The grounds outside the castle are lovely.
As with most of these Castles, there are several tiers and gates for each one. This is the outermost gate.
On the second inner-most tier (where they have the ticket booth to gain access to the castle itself), they had a series of different Ryukyu dancers performing to recorded music.
In this video clip you're hearing the sanshin (stringed instrument similar to a guitar and precursor to the shamisen of mainland Japan), and the sanba (the castinet-like instrument the dancer is holding in her hands).The grounds around the castle are free, it's 800 yen to get into the castle itself. This is the inner courtyard. They're doing a little work on the main complex here.
This is the throne.
After our time at Shuri, we went from the ancient to the modern and visited Kokusai Street in downtown Naha. This is a street known for all its shops and street vendors. We found a great little spot for lunch:
I know this is way off the mark, but with its dark, cozy interior it kindof reminded us of a pub in Scotland!
I had stewed pork rib meat, and Joe had a cut of pork boiled in a marinade of soy sauce, sugar, sweet sake, and salt that was to die for. Afterwards, we noticed that everyone left their business cards all over the walls of the restaurant, so we asked the proprietor if it was okay and we left my card! You should be able to click and enlarge to find it among all the other Japanese ones.
On our way back to the car, we indulged in a little American-ness and stopped at... Starbucks! Yes, they're over here too, and we fed the monster. Nothing like sipping an iced vanilla latte while Jingle Bell Rock is playing in early November... in a tropical island in Japan! I'm so confused.
This is the throne.
After our time at Shuri, we went from the ancient to the modern and visited Kokusai Street in downtown Naha. This is a street known for all its shops and street vendors. We found a great little spot for lunch:
I know this is way off the mark, but with its dark, cozy interior it kindof reminded us of a pub in Scotland!
I had stewed pork rib meat, and Joe had a cut of pork boiled in a marinade of soy sauce, sugar, sweet sake, and salt that was to die for. Afterwards, we noticed that everyone left their business cards all over the walls of the restaurant, so we asked the proprietor if it was okay and we left my card! You should be able to click and enlarge to find it among all the other Japanese ones.
On our way back to the car, we indulged in a little American-ness and stopped at... Starbucks! Yes, they're over here too, and we fed the monster. Nothing like sipping an iced vanilla latte while Jingle Bell Rock is playing in early November... in a tropical island in Japan! I'm so confused.
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