Japan Photo Guide

The first thing you notice about Okinawa is the beautiful ocean. The second will probably be all of the half dog, half lion statues that are everywhere! These things are called “shisa” or in Japanese, シーサー, that come in all shapes and sizes. Seriously, they are everywhere you go and you cannot avoid them! Apparently they make for good souvenirs because anywhere in Okinawa that sells anything, also has some shisa for sale! I was wondering the whole trip exactly what the deal with them was.

If you are in Japan, unless you wanna go skiing or snowboarding, the best place to take vacation in the winter is Okinawa. Okinawa is Japan’s southern most prefecture and is made up of hundreds of islands. When I went, I pretty much stay around Naha, the capital, which is on Okinawa Island. I lived in Miami for four years, so I am no stranger to beautiful beaches and the ocean, but as far as I am concerned, Okinawa is on a totally different sea level (sorry, bad pun). Part of what makes Okinawa so spectacular is that pretty much wherever you are (on the main island at least) as soon as you go up on one of the many hills, you can see the ocean. Pretty much any time you are driving, you will get great views of the sea.

Of course Okinawa also has great snorkeling, scuba diving and seafood. Not to mention it has been heavily influenced by a few different cultures to make for an interesting and diverse atmosphere. Oh and they have this dish called taco rice, which after eating everything imaginable from the ocean during my stay in Japan, was more delicious than it probably really should have been. Even though I probably saw a few too many castles and didn’t go to the beach as much as I would have wanted to, I was really glad that Okinawa was the last place I visited before leaving Japan.
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