Castles and Sand

What a wonderful weekend! Ryan and I had a fun weekend exploring Okinawa. Though Saturday was a bit chilly and windy, Ryan and I checked out our new neighborhood, Sunabe. Sunabe is next to the more boisterous area of Chatan. I likened Chatan to Times Square, while Sunabe is more like the East Village - a little more residential with lots of quaint cafes and bars as opposed to the bright lights and hustle of Midtown. We started out by getting cappucinos at Coffee Casa. They had delicious coffee and the pastas and naan pizza looked good, though we didn't try it. We then went to Gordie's for some of the best burgers on the island. Deelish! After an afternoon of checking out the PX on Kadena Air Force Base and the Living Design Square in Kitanakagusuku, we went out for our first Sushi meal at Yoshihachi's. While I didn't love the gyoza and tempura, their spicy scallop roll and Chatan roll were devine. We came home overstuffed and exhausted!

Sunday, we got to spend the morning with our new friends, the Shinns. Russ works with Ryan in legal assistance. We went out to Cafe Caracalla for pancakes with Russ, his wife Tonya, and their two adorable children, Anthony and Audrey. I loved my chocolate banana pancakes and the view of Araha beach. After checking out Jusco (and getting a new camera battery YAY!) we ventured off on our own to the Nakagusuku Castle Ruins.

The Nakagusuku Castle was built by the Ryukyuan Commander, Gosamaru, to defend against attacks from the East. They are high atop a hill only 10 minutes from base. Here are some pictures from our visit:

The Pacific Ocean is in the background.

The ruins from the front lawn.

After visiting the ruins, we weren't ready to go home, so we decided to check out American Village near Jusco one more time. We walked around the village then headed to the beach on the East China Sea. Here are some pictures from the beach next to American Village:

I can't believe we get to live here!

Now that my camera is working, I'll hopefully update the blog more often. Arigato Gozaimasu for reading it!