Although we are smack in the middle of rainy season right now, we decided to brave the weather in order to visit Okinawa World. It is a theme park in the style of a traditional Ryukyu village. There are vendors demonstrating historic crafts such as glass blowing, weaving, and beer brewing. The biggest draw for us was the Gyokusendo cave which is Okinawa's largest cave.
We started the day at the Cave Cafe which is just outside the park. Beverly had read about online, and hands down it is the coolest place I have ever purchased a coffee.
Once we entered the park we were given a schedule of the shows. There is an Eisa dance show which is a combination of dancing and drumming. In addition to the drums there is a lion dance with two men acting as one lion that was my favorite! The character acted more like a giant dog with wagging its tail and biting the rear end of an unsuspecting audience member. After the show we toured all of the old-fashioned buildings with the traditional crafts.
Lastly, we entered the cave through a long hallway and metal staircase. Although the day was rainy, I thought we would be sheltered underground. However, due to the increased rainfall this month the water had risen in the underground rivers and drops of water from the
stalactites kept hitting my head. The cave was huge, and the metal walkway for tours only explored one third of the total area! The stalagmites and stalactites that had taken so many thousands of years to form were amazing! I thought the whole park was a really neat place to represent a historical Okinawa.
What a neat place!
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