Konnichi wa Okinawa
There were 7 of us who met on deck 5 of the ship's atrium with the plan to share the day exploring some of the highlights of Okinawa. Once we landed we collected the usual tourist information (in English) at the port's terminal, then negotiated with a 7 seater taxi driver a price for the day. Once organised we hit the road to firstly head out to the former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters, the last stand of the Japanese Naval in WW11.
We descended the 102 steps into a complex dug by hand that served as the Japanese Navy's Headquarters
All the passageways were used by the naval personal as a place to rest and sleep during the Battle of Okinawa. Referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English. It refers to the ferocity of fighting and intensity of Japanese Kamikaze attacks and sheer numbers of allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island.
Command room.
Jill and Fran in one of the 'rooms' in the tunnels and me on the outside one of the entrances. The headquarters were inside a hill which overlooked the landing points of Okinawa.
Shikinaen Gardens were our next stop. They were constructed in the 18th century as a second home to kings of the 500 year old Ryukyu kingdom. It was destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa of 1945 and has been restored and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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