My Four-day Trip to Okinawa

After the Christmas Eve, I started off on my four-day travel to Okinawa on December 25th, accompanied by my Vietnamese friend who came to Japan in the same season as I did and two friends of her. Our flight arrived at Naha Airport in the evening, after which we directly reached the hotel we reserved ahead of time by monorail. It was a large room of four people use with four beds and perfect appliance such as a television set, a fridge, a microwave, and so on.

The next day, we were all excited to go to the well-known Aquarium of Chiyura-umi which, though, is seated extremely far away from Naha and took us about 2 hours to go there by taxi. The priority of a four-member travel, at that time, seems to be prominent, since the cost we went by taxi could be cheaper or at least equivalent to the cost of bus, which enabled us to look around more easily and comfortably. The Aquarium is said to be the largest(some say the third largest) and the first in the world. We were more than shocked to see the giant shark of about 10 meters lenghth swimming in a tank of 3 floors height. We also enjoyed looking at the colorful and wonderful corals and fishes of various kinds. We felt as if we had been to another world with mystery and fantasy. We also watched a fantastic dolphin show, which was full of surprise and joy. The Aquarium is also composed of an area of beach and little houses of various special animals. We walked along the charming and gorgeous beach of white sand. Facing the endless and vast sea, feeling the sea wind blowing swaying on our chins, the time seemed to have stopped and any worry or sadness or sorrow just had no way to invade people's brain.

After the two hours looking around the Aquarium, we went back to Naha and visited the International Avenue where I bought myself a cute winter skirt to be my birthday present. We saw and bought some local desert and decorations which reflected the culture of the Okinawa, as well. We all chose to have Soki-Ramen as our dinner which the taxi driver recommended to us. I thought it was the most palatable food that I had had since I came to Japan.

The third day turned out to be wonderful as well, when we went to the Castle of Syuri where the king of Ryukyu Dynasty is said to live. Ryukyu is the ancient name of Okinawa, and it had been an independent country from Japan before it was conquered. As a matter of fact, the nation used to be heavily contacted to China since, as far as I have learned, the Tang Dynasty. That is why Okinawa looks very much alike to the south of China. The first second when I saw the city of Naha, it reminded me of a Province in China named of Yunnan. And still that is why the food in Okinawa appeared to agree with me such a lot. The taxi driver told us that Okinawa, in practice, has its own language, completely different from Japanese. When two local people come to talk with each other, they would rather use Okinawa language than Japanese. The Syuri Castle is not so large as Kumamoto Castle. However the characteristic of it is its color: every corner is almost in red, from poles to walls. It is just a world of red when you enter into it.

Afterward, we went to have a journey of glass boat, which is made by glass at the bottom and though which, we can see the fish and corals and anything in the sea. The journey was very enjoyable and the world bottom seemed to keep varying. We played and took photos after we came back to the beach and enjoyed ourselves a lot. I picked up shells and put them together so that I could take a photo of them to the memory of my journey to the beautiful and interesting trip. I did not take any of them back since I thought that it was to the beach where they belong.

When we came back to the hotel that day, it was the last night for us to stay in Okinawa. My friends decided to hold a little party for me in advance since my birthday was two days away and I could be with two of them that day. I was really moved and they were so kind. We bought snacks and a small cake in a convenient store nearby. We drank and ate and had fun listing to the Filipino girl talking about her religion, as the other three of us are all non-believers. She said her dream was to be a preacher and told us a lot about her religion, which we had never known before, so that we were all interested in what she was talking and kept asking questions. It was like another world to us, as well as a story. It was the first time for me to hear something about the world of religion and found it interesting.

Yesterday, we came back by the air. Thus I think I have finished all my journey in Japan this year. It is supposed to be my last destination during my stay in Japan this time. Although there must be many more resorts of beauty and charm, I do not think I have any time to travel any more before I go back to China. Anyway, I am satisfied that I had finished traveling the main regions and cities in Japan, and if I can get a chance to come to Japan again, I would like to visit the other parts of Japan.
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