Yesterday we decided to check out a part of the island we haven’t been able to really explore, Naha City, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. This modern city was once the commercial center of the Ryukyu Kingdom back in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods. Home to the restored and rebuilt Shuri Castle, the formal royal palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Read all about our adventures at: Shuri Castle, here and the Naha Tug-of-War, here.
Kokusai Dori , literally “International Road”, is Naha’s main street and it stretches for roughly two kilometers through downtown Naha. It used to be called “The Miracle Mile” because of it’s rapid recovery after the post-war era. Kokusai Street is full of hotels, restaurants, markets, street vendors, souvenir shops and boutiques. There is a little something for everyone. The best way to see it all is to spend some time on each side of the street.
^^ i couldn’t get over how cute these baby pineapples were ^^
^^ you will find shisa dogs in every shop across Kokusai Street ^^
^^ shamisen made with read snake skin ^^
^^ mangos and pineapples galore ^^
^^ ryukyu glass in hues of blue, handmade in Okinawa ^^
^^ the okinawan purple sweet potato is used to make sweets such as, ice cream, milk shakes, pies, manju and jam^^
^^ yes, that’s a penis shaped cookie … don’t ask ^^
^^ frog purses are apparently all the rage, ew! according to this seller, they are used to attract wealth and abundance^^
^^ enjoying a scoop of my favorite ice cream, Okinawa Salt Cookies! ^^
^^ choosing your own sex is not as cool, haha ^^
^^ tree climbing stuffed dogs, no big deal! ^^
^^ you could smell this place a block away! best part: free samples! ^^
We’ve been wanting to explore Kokusai Street for a while now, after only passing through during the Tug-of-War Festival last year!! It did not disappoint! Before moving here, when i thought of Japan what came to mind were, crowds, busy streets, tons of vendors and goodies all over, like what i had seen in movies that featured Tokyo. But besides Naha City, Okinawa is nothing like this and it was nice to visit a place that sort of embodied this.
Q: Am i the only one that pictures Japan to be like what we see in the movies?
