Expoland in Okinawa

Here is a view of my room in the Hotel Delfino.

The dining area is spacious, clean and a pleasure to use.

Outside the hotel this morning we happened to see a Harley.

The ride to the park gave us a good sense of the northern part of the island.

There were breath-taking views from the road.

This is the island of Ie shima. I photographed it many times that day.

The park looks out across the China sea toward the island.

All around the park are these topiary-like sea animals.

This girl had the right idea in terms of staying cool! (And it was a REALLY hot day!)

This is some of our students. In the middle is Shige and to the right Motohiro.

Here is a shot of Iheya island.

This island is relatively unspoiled and I would like to visit it some day.

Another topiary.

Although Expoland is best known for its aquarium, another aspect is the historical village buildings that occupy the center of the park. In the first house there were docents to teach children about their heritage.

Students got lessons on Sanshin, dancing, and singing.

They also had the opportunity to build a bug house.

Other houses showed the traditional means of life hundreds of years ago.

Each house is from a different area and time period.

It was a fascinating place to visit!

Unfortunately this is the only bird I have seen besides crows and swallows. As you can tell I didn't get a very good view. I think it is either a jay or a magpie.

These are granaries.

These were fallen blossoms. The delicacy of the color was poignant.

The thatched rooves are very picturesque and I really couldn't take a bad picture of the village.

Tomorrow I'll try and put up a post on the second half of the day. The park also has a huge Orchid house and of course I couldn't leave without visiting the aquarium!