Hotel Brisbane Miyazaki

... learn in person!). Each plant only produces one pineapple and it takes around 2 years for the fruit to ripen. No wonder it's difficult to compete with low-cost producers! I also did not realize that there were so many applications for pineapple -- from cakes, to wine, to vinegar. For those of you that have been to Hawaii, this is probably not a revelation. For me though, it was interesting.

Today is our last day in Okinawa and it is with mixed emotions that we leave ...

... carnage that took place here -- basically a city the size of Regina wiped out during a battle that lasted several months. Let's hope that nothing like that ever happens again in this beautiful place.

To close out the day, we did something quite strange. As we were walking home we came across a small Russian restaurant called Perestroika. The sign on the front had a picture of Mikhail Gorbachev on it -- cheesy but strangely enticing nonetheless. We decided ...

... the US invasion forces landed near the end of the war. Apparently this was one of the most difficult and bloody battles of the Pacific War. It is hard to believe that this beautiful place was once a WW2 killing ground. Thousands of Americans died here and hundreds of thousands of Japanese died. I'm sure that the war memorials here will be very sobering.

It will definitely be an interesting couple of days.

On Sunday, we woke up early again to drive to Shuri Castle, down in Naha. Shuri Castle today is a recreation from memory of the 14th century castle that was destroyed during the battle of Okinawa. Chinese envoys used to come to the castle to crown the Ryukuan king, and there are many portraits and artifacts from these kings inside. You have to take off your shoes to walk around in the museum. We were happy to do so, since it ...

... not just Okinawa but many other Pacific islands such as Micronesia, the Philippines, Tonga, and Yap. There were a lot of really cool things to see there, like the stone money tablets of Yap and recreations of ancient fishing vessels. I was mad that there was no gift shop! After that, it was still hot out and we came across a flat fountain with a water show. Riley went over to investigate and got nailed in the face by a jet of water ...

... to the car, it stopped raining, of course. Obviously after all of that I needed a nap, so I took one up in the guest room. When I woke up, we had an excellent dinner of pasta and root beer floats before heading to the mall. The Okinawan mall was different than other malls I've seen, with a more open floor plan while still having sort of individual shops. Right as we walked in there was a cartoon animal to ride on, which Riley saw and immediately wanted, so we had problems ...

... soaked before realizing that I had packed an umbrella in my purse. Whatever, I still felt like a champ for remembering my way back to the hotel without needing a map.

Luckily our hotel was a stop on the hotel express bus's line, which I must mention was unexpectedly very luxurious, so I was able to hop on the bus with little hassle. Anxiety only developed when the bus got stuck in rainy city traffic, and I got to the ...

... but very beautiful and worth a visit.

After leaving Seifa-Utaki, we visited Okinawa World with Gyokusendo Cave, which has one of the largest limestone cave system in the East. There were some strange shaped stalactites and stalagmites. The ticket for the park was the second most expensive, 1200 yen, but we had had a coupon of ANA beforehand, so we couldn't miss it. At first, I thought the cave was too long to my mom who has ...

... to turn it off. We just couldn't figure that one out so I went to the rental guy with my electronic translator in hand. I can only translate one word at a time so when I came in and announced emergency he got all excited. Good thing I type fast. When he figured out what I meant we all had a good laugh! Spent a couple of days touring around Kirishima Japan and enjoying a wonderful onsen. Hot spas every day and good food in ...

... down the coast to Aoshima. The main attraction here is a small island covered in palm trees, surrounded by strange rock formations, and it made for a pleasant stroll. There was also a bright red shrine hidden away in the trees, so I visited that before sitting down and watching the waves come crashing in - it was nice to be on the coast again. I walked along the beach for a couple of kilometres, passing many beautiful shells and disturbing a few ...