What to do in Okinawa?

[kruzguys]

Any recommendations on what to do on a cruise stop in Okinawa? I would love to see/experience as much as possible, but we are only there from noon to 7pm and I am not a big fan of the ship's offerings. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Is this a place that is easily navigatable by english speakers - or are we better off with a local tour company?

 

Thanks!

[Sandy R]

Below is the link to my cc board Asia cruise review from last year. If you scroll down toward the end, you'll find my info on Okinawa. Very easy to do in the time you'll be there...

 

Sandy

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=442276

[kruzguys]

Thanks, Sandy. Can you pass along the name of the tour company you used in Taipei? I have contacted one that was mentioned on another CC thread, but would love to "comparison shop"!

 

So, it sounds like Okinawa is a place to do on your own - no need for a ship's tour - right?

[Sandy R]

We did Okinawa on our own and had no problems. We took the ship's shuttle into the city center (since the Sapphire Princess is so large, we docked at a container port, about 30 min. away). If your ship is smaller, you might be closer. We had no trouble getting a taxi and the driver spoke enough English for us to understand him.

 

In Taipei, we used Have Fun Travel - e-mail: service @hftravel.com.tw

We were extremely pleased and highly recommend them.

Our contact was with Augustus - special assistant to vice general manager

The sites we visited were: The Grand Hotel (amazing, you might be told it is impossible but be persistent... a very old, very beautiful hotel with lots of history), Longshan Temple (amazing, great photo-ops), Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (amazing, thought we could pass it but happy Augustus insisted), Taipei 101 - amazing, amazing, leave enough time to go to the top and then stroll around the mall).

We were picked up at 8 am and dropped off between 4:30 - 5 pm.

Remember this was last Sept/Oct... we divided the cost of the tour between 4 people - NT$10,000 ($310 per couple) for van with driver and English-speaking tour guide - lunch not included... they took us to a great place for lunch and helped us order. Food was delicious and very reasonable.

 

Sandy

[Okinawa]

There's lots to do in Okinawa. Try visiting Shuri Castle, in fact I would go to Naha period since the port of entry is in Naha.

[gene101]

I assume your cruise will dock at Naha port.

 

My suggestions are visit the followings sites:

 

a) Shurijo Castle Park

b) Kokusai-dori Street (International Street)

c) Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters

 

Shurijo Castle Park and Kokusai-dori street can be reached with the new Mono-rail system.

 

We took the Sapphire Princess and they used shuttle buses to drop us off at the South entrance of the Kokusai-dori street. Here you have to decide which you enjoy most - if you want to relax and like a lot of shopping and shop browsing, then walk the Kokusai-dori street first. The street has a lot of shops and is a long street! I heard the other end of the street has a fish market where some passengers told me was worth the while to visit.

 

If you like historic site and you are dropped at the South End of the Kokusai-dori street (at the Okinawa Prefectural Government buildings), you can easily walk to the "Kencho-mae mono-rail station" (about 4 minutes walk). The mono-rail travels at heights of 8-20 meters above the ground and you can see a lot of Naha through the windows. The mono-rail announces stations in English also. You can buy a 1-day pass for 600 Yen. With the 1-day pass you will have a discount to the entrance to the Shurijo Castle. The entrance is 800 Yen without the 1-day pass and 640 Yen with the 1-day pass. Take the mono-rail to the very end of the line at "Shuri Station". At the station review the map at the exit. This will give you a chance to orientate yourself. Walk across the large street below the mono-rail and follow signs to the Shurijo Castle Park. It is about 15 to 20 minutes walk. How long you stay at the Castle Park depends on your interest on the castle and the surrounding park. The Main Palace is small (but could be crowded) but the Park itself is huge.

 

If you still have time, you can take the mono-rail to the "Oroku Station" and then take a taxi ride to the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters. I believe they have English Speaking tour headphones for the guide. I am not sure when the Navy Underground Headquarters closes though.

 

Hope this help!!

 

gene

[Denverite]

Gene: Thanks for the great information on Okinawa. That is exactly what I was looking for! Kokusai-dori Street looks very interesting.

In doing research, I came across this article about shopping in Okinawa on "International" Street. It was a very informative article about why to buy, what to see, etc. The link is:

http://okinawa.com/content/view/170/100/lang,en/

 

Think I will pass on the Awamori (rice liquor with Habu Snake)!

[simonv]

Think I will pass on the Awamori (rice liquor with Habu Snake)!

 

It'll knock you out. It's strong!!!

[Sacramento95825]

Any recommendations on what to do on a cruise stop in Okinawa? I would love to see/experience as much as possible, but we are only there from noon to 7pm and I am not a big fan of the ship's offerings. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Is this a place that is easily navigatable by english speakers - or are we better off with a local tour company?

 

Thanks!

 

We got back on a 16 day cruise to Asia on Sapphire Princess at the end of December. It was myself, husband and our adult daughter. We arranged our own private tours from home at each of the 10 ports. We had wonderful guides and a great experience.

 

Nagasaki was very hard to find anyone. We were told on the ship that the taxi cab drivers do not speak very good English. If you take taxis you need to be very careful.

 

We found an American who lives over there and works as a civilian for the Marine Corps. His name is John and he is also a professional photographer. So he was our guide and his friend Yoshi was the driver. We had a minivan and in the short amount of time we were there they should us everything possible. I don't have John's email handy but I do have a card that Yoshi gave us with his email address. shinzatoy@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org. Please tell them you got his info from David, Arlene & Tammy Grimm in Sacramento, CA. Yoshi speaks excellent English. They were there at the port dock waiting for us.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Arlene

[realproperty]

.......was the port with the least to offer of any on our 16 day princess cruise this fall. That is why what the ship is offering does not appeal to you--because there is precious little to see. We did the afternoon Shurijo Castle and main street shopping excursion. There is nothing there to buy and there is nothing there interesting to even see unless you get a kick out of a snake in a bottle (which is worth about 15 seconds.) The Castle is the best Okinawa has to offer and it is again mildly interesting for a short period of time. You could do it all on your own or you would not be missing much if you stayed on the ship. My guess is Okinawa is on the itinerary since the ship cannot go from Taipei directly to mainland China.

 

Nagasaki by the way is easily done on your own--just make sure you get 100 yen coins for the tram to ground zero.

 

As for Taipei, it was the biggest surprise of the cruise. The National Museum is amazing and should not be missed even if you don't love museums. This place has fabulous jade and ceramics taken from mainland China in 1949 that you will not see anywhere else in the world. One and a half hours was way to short and try to get a guided tour that takes you to the high lights. Pao-An temple has amazing tile ceramic dragons and the martyr's shrine is a wonderful open space with very interesting architecture. Taipei 101--if you live in a big city, you have seen Taipei 101--it is a big office building with a retail mall at the bottom. Take a picture from the outside and go someplace really different. Ditto for the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial--good picture from outside, not much going on inside and by the way, the Taiwanese are rewriting history, they don't think he was so great after all. Check out all these sites on line and then figure out what you want to really see. Taipei has way more to offer than we expected. Avoid a tour that takes you to a handicrafts store--just junk.

[DonahCBrown]

Any recommendations on what to do on a cruise stop in Okinawa? I would love to see/experience as much as possible, but we are only there from noon to 7pm and I am not a big fan of the ship's offerings. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Is this a place that is easily navigatable by english speakers - or are we better off with a local tour company?

 

Thanks!

 

We had been to Okinawa before and 'done' the castle, so were looking for something else and booked with a wonderful guide, Yukari Marsh - she can take up to 8 as I recall - more than that she has to go through another agency to get a larger vehicle. She can put together whatever kind of tour you want, but we picked Okinawa World, which gets a bit slammed as 'touristy' but we found to be interesting and fun. Try and make sure you are there for the Eisa Dance program - very colorful and entertaining. The rest of the place is a sort of Okinawa Williamsburg - examples of old style buildings, craft demonstrations - you can also participate if you want - of glassblowing, pottery making, weaving, papermaking, etc. There's also a series of limestone caverns, the largest in Okinawa, that you can walk through - lighted, with unusual formations - got some interesting photos in there. We also did the shopping street. Everything was well handled, Yukari's English is excellent, the van was clean and comfortable, she kept a nice balance of commentary and 'experience' time, and we really enjoyed our day. Contact information is in my review of Sapphire Princess Asia 2007.

[100+]

Arlene

 

What did you do in Nagasaki? We are on the Diamond in September.

[100+]

What did you do in Nagasaki on your own? We will be on the Diamond in September.

[DonahCBrown]

We did the ship's tour to Shimabara, which was nice, but the ship docks right in Nagasaki, and the town is very walkable. There is a lot of good information on the website for Japan's tourism office and the touist bureau in Nagasaki is very helpful and responds immediately to queries by email.

 

The Peace Memorial and to Glover Gardens are the two key points for in-town sites, and there is a tram system which is apparently pretty accessible and in easy walking distance of the port.

 

Usually there are taiko drummers and/or dancers at the pier for sailaway, too.

[realproperty]

We found Nagasaki to make for a very relaxed and enjoyable day. There is not a lot to see so you don't have to rush. That was a good thing. You can do it on your own so you don't have to put up with the Princess Tours nonsense (and that you will discover is just a real nuisance, especially in ports where you have to tender. Lots of people on tour, too few tenders to take people, lots of sitting around waiting, lots of very irritated people but not much you can do about it. Oh, yeah, on our cruise, pretty rude staff)

 

In Nagasaki, we took the tram to the Peace Garden and ground zero. It is very easy--walk up a couple of blocks from the pier and catch the number 4 or 5 or whatever it is, (they will tell you) and take it to stop # whatever it is (they will tell you) and follow the signs--very easy. You can easily self guide the peace garden--it is just a big garden with some scuptures and then you can walk to ground zero, another open space and then over to the museum (which we ended up taking a pass on) and then take a tram back. The only trick is you need a 100 yen coin for the tram per person each way. No change on the tram. Also, no English on the tram. Downtown Nagasaki is pleasant to walk around and you can easily walk back to the ship from there if you are in reasonable health. You have plenty of time to get back to the ship for a late lunch. There was not much shopping in Nagasaki of any significance or bargains. That kind of shopping is best left to Beijing, Shanghai, Saigon. I hope that helps.

[shoshona2]

Two years ago, we docked in Okinawa and our friends rented a car. It was a riot since the navigation system was in Japanese and we couldn't figure out how to turn it off. We visited the Okinawa Peace War Museum and Park at the southern end of Okinawa. It is the place where 200,000 people of all different nationalities including the Americans and British are buried. They were killed in the 90 day fighting during WWII when the Allies fought the Japanese for control of Okinawa. It was a very sobering but beautiful place. We saw where the Okinawan families held hands and jumped off the cliff to avoid being tortured by the Allies. This was what the Japanese soldiers told them would happen. People were throwing flowers over the side of the cliff to memorialize their family and friends.

 

My friends brought a guide book on Okinawa and we found another memorial museum. We were the only Americans at a memorial museum for the fallen young girls who were caught up in the war while attending school in Okinawa. They had been pressed into service by the Japanese soldiers to take care of the wounded and dying. Some of them were only 10 or 12 years old. They hid in a cave and died there since they couldn't understand the English being spoken by the invading forces. War is awful -- there were no interpreters to tell them they were being saved. The story boards told the story in English and Japanese.

 

Very, very interesting places. If you are a history buff, this is for you.

 

Sheila

[boxguyswife]

Just returned from Asia cruise with Oceania. Surprised at how well we liked Okinawa. But, we saw the folk village that we found to be quite interesting, including a traditional Okinawan dance usually done at the Udon festival, and we also thought the memorial on the south side of the island about the battle of Okinawa was moving, and the museum there very interesting.

[mare s.]

boxguyswife....did you take a private tour of Okinawa, a ship's tour, or do-it-yourself tour? If you had a private guide, will you please share the info?

thanks.