Okinawa Experience - sun, flowers and ocean

My recent trip to Okinawa in March was quite memorable as the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami happened on the day before our tour ended. Though Okinawa is far away from where it happened, we sensed the magnitude of the devastation as the tragedy unfolded on tv in our hotel room.  The scenes on tv were heart wrenching.

We were staying at a seaside resort, Rizzan Sea Park Hotel on Tancha Bay, overlooking the East China Sea on that day. However, the sea appeared calm where we were when the Tsunami hit, sweeping away towns and people in the northeastern coast of Japan.

The weather in March was great at around 15 to 21 degree Celsius. We were on a guided tour organized by JTB on a chartered flight. The group was too big and lots of time wasted in waiting for members who did not keep to time schedule. Hence, we didn't have much time to spend at interesting spots such as the Churaumi Aquarium. i could have spent the whole day there just watching the huge variety of ocean life in the aquarium. The Churaumi Aquarium is located at the Ocean Expo Park.

As the weather was still cool, Azalea - the season's flower was not in full bloom yet. We only get to see some of the blooms, however, orchids were in abundance and our hotel and some restaurants were decorated with big orchids.

We also visited some of the world heritage sites in Okinawa, namely the Shuri Castle and Shikina-en, the picturesque Manzamo Cliff, Peace Memorial Park and Gyokusen Cave.