Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Okinawa World
In the world of Okinawa we visited Okinawa World. Which should be called 'Snake World' instead. Out first part of this park was a visit with the most poisonous and deadly snake in the world. The Habu! Unlike other snakes this snake can strike from all directions rather than just forward. He also has 4 deadly fangs instead of two. Thus twice the amount of venom per bite!!! The pictures of Habu bites were horrendous!!! Makes you think twice about the beautiful jungles here. We got see a snake handler play with deady deliverers of death. He not only held them (with a super long stick) but also squoze venom from their fangs. As well as a demonstation on how quickly and accuratley they strike!
He also played with a king cobra which in comparisson looked like a sweet garden snake next to the Habu.
The second half of this park was a walkthough of the largest cave in Japan. (making sure habu didn't make this his home first) This cave is so large that only one-fifth is open to the public and it took us over an hour to explore its beauties.
After the cave we enjoyed some of Okinawas sweet fruits. We had no idea what they were for the most part some ranged from a sweet vanilla flavor to nasty squash-like baby food. Both in flavor and texture. We also got to drink coconut milk right out of a freshly hacked coconut. Serioulsy, it was cut with a mechete.
Despite the rain that day we all had a lot of fun, and ended the day with a group hug with an albino python (picture pending).
He also played with a king cobra which in comparisson looked like a sweet garden snake next to the Habu.
The second half of this park was a walkthough of the largest cave in Japan. (making sure habu didn't make this his home first) This cave is so large that only one-fifth is open to the public and it took us over an hour to explore its beauties.
After the cave we enjoyed some of Okinawas sweet fruits. We had no idea what they were for the most part some ranged from a sweet vanilla flavor to nasty squash-like baby food. Both in flavor and texture. We also got to drink coconut milk right out of a freshly hacked coconut. Serioulsy, it was cut with a mechete.
Despite the rain that day we all had a lot of fun, and ended the day with a group hug with an albino python (picture pending).
Pineapple Park
Pineapple park is a tourist attraction that honors the pineapple. I know it sounds lame, but it is actually really cool. It is amazing all the things you can make out of Pineapple. Cookies, cakes, candies, chocolate, jellies, jams, wine and juices!!! All of which you could try there as much as you want for freeeee! The samples were unusually tasty and delicious. We were driven though the pineapple gardens in a self-propelled and self-driven pineapple golf cart!
All the pictures taken of the pineapple gardens were from inside the cart. And something interesting is that all the flowers that were in the garden are actually in the pineapple family.
This Pineapple museum also had a shell and shell art collection for some reason. It was really cool to see what kinds of art they could do with sea shells.
Now watch the slide show and think of pineapples. Then close your eyes and smell the sweet pineapple.
All the pictures taken of the pineapple gardens were from inside the cart. And something interesting is that all the flowers that were in the garden are actually in the pineapple family.
This Pineapple museum also had a shell and shell art collection for some reason. It was really cool to see what kinds of art they could do with sea shells.
Now watch the slide show and think of pineapples. Then close your eyes and smell the sweet pineapple.
Kokusai Street
Kokusai street is a huge shopping district in Okinawa. It is gift shop after gift shop and street vendor after vendor. We stopped here after Shuri castle and at Soba at a small restaurant.
There were also street performers, one was a fire guy!
Here we found Mango flavored Kit-kat bars and some interestingly shaped cookies.
It was great to see things like Spam and American candies being sold in Japanese gift shops.
There were also street performers, one was a fire guy!
Here we found Mango flavored Kit-kat bars and some interestingly shaped cookies.
It was great to see things like Spam and American candies being sold in Japanese gift shops.
Shurijo Castle Site
This Castle was rebuilt 4 times through out history of Okinawa. The stone work is amazing! The gardens are immaculately kept.
All of the castle attendant were dressed in traditional Japanese robes.
The woodwork in the throne room was intricately laid. To show respect to the building we were asked to remove our shoes and were given little plastic bags to carry them in and then when we exited the building, they collected the bags to be used again. Nothing wasted in Okinawa. I found that everywhere we went through out the Island was organized and very clean.
All of the castle attendant were dressed in traditional Japanese robes.
The woodwork in the throne room was intricately laid. To show respect to the building we were asked to remove our shoes and were given little plastic bags to carry them in and then when we exited the building, they collected the bags to be used again. Nothing wasted in Okinawa. I found that everywhere we went through out the Island was organized and very clean.
Ocean Expo
The Ocean Expo and Churami Aquarium is located in the Northen end of Okinawa. It is the 2nd largest aquarium in the world and the 1st largest of its kind.
The entire park is free to the public, this includes seeing sea creatures like manatees and sea turtles, as well as an amazing dolphin show! Also the park grounds are filled with giant chia pets! And I mean GIANT. They are in the shapes of whales, sharks, lobsters (stevie thought it was a cockroach) fishes, you name it! What you do have to pay for is the main aquarium. This is HUGE!!! It not only has a whale shark in it, it has THREE and is filled with angel sharks and stingrays and many many other fish! You can tell just how large they are compared to the people below them standing next to the massive tank.
This is only one part of the Aquarium, there are many other exhibits throughout showing tons of different species of fish and underwater life. An absolute Must-See!!!
The entire park is free to the public, this includes seeing sea creatures like manatees and sea turtles, as well as an amazing dolphin show! Also the park grounds are filled with giant chia pets! And I mean GIANT. They are in the shapes of whales, sharks, lobsters (stevie thought it was a cockroach) fishes, you name it! What you do have to pay for is the main aquarium. This is HUGE!!! It not only has a whale shark in it, it has THREE and is filled with angel sharks and stingrays and many many other fish! You can tell just how large they are compared to the people below them standing next to the massive tank.
This is only one part of the Aquarium, there are many other exhibits throughout showing tons of different species of fish and underwater life. An absolute Must-See!!!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Butterfly Park
Well, here we are on our 2nd day in Okinawa!
We decided to live Karri's nightmare and enter into the realm of the butterflies! (or as Janara would put it, the 'flutterbies') This again, was a beautifully landscaped park. It was bursting with tropical plant life and flowers. In the middle of this paradisaical jungle was the house of the butterflies! Enter at your own risk! (warning for Karri)
My first observation was how BIG these butterflies were! They were the size of our palms! They were attracted to anything red or brightly colored! and Stevie's Victoria's Secret glitter lotion! Who would have known?
In the butterfly house there were stands with fake flowers that the butterflies just couldn't resist not to mention the red baseball caps. Which is irresistible to any American, so these butterflies must have had a little American in them.....just kidding. The butterflies took no mind when someone put on one of these caps, so this made for great pictures!
Another great part of the butterflies' house was their golden cocoons! The pictures I took didn't do them justice at all and turned out to show them as yellow, although, really they were perfectly golden.
This park had a great standee to pose as a butterfly faerie, as well as a wonderful view of the ocean. It was a wonderful place to spend the early afternoon.
We decided to live Karri's nightmare and enter into the realm of the butterflies! (or as Janara would put it, the 'flutterbies') This again, was a beautifully landscaped park. It was bursting with tropical plant life and flowers. In the middle of this paradisaical jungle was the house of the butterflies! Enter at your own risk! (warning for Karri)
My first observation was how BIG these butterflies were! They were the size of our palms! They were attracted to anything red or brightly colored! and Stevie's Victoria's Secret glitter lotion! Who would have known?
In the butterfly house there were stands with fake flowers that the butterflies just couldn't resist not to mention the red baseball caps. Which is irresistible to any American, so these butterflies must have had a little American in them.....just kidding. The butterflies took no mind when someone put on one of these caps, so this made for great pictures!
Another great part of the butterflies' house was their golden cocoons! The pictures I took didn't do them justice at all and turned out to show them as yellow, although, really they were perfectly golden.
This park had a great standee to pose as a butterfly faerie, as well as a wonderful view of the ocean. It was a wonderful place to spend the early afternoon.
Okinawa
My first day in Okinawa Stevie, Jason, and Bryton took me to the Southeast Botanical Gardens. I never thought that after traveling half way across the world I would get to see such a beautiful Japanese garden. It amazed me how tranquil it was to walk through it and the design of the gardens were extravagant. It was fun to walk along the finely groomed paths, through the flowered covered walkways, up over the hand carved bridges and across the blooming waterlily ponds with its yellow, pink and white flowers. I could have spent the whole time here just in these gardens and come back completely satisfied. One thing that I learned was that in Okinawa they have no trash on the streets or in their parks or at any exhibit. It is so clean. A they also have vending machines every 50 feet! Really, every 50 feet though out the whole island. One for every seven people!
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