Shikinaen Gardens

Originally built in the 18th century, the Shikinaen Gardens are located in Naha near Shuri Castle.  The gardens house the royal summer home of the Ryukyu Kings and is one of 9 World Heritage Sites on island.

The garden is done in the traditional Japanese style of landscape gardening with a central pond.  However, the architecture and the chosen plants give it a uniquely Okinawan feel.  The Shikinaen Gardens were completely destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 and have since been restored.

After paying only 300 yen per adult, we took several paths through the wooded part of the garden around the guardhouses and down to the spring.  From there you can continue on to the main house or around the pond.  We decided to let our toddler lead the way.  She just started walking, so it made for a nice slow pace.

We toured the summer home which really puts into perspective what a real royal home would be like.  Not extremely large and overly grand.  I can really appreciate Eastern style.  They're attention to details and the way they try to make things be in harmony with nature.  And I really like Tatami floors.  They're elegant AND comfortable.  It's too bad they require so much work to take care of or I might have transformed my entire apartment by now.

We then walked around the pond and over its several stone bridges.  Along the way O had us admire every rock in the vicinity and practiced her stair-climbing.  We also took a small roll down one of the grassy hills and sat and watched the fish swim by.

I think we'll be coming back to this place.  It's very peaceful and I have a feeling it would be beautiful during every season.

Zakimi Castle

Zakimi Castle is one of the 9 World Heritage Sites on island.  Near Cape Zampa (Zanpa), one could make a day trip out of these two locations.  The castle itself is small and only takes about an hour to explore.

The castle was built by Gosamaru in the early 15th century.  He helped unite the many waring kingdoms of Okinawa and the other islands under one rule.  For his loyalty and bravery, Gosamaru was declared Lord of Zakimi Castle, where he kept a watchful eye on the warlords to the North.

Shuri Castle & Nearby Shrine

We got a little lost on the way to Shuri Castle.  We drove in circles for a while until I finally just needed to pull over and get out of the car.  I didn't care where at this point.

The next place I saw happened to be a large parking lot next to a beautiful shrine.  Even though my husband wasn't comfortable getting out there, I went ahead and stopped anyway.  He could wait in the car if he wanted.  I was going to walk around.

The gate structure was fascinating.  Although I'm certain many shrines use this architecture, I had never seen it before.  They even had the striking mechanism hooked up to ring the bell.  And I still wish I could read half of what the little scrolls and boards say that you can buy for worship.

As it turns out, this shrine was just down the hill from the castle.

 

Upon reaching the castle, we opted to walk around the grounds instead of going inside.  We had limited time and just wanted to enjoy being out in nature.

Other posts from visits to this site:

Shuri Castle

Shuri Castle

After our weekend retreat, some of the PWOC ladies took our guest speakers out to explore some local sites.

After several hundred years of rivalry between warlords, the Okinawa islands were unified as the Ryukyu Kingdom in the early 15th century. For 450 years, Shuri castle was the palace of the King of Ryukyu and was the political, economic and cultural center of the Ryukyu Kingdom.  The current castle is a reconstruction of the 18th century facility as the actual structure was demolished in 1945 when the US military attacked during the Battle of Okinawa.  In the throne room, however, they have a couple of glass panels installed in the floor where you can actually look underneath and see remnants of the original castle ruins.

Our group photo was taken in front of the Seiden (the castle's main hall).  This is where the major state affairs and court ceremonies were held.  It is also the most recognized landmark of Okinawa.  Architectural influences throughout the castle can be seen from China, Japan, Korea and several other neighboring countries.  The Shurei-mon (the second gate) is an architectural structure unique to Okinawa and is sometimes referred to as a symbol of Okinawa.

Una Plaza extends in front of the Seiden and was used for ceremonies in the past. It is encircled on the other three sides by the Hokuden (North Hall), Nanden (South Hall) and the Hoshinmon (Hoshin Gate). The Hokuden and Nanden served as administrative buildings and venues to welcome envoys from China and mainland Japan respectively.

We took a tour of the castle (800 yen), including the traditional tea ceremony (200 yen). They don't actually perform the ceremony.  You go in and they talk about the tea ceremony (in Japanese) while you taste a variety of cookies and have tea that would have been served when the castle was in operation.

The castle also has other attractions that we were unable to see.  Every morning they perform the gate opening ceremony, several days throughout the week they have Ryukyuan Dance demonstrations, and every evening they illuminate the castle from sunset until midnight.  They also host several festivals throughout the year.

Note to mothers, this is not a stroller friendly tourist attraction.  However, the pathways that wind through the park are and they are well worth the walk.  They even have a little map with a stamp adventure for kids at the information center.  If you walk around and get so many stamps (I think it's 8), the kids can redeem their map for a really awesome sticker.  And the park is free, so who can beat that!

Other posts from visits to this site:

Shuri Castle & Nearby Shrine

Nakijin Castle Illumination Festival

The Nakijin Illumination festival was well worth the drive.  A little farther North than the Churaumi Aquarium, the Nakijin Castle ruins were lit up with thousands of colored lights.  This is the only time of year where the castle is open to visitors at night.  The festival is complete with food, music, dancing, and a dramatic play.  You can tour the ruins and visit the site museum as well.  As an added bonus, the festival occurs at the time of year when the cherry blossoms trees are in full bloom. 

Nakijin Castle itself is one of nine world heritage sites on island.  The multi-level castle was built in the late 1200's.  During the Sanzan Period (1322-1429), Okinawa Honto (the main island) was divided into three kingdoms: the Hokuzan (North), Chuzan (Central), and the Nanzan (South).

Nakijin served as the castle of the Hokuzan king until it was taken over by the Chuzan on their way to unifying the island and forming the Ryukyu Kingdom.  The Hokuzan king and his senior leaders then committed suicide.  Nakijin Castle continued to serve as the kingdom’s northern outpost for more than 200 years.

Today, Nakijin Castle is an active archeological excavation site.