The Restaurant in the Sky

This Saturday Matt and I got out of bed early (well, earlier than most Saturdays) and met our friends for an adventure! We decided to eat at a restaurant called Pizza in the Sky followed by a tour of castle ruins. I had heard about both these places because the travel office on base offers tours of both, but we decided to pile into a car with friends and drive ourselves. Road trip!

We drove north on the expressway into the mountains, and following directions we found online we turned off the main road onto a side road that was paved but very skinny and windy. We went up and up a mountain, following the signs that pointed towards Pizza in the Sky. We had to wait for about 40 minutes, but we had a breathtaking view to entertain us during our wait! We could see the ocean from high up on our mountain.

We could see picnic tables outside, but the first table we were offered was inside. We agreed as we were all starving by that point. We left our shoes at the door and sat on the mats for my first meal sitting Japanese-style. The poor guys! We had four very tall Marines in our party, and their legs were up by their ears the whole time. Their legs could not fit under the table!

The menu was printed on a paper fan

The pizza was amazing! It had sausage, corn, peppers, onions, and lots and lots of cheese. Having never been there before, we weren't sure what to get. The only choices were salad, small pizza or medium pizza. We decided on two salads and four medium pizzas for the table of six. The pizzas looked like larges to me when they arrived! We were worried we would not be able to finish everything, but we managed to eat every last slice.

We followed our large meal with a trip to see the ruins of Nakijin Castle. We were immediately impressed with the long walls of stone made with no mortar. The stones were so expertly placed that the castle walls remain intact with nothing holding them together.

We then climbed many, many stairs to view the surrounding area from above. This castle was very well defended. It is surrounded by steep cliffs that stretch all the way to the ocean. It made for some stunning views. I think today was my favorite day since arriving. The weather was perfect, a breeze was blowing, and I was amazed by the views of mountain and ocean. I cannot wait to explore our little island even more.