Okinawa Trip: Day of Rest

Yesterday, we headed out for more castle ruin viewing. I'm a geek, I know, but for some reason, I love looking at crumbling, moss-covered stones from the 17th century! The architecture is so interesting too - very different from most castles I've ever seen. The castle was up on a high hill so the view was phenomenal. You could see the China Sea and the Pacific Ocean at the same time.

After the castle, we headed to Comprehensive Park in Okinawa City. It was really cool - it had all these running trails and a soccer stadium. You could rent paddle boats, walk along the beach or play on the playground. There was even an outdoor water park. One of the running trails had fitness stations where you could stop and do exercises so it was a circuitish workout. I tried the monkey bars - couldn't even move from one bar to another. I used to hang upside down from those things! (I guess being 8 inches taller and 100 lbs heavier makes a difference.)

A Feeding Frenzy

We went to the park specifically to feed koi. I was trying to feed them at the YYY resort and having no luck. A military guys was there with his family (of course, it was his 5 year old feeding the koi) and he asked if I'd been to Comprehensive Park. Of course I hadn't, so he said: "Well go there. The koi are as long as your arms and they're ALWAYS hungry."

Intrigued, we stopped. He wasn't joking! The koi were HUGE. When we stood by the edge of the water, we kept seeing ripples as giant fish swam toward us. It was like Jaws. As we walked the path and bridge crossing the pond, they followed us. They were the most disgusting things I've ever seen. Hundreds of giant slimy fish bodies climbing over each other to get to the food - big mouths opening and closing. You could throw the food directly in their mouths. I tried to pet one, but that didn't go over very well. It caused a bit of a ruckus.

Pig Intestines, Really?

For lunch, we tried a little hole-in-the-wall soba shop along the sea wall. I was a little nervous - the meat options were pig feet and pig intestines and pork ribs. We all ordered the soba with pork ribs and fried egg. It was delicious. The pork was amazingly tender and so yummy. Unfortunately, I was not aware that you were supposed to eat the fat, so I chopsticked all the meat off the fat. (Yeah, try eating what was basically noodle soup with chopsticks! Yikes!) Sadly, I was supposed to eat the fat - but all I had left was fat and broth. I couldn't do it - I tried, but blech. I just accepted being rude and wasteful.

We vegged out the rest of the day - movies, ice cream, Wii and pizza!