“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
In the heart of Naha, Okinawa's Capital, there is a castle that has been rebuilt from years of war to represent the original. The original castle was built to serve as the political, economical, and cultural center of the Ryukyu islands (Okinawa is one island in the chain of the Ryukyu islands). The history of the castle is outstanding and its cultural significance is equally intriguing. Enjoy some pictures from our journey through Ryukyu history.
Outside the main castle!
Construction on the castle. The entry fees are being used to constantly improve the castle's representation of accurate historical data.
We had to take our shoes off to enter the castle.. as usual my socks don't match! At least they are both striped. :)
The King's chair...think of the decisions made here!
The room where the King and Queen held gatherings and often celebrated New Year's!
Tatami rooms. This particular room was the King's office.
Tea Rooms. Tea ceremonies can be reenacted here for a small fee!
The daily tea was made in this cement bowl in the floor.
Troy could not go through the doorways without hitting his head!
The gorgeous view from the castle top. Much of the Southern island can be seen from here!
The castle was originally built in the 1300's and served as the residence for Ryukyu kings until 1879 when Okinawa became a Japanese prefecture. Hard work was done for six years to restore the castle until it was opened to the public in 1992. It was certainly fun to step into history and appreciate the Japanese culture.
Thanks to the Christmas Holiday, Troy has a four day weekend and we have kept it jam packed with fun! :)
On Christmas Eve, we went snorkeling in the morning and to Kaylie and Adam's house in the evening. It was nice to spend time with our Okinawa family and eat some good food (and to-die-for desserts). On Christmas Day, we woke up and exchanged gifts before a few Skype sessions and phone calls from home. It was nice to be able to 'exchange gifts' over the internet even though we could not be with our families on Christmas. Christmas night, we went to a winery on the Southern tip of the island. They had a Christmas lights display with live music. The singer was dressed like Santa and people were all around, but we were some of the only American's. As we walked to our car, we were surprised with fireworks. Pausing to watch them gave us time to reflect on how thankful we are for a Japanese Christmas. While we miss being with family, we are pretty darn lucky for this experience. Here are some pics from the light festival!
There are elephants, monkeys, and giraffes in with the reindeer. I think someone missed the memo that the North Pole isn't quite tropical...
Fireworks above some windmills harnessing natura
l energy!
One Christmas light display. It was fun to walk through!
We hoped it would turn out a little better but here is our Christmas Day photo!
Today, we went up North to the base where Troy works to see his Marines in the barracks. They were all in good spirits, especially since we had a big bag of candy to share! After a visit with them, we headed to a local restaurant that has made its way onto the must-see list for our visitors.
From the outside, it looks like a normal restaurant...
This building is a Bonsai Garden, Cafe, and Cave all in one. When we entered, we paid 800 Yen (about 9 US) and were handed a map. We sat down in the Cafe section and ordered some food, unaware of the looming adventure. While we waited, we started to look at the map and realized there are thirteen different sections of the restaurant. It is essentially a museum with good food, can't top that!
The area where we sat.
The tables and chairs were all made from wood and molded into interesting shapes.
While we waited for our food, we began the adventure. We traveled through a limestone cave, garden, mirror room, and bonsai garden.
The 'garden' which had a waterfall, tons of plants, and some outdoor seating.
A small portion of the bonsai garden on the roof.
The mirror room, filled with tons of trinkets!
The limestone cave. That is a bar in a cave! My kind of adventure.
The view from our adventure. Rainy that day, so imagine how beautiful it will be on a sunny day!
Thanks for joining us on another Okinawan adventure!
We are sad to be missing home around the holidays, but so glad to have loving family and friends who keep us in mind. In the past few weeks, Christmas boxes filled with goodies have arrived and brought with them Christmas cheer! We want to send out a big THANK YOUto everyone who has helped make our holidays great! The extra-large-Christmas-colored letters cannot express our appreciation enough!
Some pictures of the Christmas love....
Cards from all over the United States! We love them, thank you everyone!
My favorite box of gifts... from our friends in Kentucky. Lots of awesome ornaments for our tree! :)
Some of the presents we have received from family and friends back home! It is so hard not to open them when no one is here to enforce the no-presents-til-Christmas-rule!
Hi, My name is Kara Walton and I am an addict. I am addicted to the adrenaline mixed with calmness, the solitude matched with the companionship, and the fear followed by absolute certainty. Certainty that we are so lucky to live on this wonderful planet.
A friend once said that snorkeling is like sticking your head into a giant fish tank. I can't agree more. Except these are not the fish and fake rocks you see in the doctor's office. There are starfish, sea cucumbers, sea snakes, clown fish (Nemo), sea turtles, and so many other natural wonders. There is nothing like entering the underwater paradise, blocking out the outside noises, and being a part of a world so many humans do not realize exists.
Anyone who knows me knows I am not a fan of water. While I have a huge appreciation for its power and beauty, I have never been one to dive in and explore. Troy is the exact opposite. I think he would live in the water if he could, and he never seems to fear the unknown. After my first snorkeling adventure, I started to understand the love he has for the water.
On our most recent snorkeling adventure, a good friend was nice enough to bring along an underwater camera and take these pictures! Thanks, Kristle!
A baby sea turtle! These are endangered and hard to find!
Kadena Sea Wall, our favorite snorkel spot so far!
My personal favorite fish... the Moorish Idol. (Or Gill from Finding Nemo :))
My hair is always a mess after snorkeling!
The next time you have the opportunity... dive in. You won't regret it!
I have been painstakingly patiently awaiting news of an internship with DoDEA schools here on the island. Since October 2009, I have been striving toward becoming certified to teach by the DoDEA. All of the requirements are met, with the exception of a student teaching experience. I put in my application with the DoD in September for the competitive position and held my breath. Luckily I kept breathing out of my nose, or I wouldn't have been conscious to hear the news that came via email Friday morning.
"Ms. Kara Ann Walton has been approved to student teach at Ryukyu Middle School in Okinawa, Japan from 1/10/2010 to 3/18/2010. We would like to offer her a position in Ms. Volosevich's 7th grade Science classes."
I read this email and proceeded to spring out of the bed, do a happy dance, and reply to the email. I resisted the urge to type "I ACCEPT, I ACCEPT, I ACCEPT!!!!!!!!!And can I have a real job at your school, too?"
Instead I opted for a more socially acceptable "I happily accept and look forward to the experience!!!!" but I still used 4 exclamation points. :)
A little info about the school that I have found by stalking researching them online. Their mascot is the Habu... a poisonous snake that is quite popular here on the island. I hope to never meet one in person. The school is only 2 years old and has about 600 students in 6,7, and 8th grade. It is about 20 minutes from our home and located on a separate base. It is on Kadena Air Force base but serves students from all military services. In order to attend this school (and all DoD schools on the island) students must be American citizens whose guardians are stationed here. I am sure there is much more info to come once I get into the classroom. :)
After I finish student teaching in March, I will have finished my quest toward a Master's in K-12 Education. I am so excited about the new opportunities because of this internship!!
After all that reading, aren't you hungry? How about a little crocodile for dinner? That's right, I said crocodile!
That one glowing white spot is an eye of the alligator kept in a cage at the restaurant! Yeah, it is a horrible picture! He was in sub par living conditions and I am pretty sure they plan on eating him... Troy might have to bust out his Crocodile Hunter accent and go on a recon mission to save the little dude.
The restaurant is called crocodiles.. but they have an alligator outside....
The restaurant had a cool atmosphere, super cool decorations, excellent service, and mediocre food.
The inside was decked out in Christmas decor.
The tables and floors had glass marbles embedded in them. Each little design had a light bulb behind it, giving off a faint glow. Really awesome!!!
No, it is not raining outside.. that is a waterfall wall! The entire wall had water streaming down it... very serene!
While there was crocodile on the menu.. available grilled or deep fried, we both opted for less adventurous menu items. I ordered the red snapper.. it was not very great, no flavor and a little rubbery. Troy ordered the shrimp pasta. It was definitley sea-foody! But wait... it gets better. Check out what was on his plate:
There were two shrimp with eyeballs still intact! Do people eat this??? YUCK!
Luckily, they had lots of yummy drink options to make up for the lack of good food.
Thanks for joining us for another episode of "Kara and Troy Go Native!"
