We started the morning with a walk to Naminoue beach which was close by to our hotel. Naminoue beach looked quite nice except for the view! A big imposing expressway crosses the water directly in front of it.
Just around the corner from the beach is the stunning Naminouegu shinto shrine nestled up on a cliff top. As it was still quite early we were able to enjoy the surroundings of the shrine before the crowds descended upon it later in the day.
Not far away was Fuzhoa Garden which cost just 200 yen to enter. The garden was constructed in 1992, in celebration of the 10th
anniversary of the establishment of the sister city relationship between
Naha and Fuzhou in China. There are two pagodas, a waterfall and large ponds filled with koi carp. Definitely worth a look if you're visiting Naha as it's such a peaceful oasis in the centre of this busy city.
We hadn't had breakfast yet so stopped for some cinnamon toast and a coffee in a department store cafe.
Eventually we were back on Kokusai Dori again where I spotted a shop serving sweet potato cakes and pastries. This cream filled chocolate cake topped with a bright purple sweet potato frosting looked and tasted superb.
The covered shopping streets behind Kokusai Dori were nearly all open, this is a great area to explore as there's such a vast selection of shops to be found here.
You can find many fruit shops and a huge food market in the centre.
This shop sold a huge selection of postcards featuring images of Naha. The owner who had taken all these photographs told us we could ask him about any of the images and he'd tell us where the photo was taken in the city.
By one of the exits at the rear of the market was a stall selling kushiage, deep fried food on a stick. We bought a selection which all cost under 100 yen each, they included sweet potato, quails eggs and shrimp. Excellent value for money and so delicious!
I also picked up a freshly made spam and egg onigiri for 100 yen.
I kept seeing sea grapes (umibudo) so decided to try some. They're quite salty and have an interesting texture, the tiny bubbles burst in your mouth as you bite into them. These are very popular in Okinawa and are a good source of vitamins A and C, calcium, zinc and iron.
Rainbow ice cream, so many different flavours with every lick!
A local guy we were chatting with yesterday had recommended visiting Shuri Castle. You can get there using the monorail, it's the last stop on the network. Some of the monorail cars are themed, the one we caught featured Little Twin Stars.
We called into a supermarket for a beer before making our way up to the castle. Ella couldn't resist buying these cute Milky chocolate lollipops.
Shuri castle was almost completely destroyed in 1945 during The Battle of Okinawa. In 1992 it was reconstructed based on historical records and photographs. We went inside where a circular route takes you through the buildings and courtyard. The luxurious interior contains the throne and crown of the King of the Ryukyu Islands and other important treasures.
After exploring the castle we decided to walk along the Shuri Kinjo-cho stone paved path. The length of the path was 10km long, but after WWⅡ it was destroyed.
Now the path is 300m. People live on the path and it is also a
designated cultural property.
Close to Asato station is Sakaemachi Arcade, a bustling market area with heaps of character. We visited in the daytime but this area really comes alive after 6pm when the many eateries and Izakaya open up.
It had a been a long day so we grabbed a snack from Family Mart to eat back at the hotel. I enjoyed this mixed bento with an iced cold can of Kirin. Ella feasted on edamane beans, mixed salad and pickled plum onigiri.
Click here for Day 8
Naha
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