We went down south on the island to Okinawa World this past weekend. Staying true to theory, we found yet another route to get there...and a different one to get back. After discussing this with other people, it seems like Okinawa World is part of a black hole on the island - no one can ever tell you exactly how to get there or how to get back. You just drive until you find it...and then drive until you find something that looks familiar to get back. hehehe Not to jinx us, but we think we may have actually found a repeatable route for next time. We'll see, though. :)
Last time Brandon and I were at Okinawa World, it was very, very hot outside and the cave seemed blissfully cool. This time it was warm enough for ice cream, but only somewhere in the 70s outside. The cave felt a bit warm and very humid. We got calcium dripped on us throughout the cave, but weren't sticking around long enough to become part of the scenery. :) Check out some of our photos in the gallery.
We got to learn more about some of the traditional Okinawa crafts and visit the brewery. We ate lunch at the brewery where the boys tried the World Cup winning Nanto beer, which is brewed from the cave water. Dick also tried some of the Okinawa habu awamori (Okinawa snake alcohol). After lunch, we watched an Okinawa glass cup being made (Okinawa glass is very popular), walked through a shisa pottery shop (I wasn't sure we were ever going to get Brandon to come back out), and stopped to get some beni-imo (purple potato) ice cream for dessert. Dick has become almost as big a fan of beni-imo as Brandon.
We also stopped at a craft booth to dress in traditional Ryukyu attire and get our photos taken. Being the photo-lover I am, that was probably my favorite part of the day. Great photos! The booth was definitely not made with tall people in mind, and Brandon and Dick had to be extra careful while getting dressed. The girls running the booth hadn't seen anyone as tall as Dick (not many people have in Okinawa or Stateside for that matter), so it was fun to see their reactions. I've always hung out with tall guys (and ended up marrying a 6'6" amazing guy), so I tend to forget how tall Brandon and Dick (7') are until we're out and about. We get quite the looks here and Okinawa World was no exemption. In fact, we had a group of three older (not school kids like previously) people ask to get their photo taken with Dick in one of the stores. Laughter for all of us! :)
We ended our trip to Okinawa World by watching a traditional Okinawa eisa dance. All in all, a great trip down south!
---Arielle
