Touch & Go to Japan

Going for another cruise was not our original plan in 2017. My badminton buddy who had earlier signed up for a cruise to Japan suggested in late March that I should consider signing up and join the gang which I did.

We had our first cruise experience in late March 2013 with cruise ship Voyager of the Seas. That cruise ship which was operated by Royal Caribbean could accommodate almost 3,200 guests. The cruise ship Sapphire Princess which took us to Japan is slightly smaller. It can accommodate close to 2,700 guests. For this cruise, we were allocated a much better room - a room with balcony at mid section at port side, Level 10. Together with other tour members, we flew to Taipei on 17 May 2017 to commence our cruise to Okinawa and Oshigaki from Keelung Port, Taipei.

Sapphire Princess

Upon disembarkation from the ship after docking at Okinawa Port at 4pm on 18 May, we joined a cruise-recommended local tour. We were taken to just two spots, the Shuroji Castle and Kokusai Street.

Shuroji Castle, declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in year 2000 was the imperial palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1429  to 1879. Unlike traditional Japanese castles, Shuroji Castle is very much influenced by Chinese architecture.

The castle which was destroyed in World War 2 in 1945 by the American warship, USS Mississippi was rebuilt in 1950 to serve as the University of Ryukyu. Since then, it has undergone numerous reconstructions. In 1992, it was fully restored to its current condition.

Old castle wall and entrance.

Shuroji Castle.

This red building constructed at the right of the main palace served as guest house for dignitaries and visitors from China during the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Japanese dancers performers at makeshift tent 
to entertain visitors/tourist.

At Kokusai Street, our local Japanese Guide suggested a visit to the local wet and dry market. Somewhat tired of shopping, we thought it was a good idea to have a look at the market, a place where locals do their marketing. In the end, out of the twenty plus tour members, only two coupes including ourselves were interested. The rest preferred to explore Kokusai Street on their own.

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Our tour bus picked us from the pre-designated point at 7.30pm and by 8pm, we were back to the ship. That was our four hours tour of Japan!

We were scheduled to visit another Japanese island, Oshigaki in the next morning. Oshigaki does not have a big enough port for the cruise ship to berth. The ship had to anchor at a distance off-shore. Visitors were supposed to be shuttered to and fro from the cruise ship to the island. Unfortunately, the Captain decided to cancel shuttering of all visitors to the island because of forecast bad weather and high waves. Our visit to the Oshigaki did not materialize!

Our visit to Japan is best described as a touch and go experience!