Yokohama Date Night

While J. was on deployment, I was excited to find our favorite Thai restaurant hidden in Shinjuku Train Station.  And then I was even more excited when I learned there was also one near the Yokohama Train Station, which is much closer to us than Shinjuku.  It was on my "must-do" list for J.'s summer deployment break, so we headed over to Yokohama for date night.  After a delicious dinner at the Mango Tree, we headed over to CosmoWorld to ride the giant ferris wheel:

Cosmo Clock 21

When it opened it was the tallest ferris wheel in the world!  Sadly, it is no longer the tallest, but it is still the world's largest clock.  It takes 15 minutes to make one full rotation around the wheel!

Looking down at CosmoWorld

Yokohama

Yokohama

Me + J.

Afterwards, we realized we were close to a beer bar that had been recommended to J. by one of his co-workers.  We had to go looking for it!

World Beer Museum

Beer Pyramid!

World Beer Museum opened this summer and is like the Epcot of bars.  It's a bar and restaurant, but the bar area is divided up into several different sections.  Each section is a different country around the world!  We sat in the United Kingdom section, but there was also Belgium, Czech, U.S. and Germany. I think it's a great concept for a bar and we had a fun night!

Odawara Castle

On a beautiful June afternoon, Mrs. S. and I took the train to Odawara to explore the castle.  Like most castles in Japan, the original castle was destroyed and the one that stands now was rebuilt in the 1960's. It is listed as one of the 100 Fine Castles of Japan.

Cute street tile showing the way to the castle

Odawara Castle

View from the top floor of the castle

Looking out over Odawara to Sagami Bay

Love the stone wall base

The original moat has been filled in and is now home to seasonal flowers

During our trip, it was covered in hydrangeas.  It was beautiful!

This was a great, quick afternoon trip from Ebina Station.  I highly recommend taking the time to visit if you are living or visiting in this area!

A Labor Day, Space A Adventure - Part 3

On our last full day in Okinawa, we set off to do some sight-seeing around Naha.  We started at Shurijo Castle Park.  The Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled over the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th to the 19th century.  Okinawa was one of the Ryukyu Islands.   Shurijo Castle functioned as the central structure of the Ryukyu Kingdom over a period of approximately 500 years.  The original castle was almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II.  It was restored in 1992.

Shureimon Gate

Sonohyan-utaki Stone Gate

The King would pray in front of this stone gate for a safe journey upon his departure from the Castle.

Zuisenmon Gate

Ryuhi - this spring provided drinking water for the royal family

Koufukumon Gate

A geisha performance in the courtyard

Seiden - the main castle building

It was unfortunately under construction and covered in scaffolding while we were there

Me + J.!

Inside the Seiden - this is where the King would conduct political affairs and ceremonies

The castle was restored 70 cm above the original castle ruins - here you can see through the floor to the original castle ruins

Usasuka - where the King presided over political and ceremonial activities

Gorgeous paintings on the pillars!

Replica of a ceremony at the castle

Castle grounds

We've seen many shrines, temples and castles here in Japan, but this one was interesting because it had both Chinese and Japanese influences.  It was different from most of the traditional castles that you see on mainland Japan.

From Shurijo Castle Park, we headed to the Former Navy Underground Headquarters.  The headquarters are dug into a hillside outside of the city and was the Japanese headquarters on Okinawa during World War II.  It was built by civilians using pickaxes and shovels and remains almost exactly as it was in 1945.  It was truly fascinating and heartbreaking to learn more about the part that Okinawa played in World War II.  You couldn't help but feel a sense of loss for the native Okinawans who lost so much of their population and had so much of their beautiful island devastated during the Battle of Okinawa.

Former Navy Underground Headquarters

Memorial

Peace Cranes

The entrance into the tunnel

When it became obvious that the Japanese were losing, General Ota and several of his soldiers committed suicide in these tunnels.

The view from the headquarters

After our somber morning, we headed back to our hotel to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach.

View of our hotel from the beach area

Gorgeous views!

Delicious sushi on our last night in Okinawa

A sign at the airport reminding us not to bring our hand grenades through security ...

I find it absolutely fascinating to be living somewhere where so much history has occurred - and just a few decades ago.  I am looking forward to reading more about World War II and what occurred on Okinawa before my next trip to the island at Thanksgiving.