Okinawa 冲绳, or better known as Ryukyu 琉球 to the locals, is the most far south city of Japan. Known as the Hawaii of the Asia, it has beautiful weather whole year long. Even thought it's winter and snowing in most cities of Japan now, it's only about 17°-24°c in Okinawa, perfect weather for traveling with kids.
We arrived Okinawa on the earliest flight via Vanilla Air 香草航空 at around 8:10am (another budget airline to consider is Peach Air). We woke up at 3:30am and departed for airport at 4:10am - we stayed a night in TaoYuan district which is about 20min away from the airport. It's tortuous, but we got to start the day early. (In fact there are other choice of airlines, scroll to the end for flight options)
Picture collage to sum up out Okinawa impression..
Shurijo castle at the far end. 路边随拍也那么美
Ohaiyo!
What a lovely weather..
It's definitely winter 秋意浓（明明是冬天呀）
Beautiful sight on the driveway. 美丽街影
To give a better perspective, here's a map-view of the area within Okinawa that we managed to cover. As you can see there are many castle / castle ruins in Oki, and we only managed to cover one of them :) 冲绳的完整图，打勾处就是我们有经过的景点。
• OTS car rental OTS租车
Upon arriving at the airport , the OTS worker welcomed us at the airport and brought us to the OTS car rental office which is about 15min away. After being briefed by the friendly English speaking officers, we picked up our Toyota Estima and select the child seats which came free!
Tips: there are several car rental options in Okinawa, but from my research OTS is the best option which has multi-lingual speaking staffs, variety choice of cars (we needed 8 seater to fit our luggages and 4 adults + 2 kids), and best of all, GPS and child seats are all included for FREE. Just have to pay slightly extra for insurance package. Besides, the most amazing trick that you must know - book from its English site for best price (or you would really regret ;))
BTW, you may want to buy the attraction entrance tickets here as they are offered at a discounted rate. We got the Chirunim Aquarium, Busena glass observatory / glass bottom boat.
Kids were addicted to the robot in the store. Just call "Pepper", and it will engage in a proper conversation with you. Totally impressed! 好聪明的机械人，懂得和我们用日语和中文沟通呢！
Address: 3-37 Toyosaki, Tomigusuku, Okinawa Prefecture 901-0225, Japan
Phone: +81 98-856-8877
Visit their website here or you can compare others here
Phone: +81 98-856-8877
Visit their website here or you can compare others here
Day 1
• Makishi Public Market 新鲜鱼市
This is the local market that is patronaged by the locals. It has rows and rows of small shops selling fresh fish, veggies, dried seafood, Souveniors and with plenty of eateries and cafes to offer. You could just order the fish, fresh, and they will serve the sashimi fresh for you! Items here are priced reasonably but you really have to speak Japanese in order to place your order here :)
They love floral pattern shirts here 花绿绿的衣服 :)
The eatery with a really small kitchen but great grilled meat to offer!
What should we order? hm...
Hmm.. oishi desu! 烧烤物
Hang out place by the locals
• Shurijo Castle 琉球古代皇宫
Shurijo Castle was the palace of the Ryukyu kingdom, it is also a world heritage that is built over 500 years old. Shurijo Castle was destroyed during the war of Okinawa back in 1945, and was beautifully reconstructed and restored to its current state.
Simply love the beauty of the architecture and the surreal surrounding, such a photogenic place.
He's definitely excited :)
Beautiful skyline
The duo busy getting stamps
Can you find E?
The sacred forest is behind these rustic wooden doors.
Welcome to the palace.
At the observatory deck on top of the hill.
My little travelers
My favorite spot - the ancient tree with its perturbing roots
The full view of the Shurijo palace
Address: Address: 1-2 Shurikinjocho, Naha 903-0815, Okinawa Prefecturen
Entrance Fee: Free, unless you want to enter the main palace.
Learn more about Shurijo castle here
• Kokusai Street
A busy street bustling with tourists and stylo locals. One can easily find local food, trendy clothes,Souveniors and other entertainment here.
Loud store-front everywhere
The caramel butter smell led us to this store, simple heavenly scent! 年轮蛋糕
Snack shopping at Lawson (and I wonder why I put on weight this trip :~( 零食不断呀，救命！
One kawaii no kodomo!
The mouth watering Wagyu steak we had at one of the restaurant, simply melt in your mouth! 和牛牛排，烤半熟，溶在口里般好吃！
Okinawa ramen for the kiddos 冲绳拉面
Day 2
• Busena Marine Park 海洋公园
Located on the north of Okinawa island, we drove along the most scenic coastal route to reach the marine park. There are several activities that you can do here:
- Underwater observatory tower
- glass-bottom boat (or just take both ;)
- snorkeling
You may spend some time at the sandy white beach while waiting for the free bus ride to bring you to the observatory tower.
Me & Mini-me ready to explore!
E and C excitedly collecting dead corals on the beach. 捡珊瑚去
The ocean of okinawa has 7 shades of blue, can you tell? 一片邑蓝色的大海
The boat we were on
Colorful tropical fishes and corals right beneath our feet. Non stop oohhh and ahhhh when school of fishes swam passed.
My dear sister and I 姐姐与我
Ticket price:
Adult >18yo ¥1,540
Students ¥1,230 (student card needed)
Children ¥770
(Cheaper if booked thru OTS)
Under 6yo free
Phone Number: +81 980-52-3379
Read on more about the Busena Marine Park here
• Lunch @ Daban Ramen 暖目拉面,九州第一豚骨拉面！
Well known as the best ramen in Okinawa (and in fact the best ramen we ever had), you can choose the softness level of the ramen, the pungent level of the soup, and order is placed thru the vending machine.
Rekka ramen, hot but not super hot to me..
Hanjyuku Nitamago Ramen with extra Onsen
Place your order thru this machine
You can "custom made" your ramen.
Almost full house during weekday lunch hour 午餐时间人头满满
Each bowl cost between ¥750-¥900 and you can add-on as you wish.
Address: 沖縄県名護市東江5-10-36
Phone:
It operates from 11:00-02:00, so you can even come for late night supper.. Visit their website here for more info (there are 5 different stores in Okinawa alone!)
• Churaumi Aquarium 美丽海水族馆
The second largest aquarium in the world and the name literally means "beautiful ocean". We spent nearly 2 hours here admiring the vast variety of tropical marine life such moon jelly fish, coconut crabs, guitarfish and the main attraction of the aquarium - the Whale Sharks. It very much reminded me of the open ocean aquarium in Finding Dory.
Shark feeding time, C was so awed by it
Happy snapping photos to share with daddy later
Whip corals.. totally new to me
The mongroove
Don't forget to get some souvenir from the vending machine, totally worth it! 绝对值得拥有的手信
Adult >18yo ¥1,800 (¥1,600 thru OTS)
Students ¥1,230 (¥1,100 thru OTS)
Children ¥600 (¥550 thru OTS)
Under 6yo free
Family pass 2adult +2 children ¥4,950 (¥3,950 thru OTS)
Address: 424 Ishikawa | Okinawa Memorial Park Ocean Expo Park, Kunigami-gun, Motobu-cho 905-0206, Okinawa Prefecture
Phone Number: +81 980-48-2741
Visit their website here
Phone Number: +81 980-48-2741
Visit their website here
• Dinner @ Captain Kangaroo
Surprisingly delicious burgers, juicy, tender and flavorful! I was skeptical at first when my nephew suggested us to eat burgers in Japan, but.... the taste just totally blew me off! The serving was pretty big, so I would suggest to order on sharing basis. Try all possible flavours! :)
Address: 183 Umusa | Nago-City, Nago 905-0006, Okinawa Prefecture
Contact: +81 980-54-3698
Operating Hour: 11:00 - 20:00
Read more review here
• Chatan American Village 美国村
When you see the colorfully lited Ferris wheel, you know you have reached the America village. It is quite a huge establishment full of neon lights and glittering displays. I nearly forgetten I was in Japan :)
Drinks vending machines are available everywhere on the island
Note: I would recommend visiting American Village and AEON mall on the same day due to the close proximity.
Address: Mihama, Nakagami-gun, Chatan-cho 904-0115, Okinawa Prefecture
Day 3
• Shopping @ Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom AEON购物中心
We had breakfast in the accommodation with Family Mart's food - dorayaki, banana cake, Onigiri and instant ramen. One can never get hungry in Okinawa as there are basically a convenient store or a vending machine in every corner. It's either Lawson, Family Mart or Hi-Life (but no 7-11)
Then we moved on to Aeon Mall, the largest shopping mall in Okinawa that is simply H.U.G.E. The car park is free and with ample parking bays available, we spent about 2.5 hours shopping there and it's simply not enough.
The shashimi I had was so fresh that they simply melt in your mouth.. 超好吃超新鲜的鱼生 （好想念…）
E enjoying his ramen..哥哥爱上了拉面
Itadakimasu!
Aeon's kids departmental store is truly a heaven for kiddos. Just walking around the mall already got uson exaggerated mode. If we did not watch our time, we could have really missed our flight.. *sweat*
Met giant Totoro at the donbiri store..
Lots of Doraemon!! 小叮当！
Tips: make your purchase in the Aeon store and you will be entitled to tax refund (on the spot) if total purchase is above ¥5,300. The bags (Anello), facial products, cosmetics products and kids stuff here are really worthy buy (how I wish I had exchanged more money!). We didn't had a chance to visit the electronic appliances store but was told the selection are aplenty too.
Address: 4 Gaiku, Gaseirijigyoku, Ikinai, Awasetochi-ku, Nakagami-gun, Kitanakagusuku-son 901-2300, Okinawa Prefecture
Phone Number: +81 98-983-8888
Visit their website here
Accommodation 住宿
We stayed at an apartment named Weekly Harbourview Mansion, which is about 10 minutes walking distance from Kokusai Street and comes with onsite parking.
We had the apartment to ourselves - bathroom (with bathtub), toilet, kitchen, dining table, bedroom and a living hall that can convert into sleeping space at night with the mattresses provided. What I like most? It's ta-ta-mi style just like what I used to read in Doraemon's 小叮当 comic!
The apartment is well equipped with kitchenette- stove, oven, toaster, rice cooker, microwave and all the cooking utensils. It also has a washing machine and balcony for laundry drying. Alternatively, just use the laundry room on the ground floor for drying.
The staffs are very friendly, however there is only 1 English speaking staff so it would be quite a challenge to reach them via phone call.
My rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Cost: ¥27,800 (including ¥670/day for parking)
Visit their booking site here
There are other places of interest that I have missed this round due to the tight schedule. Should I be revisiting Okinawa in future, I would like to pay a visit to the Pineapple Land / fruitland, the ONNA village, go whale watching, snorkeling, explore more locat eatery and allocate more time for shopping at the Aeon Mall :))
Before "signing off", let me show off my loads from Okinawa and Taiwan :)
There are other places of interest that I have missed this round due to the tight schedule. Should I be revisiting Okinawa in future, I would like to pay a visit to the Pineapple Land / fruitland, the ONNA village, go whale watching, snorkeling, explore more locat eatery and allocate more time for shopping at the Aeon Mall :))
Before "signing off", let me show off my loads from Okinawa and Taiwan :)
Can you spot the number of Totoro I have?
Mini doriyaki with red beans and chestnut fillings that we brought back from Okinawa for breakfast, E and mine's absolutely favorite! (Doraemon too!)
Planning your Flight to Okinawa
The option is a plenty, really...
• Taiwan > Okinawa (AirAsia, JAL, EVA Air and more)
• HongKong > Okinawa (HK Airline, China Eastern, Peach)
• Shanghai > Okinawa (China Eastern, Peach, Korean Air)
• Tokyo > Okinawa (JAL, ANA)
• Bangkok > Okinawa (China Airline)
For connecting flights to Okinawa, you may choose between 2 budget airlines, Vanilla Air or Peach Air.
Info above is correct at the time m this post is written, please don't held me responsible any discrepancies due to airline changes later.. ;)
Essential Japanese Words
You should really learn some basic japanese before visiting Japan. Local folks tend to be friendlier if you try to communicate using some basic Japanese.
Hello 嗨
Hello 嗨
Kon'nichiwa
Nice to meet you 你好
Hajimemasite
How are you? I am fine 你好吗？我很好
Ogenkidesuka? Watashi wa genkidesu
Good morning, good night 早安，晚安
Ohayō, oyasuminasai
Kid 小孩
Kodomo
Where is the toilet? 厕所在哪里？
Toire wa dokodesu ka?
Where is this? 这是哪里？
Kore wa dokodesu ka?
How much is this? 这多少钱？
Kore wa ikuradesu ka
Do you know English? 你会英文吗？
Eigo wa wakarimasu ka?
I don't understand Japanese 我不会日文
Watashiwa nihon go wagarimasen
Prawn, crab, chicken, beef, vegetable, fruits, water, rice 虾、螃蟹、鸡、牛、菜、水果、水、饭
Ebi, Kani, chikin, bīfu, yasai, kudamono, mizu,-mai
That's all folks, thanks for reading. Please feel free to LIKE, comment and SHARE my page on your Facebook page so your friends would benefit from this post and future posting too (just so you know, I'm a travel addict mom, so do check out other travel posts too ;)
*disclaimer: some of the photos above are credit of my sister who kindly shared them with me (being with 2 kiddos I did not managed to snap as many photos as I wished)
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