After a perfect day around the south of Okinawa mainland, we had to return to Naha city… to return the car and visit the #1 place – Shuri Castle!
Day 7 – 16 January 2019 (Wednesday)
I’m not sure why, but the weather was just not pleasant throughout 70% of the trip. It soon started raining. Naha city was a terror for me to drive, which you can read more about my experience driving in Okinawa here.
After filling up the tank, we tried to find a parking lot around Shuri Castle. However, the rain did not deter tourists from the site – but did the exact opposite. Hence, it was tough finding a parking lot around the area. In the end, we sent the car back to the rental agency 2 hours earlier at T-Galleria.
Destination 1: Abest Cuba Naha International Street (Kokusai Dori)
Before that, we deposited our luggages at our final accommodation – Abest Cube Naha International Street. For 1 night, it costed us SGD61.96.
The room was a bunk bed, extremely small! However, there were common areas and the toilet was very comfortable and clean. Location was the best, as it is at the end of Kokusai Dori and near the train station.
Destination 2: Return Car at T-Galleria & Okica Card
Well, pretty explanatory as driving in Naha city gave me a ton of stress. Since now we had no car, we got ourselves an Okica at the train station for 500 yen nearest to T-Galleria (Omoromachi).
As we were only spending time in Naha city for less than 24 hours, it made sense to get a 24 hour pass for 800 yen. I can’t remember if the Okica card costed 500 yen with no credit, or lesser with some credit. Nonetheless, it was worth it, compared to buying one-way tickets or topping up normally.
Then, we went to the last station – Shuri. However, after the ordeal of returning the car early and settling our luggages, our stomachs yearned for lunch. We found a cute cafe 15 minutes by walk from Shuri Castle.
Destination 3: 石畳茶屋 真珠
It is a very quaint cafe that serves really good food! As we were caught in the rain, the owners were especially kind and attentive, ensuring that the doors were always closed to keep the cold out, and the heat in. After all, it was still winter!
I was sold by Okinawan soba, hence I ordered it. I wanted a broth to warm up my insides, and listen to the rain at the same time.
Note: This cafe does not accept card! By then, we were scraping our wallets for cash, hoping to get enough money to pay for everything. Considering to wash the dishes in case we were short of cash.
We also had some shaved ice, which is a specialty of Okinawa. Well, it was okay, I’d say. I prefer Singapore’s ice kacang and Malaysia’s air batu campur. Come to Singapore/Malaysia, Okinawa, and see how it’s done!
I can’t remember how much we spent, but it was around 1200 yen per person, including the dessert. For the ambience of the cafe and the view which overlooks a small part of Naha city, I recommend you to find your way here… If you can find it!
Destination 4: Shuri Castle
Finally, we hiked back up to Shuri Castle! As we had gotten the 24 hour pass, the entrance fee to Shuri castle was cheaper. It costed only 660 yen per person.
There are some vantage points around the vicinity, so do hike up. We had a super long photo session which annoyed some other tourists. Well, there were other nice spots on the boardwalk, but they just wanted ours. Oh well. /shrugs
Destination 5: Okonomiyaki @ Kokusai Street Food Village
It was getting dark *cues winter sunsets… but it was cloudy!* so we decided to have some hot Okonomiyaki!
This is the Kokusai street food village where various cheap to mid-tier izakayas are located, serving similar menus. We chose to walk inside and find a smaller izakaya. It was difficult to find an okonomiyaki that did not serve pork in it.
TIP: Say butaniku (pork) tabenai – tabenai meaning do not eat at all.
We sat in front of the chef and he made us our dishes. It was rather cool watching the food being made from scratch.
There was an Okonomiyaki special that we both had not tried – Sea Grapes! (We also had chicken karaage which is not pictured)
It was an appetizer, which works great to spice up the flavours in our food. The texture was, of course, like grapes, but the taste was very salty. I liked it, but Gladys didn’t. An acquired taste!
Afterwards, we went to Don Quijote and shopped away… since it was our last night in Okinawa.
Day 8 – 17 January 2019 (Thursday)
Not much happened on our final day as our flight was in the morning. Woke up super early, got on the second train on the only train line to the airport and… we flew home at 9AM on Jetstar.
Total Spent (Day 7 & 8)
Breakfast – 500 yen
Okica Card – 500 yen
24 hour pass – 800 yen
Raincoat – 250 yen
Lunch – 1200 yen
Abest Cube International Street – SGD61.96 for 1 night
Dinner (Kokusai Street Food Village) – 4440 yen (in total)
Don Quijote – 2638 yen
Starbucks Mug & Tumbler – 6480 yen (paid by card)
Conclusion
So that wraps up our journey to Okinawa! For sure, this trip was super comprehensive as we tried to make the best despite the weather and driving hiccups. I hope that you all have enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them.
If you’ve missed out the previous posts, you can click on them below.
Click here for Day 1.
Click here for Day 2 & Day 3.
Click here for our experiences on driving in Okinawa.
Click here for Day 4 (Churaumi Aquarium).
Click here for Day 4 (Okuma Beach and Cape Hedo).
Click here for Day 5.
Click here for Day 6.
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