Okinawa Beaches & Rocky Shores

Shuri Castle

Shureimon

A city district of Naha today, Shuri is the name of the former capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Shuri Castle (Shurijo) served as the administrative center and residence of the Ryukyu kings for several centuries, until Okinawa became a Japanese prefecture in 1879. Wars and fires destroyed Shuri Castle multiple times over the centuries, most recently in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. The current buildings are beautiful reconstructions dating from 1992.

The castle's main buildings stand on top of a hill and are approached through several gates. The Seiden (Main Hall), former venue of major affairs of state and ceremonies, is the most lavishly decorated building and stands in front of Una Plaza.

Zuisenmon

Seiden (Main Hall)

Nakijin Castle Ruins

Nakijin Castle is one of many castles, built across Okinawa during the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The independent kingdom had existed for several centuries prior to becoming a Japanese prefecture in 1879. Only ruins remain of the Nakijin Castle today.
Nakijin Castle is among the sites, which were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the collective title "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu" in the year 2000.
The castle served as the fortress of the chieftains who ruled the northern district. Built on a mountain with a wide view, the castle is enormous, second to Shurijo Castle in size, and erected strategically yet in harmony with the surrounding geographical features. The curved walls are exquisitely constructed and extend 1.5 kilometers. As you stroll through the grounds, you will see that this invincible castle commands an extraordinary view of pristine blue waters. Nakijin Castle is famous for its early-blooming cherry trees and attracts many visitors every spring.

For all you book lovers...

Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror?

Horror all the way, nothing better then having to close a book and stop reading b/c you know you won't be able to sleep. But I do like a little fantasy thrown in every now and then - esp. time travel - particularly in Scotland! hehe

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?

MMP is cheaper by far, but if I know it's a book/series I'm dying to read...I'll lay down the big bucks for the hardback.

Heinlein or Asimov?

Heinlein.

No doubt about it - he has a crater on Mars named after him for pete's sake!

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?

Being in Japan, I'm an Amazon.jp girl.

If I actually had a store WITH A BIG ENGLISH SELECTION,

I would do some major shopping. Oh, how I miss Book People!

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

I'm partial to B&N for no other reason than it sounds more prestigious for me.

I'm living proof that a person can be swayed by a title. Sad, but true!

Hitchhiker or Discworld?

What are these?? Never heard of them.

Bookmark or Dogear?

I know, I deliberately damage my books, but I dogear them.

Though I keep buying bookmarks with the good intentions of not harming future books,

but it's a hard habit to break.

Alphabetize by author, title or random?

I'm not as good as Natasha, she practically has everything matching by color ;)

My stash is as random as they come, makes it fun to look through and thinking - oh I forgot I had this one!

But on the bad side, I can't remember which ones are borrowed out to friends!

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?

OMG...I could never re-sell one of my books.

I don't know how people do it!

Throwing them away - phef...are you serious?

I'm a pack-rat, thus I keep!!!

Oh, it's gonna be a fun day when I have to mail these suckers home - b/c YES....I'm not leaving them behind!

Keep dustjacket or toss it?

I keep the dustjacket but...

Read with dustjacket or remove it?

...I take it off while I'm reading.

Short story or novel?

Novels.

Short stories are for reading slumps.

But I do admit if the short story goes with a series, I'll read it...just to keep up.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?

I've only read Harry Potter.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

When I'm tired.

As my Thailand traveling buddies would know, I pretty much sleep with my books - on me, as a pillow, sometimes under the covers. When I stop reading is when I fall asleep! ;)

Thus, the reason I dogear b/c my bookmarks would fall out with my rough handling!

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?

Ohhh....good question!! I'm gonna cheat and say both! HA!

Buy or Borrow?

Umm...again...Both.

But seriously I try to borrow first-but if I love a book (or the author) I will buy buy buy.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?

All of them. But I love browsing most of all!

And I only take recommendations from authors I like.

C.S. Lewis or Tolkien?

Tolkien. He gave me Legolas.

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?

Short and sweet --> Anthology

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?

Tidy ending. I detest books that don't have an epilogue.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?

When it's a lazy Saturday/Sunday, morning read. But for sure, nighttime reading.

Standalone or Series?

I enjoy both, but series are much more fun and much more addictive.

Urban fantasy or high fantasy?

Um...anyone care to explain? Is high fantasy like Lord of the Rings?

New or used?

Both Baby!

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

The Sweet Smell of Christmas. A childhood favorite.

I think it was so special to me b/c my Mom also packed it up with all the other Christmas stuff,

so I only saw/read/scratched & sniffed during the holidays.

I use to love smelling the Christmas tree!

Top 5 favorite books read last year?

Across the Nightingale Floor, The Dark Highlander, Dark Magic, Bet Me and Definitely Dead

Top 5 favorite books of all time?

The Velveteen Rabbit, Gone with the Wind, The Princess Bride, Midnight (Dean Koontz), and The Bride and the Beast (Teresa Medeiros)

5 favorite series?

The Sookie Stackhouse series (Charlaine Harris), The Dead and Unwed series (Mary Janice Davidson), The Dark series (Christine Feehan), The Circle Trilogy (Nora Roberts), and The Dark Fever Series (Karen Marie Moning)

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

Did you know that Okinawa's Churaumi Aquarium is the 2nd largest aquarium in the world??? (1st would be Georgia's aquarium) I thought the aquarium in Osaka was big with its one whale shark, but Okinawa has 3 sharks, many giant sting rays, and tons of other fish all in one gigantic tank. Cool!

I think we spent as much time on the aquarium grounds (Expo Park) than we did looking at all the tanks. Expo park is huge and all the plants/flowers are related to sea creatures.

Even though the day we went was cloudy and very windy, we braved the foul weather to watch the dolphin show outside. Sure, it can't be compared to a performance at SeaWorld, but it's still funny and entertaining!

MY FAVORITE!!!

I have no idea what exactly these worm creatures are, but they fascinated me!!!

They gave me a bit of the willies though, b/c they:

First, kind of reminded me of Beatlejuice and

Second, kind of reminded me of those darn kite blowy things that wig me out

But these things were just DARN weird and I loved it!!!