Naha, Okinawa

2019 Summer Trip to Asia

July 14, 2019 -- Naha, Okinawa, Japan, RCCL Voyager of the Seas (2:00~10:00 PM)

Please click here for video of our day in Naha.

It's Sunday, and we are heading to Naha, Okinawa. This will be our second time visiting this island situated between Japan and Taiwan. Our first visit was last November on the Diamond Princess sailing roundtrip Keelung, Taiwan. I imagined that this will be a different experience since we are here on a hot summer day this time around.

On our last trip here, we did the Japanese Naval Underground Tunnel and the Shuri Castle. Having those sites taken care of, we decided to just leisurely explore the city itself. 

With the whole morning at sea, sailing into port, we had a relaxing morning checking out the many places on the ship where we haven't had a chance to see yet. Voyager was scheduled to dry dock in September, so she may look different by the time you see these pictures.

The Centrum

Entrance to Sapphire Dining Room

Viking Crown Lounge with a view of the ocean and the open decks below.

A very quiet Viking Crown Lounge.

Entrance to the Viking Crown Lounge

Izumi, the Asian restaurant, right off the Viking Crown Lounge, port side.

Inside Izumi.

Art Gallery on deck 4.

Stairs at the Centrum near the Tavern on deck 4.

Casino Royale, deck 4

Cafe Promenade, deck 5

Just to show how cramp the place is.

Something is wrong with this sign, don't you think?

After lunch at the buffet on the ship, we arrived Naha a little before scheduled. I am sure we had to go through some kind of immigration procedure but now I cannot remember the exact set up. It was probably done inside the cruise terminal with long lines. It was a little chaotic downstairs with so many passengers trying to get to their buses or other transportation alternatives. For us, we just walked out of the building to the main street, Wakasanaka Dori.

First thing we saw was the Dragan Column, Ryuchu, by roadside.

From there we made a turn to Naminoue Beach nearby with VOTS in the background.

It was a Sunday, so there were quite a few locals enjoying the sun and sand. A couple of 'gentlemen' were having some kind of dispute that looked like will turn into a fight, so we quickly went past them to avoid troubles.

Then we reached the Naminoue Gu,

but we couldn't get into the shrine because there was a wedding taking place. 

The photo session took a long time right in front of the shrine. We decided not to bother waiting for them to finish.

Going down through the main gate of the Naminoue Gu.

Continued with our walk toward downtown, we came to the Confucius Temple (Shiseibyo).

It was opened but not much to see really.

Then we walked around the block, back to the main street to the entrance of Naha Fuzhou Garden.

This was an interesting find and we totally enjoyed our time there. There is an entrance but very minimal, I think it was like 200Y. 

A Chinese garden in Japan.

So beautiful!

We spent about an hour here, walking around the garden.

A worthwhile and surprise visit.

We finally reached Kokusai Dori, the major attraction in Naha.

The street was partially closed off between certain hours on this Sunday.

We just aimlessly wandered around the different souvenir shops and checking out the restaurants. Unfortunately, we found the Ishigaki Beef Honpo where we got the delicious Ishigaki beef skewer not opened. So, we walked further up to the Kokusai Street Food Village to look for dinner.

MOR had his eyes on the Sea urchin an salmon roe rice bowl...

while I ordered my sashimi rice bowl 1880Y.

sea urchin and salmon roe 2780Y

at this little restaurant on the left. We were seated inside around a little sushi bar with about 8 seats watching the chef in action. People were very friendly. There was a couple with their young daughter and a gentleman by himself enjoying their Sunday dinner. It couldn't be too bad if locals come to this place for their meals out.

All the restaurants posted on this board.

This was where we had our dinner, #15.

After dinner, we did a little shopping at the Don Quijote store and then decided to take a taxi back to port. We were tired and it was getting dark. Seemed like a good idea to just head back for the night.

"A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother."  -- Proverbs 10:1