Nago Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakura Matsuri)

The cherry blossom bloom on Okinawa a few months earlier than they do on the mainland.  Mostly because of our tropical weather and the fact that it gets warmer here much sooner.  As a result, the Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festivals) here on island also happen earlier in the year.

We've been on the island for a month now.  I was starting to wonder when I was ever going to get to hear my husband play again.  The band always seems to be busy, but they don't have many public events here on island.  So I was excited to finally go and see them at the Nago Cherry Blossom Festival.

O loves to hear the music but is also very curious.  So while the band played we checked out the surrounding stands and interacted with the people in the crowd.  It's a good thing we did too, cause we had to leave with the band shortly after the performance.  Hopefully next year we'll get to check out the festivities a little more.

Next year I hope to take a nice stroll up to the Nago Castle Ruins.  I hear they make an excellent place to observe the Cherry Blossoms (if they had not bloomed later than usual this year).  Apparently Nago Chou Park has some 20,000 Taiwan Cherry trees.

The festival also takes place in other parts of Nago (Sakura Park, the Nago Main Crossroad, and at Nago Fishing Port) offering local music and dance performances, a parade, vendors and games.

III MEF Band takes the stage.

The only Cherry Blossom Tree in sight that was blooming.  Apparently all the trees bloomed a week after the festival.

Mihama American Village / Sushi-Go-Round

 
American Village is one of the most popular areas in central Okinawa.  It has a movie theater, bowling alley, indoor kid's park, lots of restaurants, and tons of shopping.  It is also located right next to sunset beach.  So when you are done shopping, you can sit and admire the ocean view.

For our trip, we went to the sushi-go-round and then took a nice stroll through the shops to see what was there.

The sushi-go-round was quite different than any other sushi place I have ever been.  You are seated at a table next to a conveyor belt.  This belt encircles the entire restaurant taking various types of sushi around and around.  There is no need to order here (although they do have a menu that you can make specific requests or order large amounts at a time).  Simply select the sushi you like and remove it from the conveyor belt.  Eat as much as you like.  

When you are done the waitress will tally up your bill.  Each sushi selection is placed on a plate whose color/pattern matches up with a specific price.  So it is easy for you to keep track of how much you are spending as you go along and for them to know how much you owe.

Other posts from this site:
Mihama American Village Photowalk

Okinawa Comprehensive Park (Okinawa Prefecture Athletic Park)

Comprehensive Parks has a wide variety of activity spaces so that everyone can find something of interest.  There are walking & biking paths, running tracks, an indoor gym that offers classes, kids playgrounds, sports complexes, a campground, etc.

They even have a full-fledged water park that's open May - September.  Although visitors will find that most public pools/water facilities prohibit visible tattoos, so you'll have to cover them up if you have them. 

Other posts from visits to this site:

Okinawa Comprehensive Park Playground
Okinawa Comprehensive Park 

Churaumi Aquarium & Ocean Expo Park

Walking down the path to the Aquarium.

Our first outing on the island came just after New Years when some friends of ours invited us to go to the Churaumi Aquarium.

The Aquarium is located within Ocean Expo Park.  The park itself is free to the public and houses several flora and fauna exhibits.  Within the park are also several pay attractions including the Aquarium and the The Tropical Dream Center.

We arrived much later than expected, so we only had a couple hours to explore this wonderful area.

We decided to start off by going to see the free Dolphin Show.  The show takes place in its own outdoor theater on the oceanfront.  The scenery sets a relaxing atmosphere and provides a  beautiful backdrop.  Trainers play games, dance, and even do jokes with the dolphins.  The entire audience was really engaged with the performance.

 

 

After the show, we took a walk and stopped at the turtle exhibit and then took a time out to admire one of the many small beaches hidden along the shoreline.  Then we went inside the Aquarium.  With so much to see and do, we decided that we would definitely be returning to explore some more.  We went ahead a purchased memberships for the year.  (Only 3,600 yen per adult and O gets in free!)

Our party was hungry so we made our way down to the cafe catching glimpses of a multitude of tanks filled with varied fish and corals.  The cafe lies adjacent to the largest tank I have ever seen.  This tank houses 3 whale sharks and many small sharks and rays.

O fell asleep while I was consuming my taco rice and my pregnant friend felt like joining her.  So I stayed to watch over them while the boys went to check out some of the other tanks we had missed on our endeavor to procure food.

We decided to make the attempt to avoid evening traffic (we failed) and decided to head home.  All in all, I think the entire family enjoyed this outing and are looking forward to coming here again.

Other posts from visits to this site:
Ocean Expo Park
Ocean Expo Park Dolphin Show & Churaumi Aquarium Playground

Okinawa: A Marine Adventure

Welcome Readers!

This blog is meant to provide a chronology of the many adventures my family is having at our very first duty station here in Okinawa.

It is also meant to help those reading it find new and interesting places they may want to explore on their own on island.

I hope you enjoy this island as much as we do.

~ N