My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.
September 9, 2025
Naha was another place I wasn’t sure if I’d visited before because they called the port something else on the Diamond. I knew I’d been to the island of Okinawa, but when I saw this statue,
it was confirmed – I’d been here before! Naha is the name of the city on the island of Okinawa. When I was here last time, I had the BEST beef sushi at one of the market stalls with Hiroshi and Lexi. I wanted to find that place again.
But first, we went to a shrine.
Around the corner from the shrine was a memorial on a hill.
Which led to a sobering museum.
We were heading toward a garden that probably wouldn’t have been on my radar had I been exploring on my own. On the way, we found a small air-conditioned room with a replica of the garden.
Inside it was beautiful!
For 100 yen, we could buy a little packet of fish food. I bought two to share.
I loved this photo from under the waterfall.
I know- for pretty much any audience besides Americans, explaining the joke ruins it, but I can’t help myself.
I had so much fun capturing different perspectives from different angles.
Something happened involving the cat that made me make a note so I wouldn’t forget to tell you the story. I wrote ‘kitty at the shrine.’ Apparently I need to make better notes- or recap my adventures more promptly because I can’t remember what happened outside of the cat being there.
When we couldn’t stand the heat anymore, we decided to head toward the market.
And then I found the stall I’d been searching for –
Steak sushi.
It was even more spectacular than I remembered. It melted in my mouth!
The rest of the group wanted Mexican food. As we entered the restaurant, the Asian staff shouted ‘hola’ as well as ‘konnichiwa’ which made me giggle. I loved being in a blend of two cultures.
The smaller islands farther out definitely had a different feel than the main island of Japan. When I visited last year, Naha felt more like a Japanese beach town, and thanks to my friends, I discovered more cultural things to do. It was a great day – I was so glad I’d followed my friends and ended up trying new things while also revisiting some of my favorites.