Outrunning the Cyclone from Okinawa.

With tropical cyclone Ling Ling bearing down on Okinawa, our ship only stopped for us to clear Japanese immigration and to refuel to get us to Sydney.

With our reduced time ashore, we had time to do just one thing, so we decided to visit Shurijo Castle in Naha, the capital.  This castle was the focal point of the Ryukyu kingdom that paid tribute to China and acted as a major trading centre.

Okinawa did not become a prefecture of Japan until 1879.  It is more Chinese that Japanese in its style.

The castle was obliterated in the battle of Okinawa in 1945 but rebuilt to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the return of Okinawa to Japan in 1972. It is different from any   castle in Japan and looks more like a scaled down version of Beijing’s “Forbidden City”.

We entered through the main gates, removed our shoes and walked all around the different levels of the castle.

                                             Rob at the main entry gate.

                                                        Gail at the front of the castle

                                             Rob’s turn in the front of the castle.

                                                        View from the inside.

                                            Gail and Rob on the ramparts.

We were conscious that we had to return to the ship for an early sailing but made time to walk briefly through the gardens.

                                                       Gail in the outer garden.

We retraced our steps walking back 15 minutes to the monorail station.  Along the way, we took photos of some of the many lion dogs that are found on roofs and fences “protecting” the property.

         

                                                         Lion dog up on the roof.

                                                         Another savage lion dog!

After our 20 minute monorail trip, we still had a 15 minute walk back to the ship and only stopped for a short detour into a park.

                                                 Rob recovers his breath in the park.

We made it back to the pier in time to check our emails and spend the last of our Japanese yen before clearing immigration to exit Japan.  All aboard was 11.30 am instead of the original time of 8.00 pm.