Hotel Sun Palace Kyuyokan Naha

... I've been to a couple of other aquariums (most notably the Vancouver Aquarium and the New England Aquarium in Boston) but this place definitely took the cake. Not only was there a good dolphin and whale show but the massive shark/ray/tuna/whatever-else-kind-of-fi sh-you-can-imagine tank was unbelievable. Apparently the main viewing area houses one of the largest single panes of plexi-glass in the world. There are a couple of pictures that I've posted here that should ...

Today we decided to do something that I don't normally like to do -- go on a guided tour with a bunch of other people and get caught up on a commercial racket. Given that neither of us have ever been to Okinawa and don't know our way around, we decided to go on a bus tour and are we ever glad that we did.

The tour took us to a number of historical and interesting spots, most notable of which was the old Imperial Navy Underground Headquarters that served as ...

Today we arrived at Naha City in Okinawa. We flew from Tokyo in an ANA 747. It has bee a really long time since I've flown in a 747 and (other than landing which I hate with a passion) it was a pleasure. The service on ANA is impeccable and the 747 (despite Airbus' development of the A380) is still the granddaddy of all airplanes. It was a pleasure to once again be on a 747.

Upon disembarking from the ...

... did all of our shopping in fast forward. On our way home, we stopped at the military exchange, the small American-style mall on base. My mom and I went inside to buy silk robes, like the one Julia gave me for Christmas. We also got books for our respective plane rides, and then went to dinner at Macaroni Grill nearby. It was absolutely delicious, and Riley was very funny. While Julia packed at home, my mom and I took Riley ...

... handled this very gracefully and eventually ended up running back and forth through it in her diaper screaming. If only we'd just skipped all the museum stuff and brought her right to the fountain!

FOr dinner we tried Obbligato, a Mexican restaurant as imagined by the Japanese. It was pretty good; I got chimichangas for the first time and they reminded me of eggrolls. We also had a pitcher of margaritas, so a good time was had.

... that. But she still let us shop for a nice long time, during which I got to experience the Japanese toy section (full of bizarre toys such as Anpanman, the superhero with bread for a head, Mameshiba, the puppy-faced edamame bean, and various other sad-faced adorable animals). I also perused the candy section but was disappointed- isn't it supposed to be shiny and colorful? There wasn't even a good selection of Haribo- not even fizzy colas! There weren't a whole lot of exciting ...

... with about one hour to go before my flight was set to depart, let alone board. I sprinted to the check-in gate, which was empty because everyone else had gone through. Yikes! But for some reason the airport was deserted, and I was sitting at the gate, bored, within 15 minutes of arriving. I've had really good luck with being on time so far this trip (knock on wood).

One thing I did not turn out to be lucky with for this ...

... JA PAM! Heti kun bussi pysahtyy ovelta tulee herra karryn kanssa kuljettamaan laukumme respaan, jossa kaksi typykkaa sitten tervehtii, ja pyytaa tayttamaan lappusia jne. Sitten karryhemmo lahtee nayttaamaan huoneemme sijaintia ja kantaa laukut sisaan. Kylla siina outo tunne tulee kun ei moiseen "palveluun" ole tottunut... mayhaps onneksi... Eika muutenkaan hotellin palvelut ja oheisroipakkeet jata kylmaksi. On kaikki ...

... routes in the forest were paved with stones and surrounded by attractive tropical trees, but some parts of the routes were slippery and it is better to use a cane sometimes which you can borrow for free at the starting point. In the most important site, two large rocks were naturally put together to make a route to the altar, where we can see the Pacific Sea through the bush. Seifa-Utaki had less visitors than the other attractions in ...

... stores- they were obviously desperate for supplies. Some of the pictures and reports included that people were stealing jewlry and such as well though, which I cannot understand. I am extremely frustrated by this situation. I know that others have the same questions, how- why are people not getting the help they need? Why did it take so long? I am extremely disappointed, when I hear the reports of the gangs forming and the violence that is happening. Why is this ...