Christmas Holiday Part I - Okinawa!!!

This Christmas I was lucky enough to go on vacation to Okinawa!!!

So, it was a 5 day vacation. Two nights in Naha, the largest city on the main island in Okinawa, and two nights at a beach resort up the island.

For those of you who don't know, Okinawa is a part of the sub-tropics. It's the southern most part of Japan and is made up of a number of islands. It is the home of Karate!!

So of course there is a lot to tell about the trip to Okinawa. I will simply outline a few of the highlights though.

1. It was cold. You're probably laughing now...but i'm not joking. The first day was alright, but then we had to wear longs sleeves for sure. I think the sun was on my face for maybe 15 seconds.

2. We saw lots of Shisa. These are lion figurines of all sizes, they always come in a set of two. One has his mouth open and one has his mouth closed. They are a symbol of Okinawa and are most often placed on the tops of houses to scare off evil spirits.

3. I learned about the Habu. The Habu is a snake special to Okinawa. It is very dangerous and can kill a human. The Okinawans take a lot of pride in this creature...they even have a store called the Habu Box. You can get t-shirts all over with Habus on them.

4. We found a BEAUTIFUL garden in Naha and went there twice to take pictures. There was a waterfall with a cave in behind it! So cool.

5. We went to Shuri-jo Castle. It was quite beautiful although completely rebuilt since Okinawa was flattened in the war. The grounds surrounding the castle we beautiful and there are a number of gates along the path.

6. For dinner we ate at an AMAZING restaurant. It was called Sam's Anchor Inn, and it was completely free with a coupon received from the travel agent. I stored in my celly all the food they made us so I could blog about it.
Here goes:
-Indian Soup, a favourite of mine. Spicy and creamy!
-Salad: iceberg lettuce (which we don't often have here in Japan), with veggies and blue cheese dressing. If you know me, you know I LOVE blue cheese.
-THEN, this dude came out and started cooking our entire meal right in front of us (the table was a grill top)!!!!!!! It was so cool. He was all formal and would do trick for us with the seasonings and he would cut everything all fancy. First he did our veggies: green pepper, onion, and potatoes.
-Fish, this was just served already made
-Steak (it was a steak house), which I requested to be well done. Honestly, it was the most tender and most perfectly seasoned steak I've had in a while.
-Bok Choy and Bean Sprouts were what he grilled up next. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
-Peachy Mango Sorbet to cleanse our palettes afterwards!!! Yummy.
-To drink I had guava juice and mizu (water).
Seriously, a long awaited healthy and tasty meal!!! That dinner has got me set for a few weeks now. I'd go back in an instant. And to think we just paid 300 yen for our drinks. Incredible.

7. On the third day we took the bus up island to Moon Beach. We were paying a little extra to stay at the Moon Beach Resort which honestly was a breathtaking establishment. I think I took 60 pictures of just the hotel in general.

8. I went snorkelling!!! The higlights of this were seeing a Manta Ray (Sting Ray) and feeding the fish. Oh, and I also touched a sea cucumber and a starfish. It was great because it was just the guide and me. Probably people thought it was too cold to go in the ocean. It was nice to be in salt water again (last time was my first time when I was 9ish).

9. I got a massage! This was amazing and ultra Japanese style. The style over here is to keep your clothes on and then they also put towels over you, and then they just go to town. The lady who did me was probably 55 and she even jumped on the table straddling me to work at my back. It was full-body massage, haven't had one of those in a while!

10. Went to the onsen. This is basically a public bath. Quite crazy actually...because you're just completely naked in front of random women. I must admit when I went alone it was better because there aren't anyother friends to be weirded out about seeing naked. It was cool though. You just shower and then sit in a hottub for a while and then maybe sauna it (they had a hard-core pore-refining 'Mist Sauna') and then shower and take your time getting dressed. A super way to relax and treat yourself.

11. It was a very relaxing and rewarding vacation. I was able to do the relaxing things I wanted to and I also spent a lot of time alone! It was nice to just have things quiet and not rushed. The last morning I spent sitting on the rocks at the shore of the ocean. It was also just nice to spend time taking pictures and reflecting on life...

I think those are all the highlights of my vacation to Okinawa!! Oh, one more thing...
At the airport on the way home I found a beautiful designer purse that was on sale, so I just had to buy it. My Christmas present to myself!

Stay tuned to my pic site for more beautiful pics of Okinawa.