got off at Toya station. Toya is a fisherman village, which has a fish market with fresh sashimi and a restaurant/café on the second floor of a building. It was easy to reach from the bus stop. After having lunch, since it was lunchtime, I walked to Mura-Murasaki beach. The total walking time was about 30 minutes. During the walk maybe only 2 cars passed by. The area is urban with small farms and crop fields. 

Mura-Murasaki Beach

The beach was nice and small. There was no one. I sat on the sand, wet my feet in water (surprisingly water wasn’t cold. I could see myself swimming), took a break, and continued. 

Zakimi Castle

The next destination was the Zakimi castle. There is only an outer wall remaining at the castle. There were no signs (at least I didn’t see them in English) talking about the authenticity of the walls. The wall and stones it is comprised of was/were too polished and intact to be original. Perhaps they are. I don’t know. On a road that Google suggested to take was a tiny pottery store, it was across the park with the castle ruins. Now that I recall prices from other places, they had the best deal for Shisas. The store only had Shisas. In the end, I opted for a cheaper option at a touristy souvenir shop. After taking pictures, taking a water break, I continued to Yohama pottery village. 

Yomitan Pottery Village

Some stores were closed, out of 5 that I’ve visited each had some variations in merchandise selection, but not considerably different. What gave the place a good 5-star rating is the ability to see people making pottery in the back of shops or closed to tourist studios. You could still pick through windows as I did where signs were not posted for no trespassing. In the middle of the village is a huge kiln. Pretty awesome. I didn’t finish walking around because I was hungry and I wanted to make to 16:37 bus. The bus stop was only 15 minutes away continuing walking inland. It is right in front of the Shopping Center on highway 58. I took a different route back. The bus was 15 minutes late, I found that a bit unusual for Japan. Nevertheless, it came and I hopped on. 

Minatogawa Stateside Town

While riding the bus, I kept debating should I check out Minatogawa Stateside Town or not because at that point I was very hungry and tired. Then I realized I might not have time to visit it. Another 15 minutes walk from Minatogawa bus stop and here it is. The reviews on Google mentioned businesses close late. When I got there at 6 PM, there were hardly any people, few open businesses didn’t have any visitors. I had dinner at Coco. Rice and egg… yummy….

I called it a day. Got to the hotel, took a shower, and fell asleep. 

Cape Hedo

Cape Hedo was the first stop. I don’t know what I’ve expected…. Perhaps some dramatic views of the ocean. It was definitely interesting to stay on top of sharp karst formation high above the waterline. 

Daisekirinzan National Park

The bus took us to Daisekirinzan National Park. We were given 1.5 hours to walk around. I covered all 3 trails in the park with some overlapping and circling in 45 minutes. What amazed me the most is that the tree roots finding their way through rocks. It was fascinating to see how nature fights and adapts to live. Karst formations are not unique. There are similar places in Indonesia and China just to name a few. If I drove or rode a motorcycle, I would make more stops along the way. We passed by some very pretty places and beaches.  

Yuiyuikunigami Rest Area

Our next stop was for lunch. A tour guide gave out brochures with a list of shops, cafes, stores on a plaza we stopped. Originally I picked a seafood place. When I found it, it was a take out, not exactly seafood dishes place. So I’ve entered the one next to it, that happened to be pork only eatery. From what I’ve learned on the tour is that Okinawan people use some kind of wild boar and pig hybrid in their traditional dishes. I’ve got thin sliced marinated pork stir-fried with sprouts. It was very good. On the way back to the bus, I saw a bakery…. My next stop. I’ve got a puff pastry and something else that looked like a miniature of a coffee cake. And coffee…. A souvenir center had interesting merchandise, however, I was already short on time and didn’t spend enough time to wonder and see everything. 

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

After an hour of the ride, we’ve reached an aquarium. Google shows diverse reviews. While the aquarium is on a smaller side, nevertheless, it has awesome exhibits and a little bit of everything. We were given 3 hours for it. I believe I finished in 1 hour or so. I could definitely spend more time there reading every poster and checking every display. Some I quickly passed because there were too many people in front and I didn’t want to wait. I felt so sad seeing manatees. First, unlike other aquarium residents, they had absolutely no decoration in their cells. Second, there were only 2 separated by a wall. Third, a viewing area was designed in such a way that voices sounded magnified and echoed. I imagined how that loudness penetrates (especially from certain languages and kids) a glass wall and affects the animals. It was just heartbreaking seeing them in small empty containers. Another fact that made me sad is their place of origin. Both manatees were from Chetumal Bay, Yucatan, Mexico…. How many kilometers they had to travel to end up in Japan. Was it worth for the animals? 

Back to Naha

Another side of a park where the aquarium is at had a tulip festival (I saw it when exiting the park). If I knew beforehand, I would visit the flower park too. It required an additional entrance fee though. A ride back home partially was along the water and sunset colors were impressive and memorable.  

Whale Tour

We saw a few whales in the distance. I felt it was a whale harassment tour rather than watching and observing. There were more boats than whales and each boat was a fast very loud one. I can only imagine what whales experience when a bunch of boat race to another spot where a whale is spotted. And that’s the place where they deliver babies. These tours are happening twice a day. Perhaps that the time when whales hideaway. We had a close encounter on the way back when the rest of the boats went away and we were a bit slowly making our way back. 

Baku Craft Beer bar

The rest of the day I’ve spend transitioning from one hotel to another, going to dinner and a drink at a local craft beer pub. There were a few Europeans and a few Japanese people. One Japanese guy was a brewmaster from Kyoto. He was very entertaining and wanted to talk to all foreigners. It was my first social evening on the island. 

Nakagusuku Castle

At 7: I got a bus #113 from platform #11 at Naha Bus Terminal. At first, a bus driver waves me off saying I’m on a wrong bus. I had to show him a bus stop where I’m getting off. From the bus stop – Nakagusuku – to Nakagusuku castle was about one hour of walk. I believe in total I’ve spent no more than 30 minutes there. At the top of a mountain, the wind was strong and it was chilly. I took a few pictures and continued walking to Toguchi to catch bus #52. 

Toguchi Bus Stop

The walk down a hill was easy and went through crop fields and a golf course. I was trying to make to 10:18 AM departure from a Toguchi bus stop. Actually, I didn’t find the Toguchi station, so I kept walking until I saw a bus sign. Only 2 minutes of waiting and the bus has arrived. Talking about timing. It wasn’t a big deal to catch that precise bus because the next one was in 13 minutes. Then there was a 35 minutes gap until the next one. That was part of the reason why I was trying to catch the 10:18 AM bus. 

Katsuren Castle

The ride to Katsuren Joseki Mae station was about 30 minutes. The stop is right in front of Katsuren castle ruins. Out of four castles I’ve visited in Okinawa, I liked Katsuren the most. First, it was on a cliff overlooking a good looking part of the ocean. While Nakagusuku castle also overlooked the ocean, the scenery nowadays is not as pretty as it was some years ago due to the commercialization of the coastline. Second, it was free, unlike other castles. Third, in my opinion, the ruins or actual castle layout is easy to understand, terraced and has a number of billboards with descriptions in English. Since the next bus was in 12 minutes, there was no way I could make up and down to and from the castle to make it. The next bus was arriving in approximately an hour. Well… since I didn’t take my time, in 30 minutes I was down the hill thinking what to do: wait for 30 minutes until the bus arrives or walk to my next destination that was 30 minutes away by foot. Let’s walk! 

Henza Bus Line - Miyagi Islands

The goal was to catch a 12 PM HENZA bus to visit Henza and Miyagi Islands. The reason I wanted to see those islands is because of their salt factories. There are two tourist-oriented salt factories to see. The first one on Henza island I’ve actually skipped because of the bus schedule. While 12 PM bus goes all the day down to a tip point of Hamahiga Island where the salt factory is located, the bus to catch back was in 2 hours and on the opposite side of the island. Or the total walk to the second salt factory, big one, or perhaps the biggest in the area, Nuchi-una Salt Factory was 3.5 hours away by foot. Plus, I’ve calculated in order to make to both factories I will do lots of walking and not have enough time for sightseeing. It was lunch time and I was hungry. Therefore, I skipped the first salt factory and headed to the second.

Nuchi-una Salt Factory

While a bus stop wasn’t anywhere around the second salt factory (according to the map), a bus driver was very nice and dropped me right at a road intersection. It took no more than 15 minutes to walk from the main road to the second Salt factory. When I boarded the bus I showed the bus driver where I’m going just to confirm I’m on the right bus. Oh, a note for the HENZA bus starting point. I didn’t find a sign of a bus stop. I saw an actual bus, more like a large van, it looked more like a shuttle bus than an actual bus, that had HENZA sign on it. It was parked on a plaza in front of a JA bank branch (it looked like a bank to me) across the street from a park. I cannot be more precise with the names or road names because google maps show names in Japanese characters for that area. The HENZA bus runs every 2 hours meaning there are only 5 or 6 buses per day. If I’m not mistaken the last bus departs Ika island at 5 PM. My goal was to get on 3 PM bus, which was at Miyagi Gyoko Mae station at 3:10 PM. Since the map, I found online was not detailed and rather schematic, I didn’t know a precise bus stop location. After a quick tour of the salt factory and a taco rice lunch at the factory’s café (the food was pretty decent). The café had free coffee and tea/water with the purchase of lunch. So I’ve had taco rice and a carrot cake that looked nothing like an American carrot cake. It didn’t taste much carroty too. I tried to leave around 2:30 PM to ensure I find the bus stop. Actually, it took only 15 minutes or so through fields to reach the bus stop. However, first, I didn’t know the bus stop name (in English) to refer to the bus route map, and, second, there was a print out in Japanese that made me think about some kind of route change. The stop was in a middle of a small town intersection, not on the main road, thus, I just decided to keep walking and find another bus stop that I could rely on as a legitimate bus stop. Plus I had enough time for a walk. I kept walking until I saw a big road with a bus sign on it…. It was about 30 minutes more to wait. Then it hit me that the sign is on a side of the road that goes the opposite direction. I walked up and down the road but didn’t see another bus sign. Then walked back and saw 2 schedules hanging on board, that made me think the bus stop is for both directions. And it was.

Perhaps I had time to even walk to Ike island, but I just chose not to. I don’t know. I got on the bus and made it back before a bus #52 at 4:05 PM was departing. The bus stop for #52 is just across the bank plaza where HENZA stops/starts. I had about 10 more minutes before #52 arrival and I saw a small pottery shop right across the bus stop. It was a really nice shop where I bought a few pieces of pottery from a local ceramist. Apparently, it was a self-paid service where you leave money in a jar and write down what you’ve purchased (purely my assumption based on a payment table set up).

Yaedake Sakuranomori Park

There is a number of buses going to Nago. I decided to take bus #120 at 8:40 AM. The day before while riding a bus, I saw an advertisement inside the bus mentioning 1 day to 3 days bus passes. In the morning I went around the bus terminal looking for an office to buy the pass. A 1-day pass costs 2000 yen and covers most of the busses except express ones that run on an expressway.  It was a good saving deal. One way to Motobu peninsula alone was 1800-2000 yen. The bus was very very late, plus we ran into traffic approaching Nago. Needless to say, I was late for the next bus, bus #70, going to Shinzato Iriguchi departing at 11:30 AM. Instead of arriving at 11 AM, we got the Naho bus terminal at 11:40 AM. I saw #70 leaving the town. Missing the bus screwed up the plan. Next step was to find another bus going that direction. Bus #65 passing by Motobu town departed at noon. In Motobu I hoped to catch a taxi to Yaedake park because the distance to the part was about 1 hour of walk. I didn’t have that time unless I drop other “must see’s”. That’s fine. I walked up the street trying to hitchhike. It actually worked. A car pulled over and 2 girls inside agreed to take me up the hill. They spoke English. Actually, the walk to the park is a good uphill road. Well….. it was too early for cherry blossoms. Most of the trees were in the early stage of blooming. It wasn’t picture-pretty. I approached a taxi asking if he is available to get back to town. He said no, however, he was very sweet and called a taxi. 

International Orchard Show

In 30 minutes we arrived at the aquarium park where an International Orchard show took place on that day. I believe it was my first orchard show. Colors, flowers, shapes, decorations, everything was simply amazing. Inside the park, I had lunch – very simple rice dish lunch.

Bise Fukugi Tree Lane

Next destination is Bise Fukugi Tree Lane. Total walk from the Expo center to Bisezaki Kaigan, a tip point of the peninsula, was about 30-minute walk. The day was sunny but windy and a bit chilly. Some businesses along a walking route were closed either for a season or from lack of visitors. I don’t know. Right at the time of reaching the end, it was time to catch the bus #65 from Bise Iriguchi, pretty much where a walking route meets the main road, at 5:18 PM. I had to make a decision whether to run to catch the bus or relax, skip Nakijin Castle, and spend time on the water. After visiting a few castles already, the decision was in favor of relaxing.

Nakijin Castle

If I were to go to the castle, I would get on bus #65 and get off at Nakijin Joseki Triguchi at 5:28 PM and then catch a bus #66 at 6:41 PM to arrive (according to the schedule) at 7:48 PM and transfer to bus #20 that leaves for Naha at 8 PM. 

Sakaemachi Arcade, Naha

Since I skipped Nakiji castle, I got on an earlier bus and returned to Naha early enough to have dinner at an alley, Sakaemachi Arcade, filled with small restaurants. It was right next to the Public Market in one of the alleys radiating from a side road. 

Shurijo Castle

The day began with a visit to Shurijo castle. Again. The first time I’ve visited I skipped the fee area that is the main attraction. Here we go again. 

Kudaka Island

While having a beer at the brew place a few days ago, I’ve been told about one small island, Kudaka island, that is supposedly very sacred. I googled. Pictures looked nice.  I’m pretty sure there are buses going there, however, since it was the last day and I wanted to cover the rest of the places on my list and then shop for souvenirs and pack. So I got a taxi and headed to Azama pier to catch 11:30 AM ferry. The next ferry departing Kudaka island was at 1 PM. We arrived in 15 minutes.

I was the first one in line to rent a bicycle. 1 hour of rental and the whole island to cover. Actually, without any stops, it would take 30 minutes to circle it. I made 3 stops with only one more or less a prolonged one of 10 minutes. Then I rushed back to catch the ferry. I actually wish I got on a 3 PM ferry (next one) because 1 hour is really not enough. Oh, well… it is done and the decision is made. When the ferry arrived Azuma, I’ve realized that a bus going toward Yaese park wasn’t coming any time soon. My only option was either walk for 4+ hours, skip the park, or get a taxi. Taxi it is. Upon the arrival, I didn’t find any taxis. A woman in a local store at the pier was extremely nice and helpful in getting me a taxi. She called a number and told me to wait 15 minutes. It took longer for a taxi to arrive, but it doesn’t matter. 

Yaese Park

The ride to Yaese park was about 30 minutes. When I arrived I saw that the park is in the same situation as the one on the Motobu Peninsula. It was too early for cherry blossoms. The festival description talked about food and awamori booths as well as performances. There was really nothing. Yes, there were people picnicking, but that’s about it. The event was planned because I saw shuttle buses and a team of policemen managing traffic of the newly arriving cars. Rather upset and hungry (lunchtime was in its full swing), I walked down to the street and got on a first arriving bus. If I remember correctly there is only one bus line running on that road. Luckily the bus has arrived in less than 10 minutes. 

Naha, hotel

The evening was uneventful. I didn’t go for dinner. My flight was at 7 AM. The evening had to be short to fulfill minimum hour sleep requirement for the body.