Okinawa - Shrine of Love

UberEats 🛵

May 1st! Not a holiday for Japanese people, but one for me! 🥳 Just out of curiosity, I try UberEats.
Delivery to the park?
Delivery to the beach?
Leave it at the front door?
No problem, nothing unusual here. But there's one thing that catches my attention. Delivery fee of 50 yen?! That's equivalent to 35 cents. Sure, the scooters make it so cheap. Why don't we have more delivery services with scooters here? 🤔

Hai! Hai! 🛶

I'm off again, wanting to see more of the city. In the south, there's a park with green and sports facilities. It might be worth a visit. I head out. On the way, I get myself a bento box and then sit by the water when I arrive at the park. I enjoy my meal, but suddenly loud voices start. And they're in a rhythm. I look around and suddenly realize that there are boats on the water.

'Oh, how cool!', I think to myself. Young men who pursue their sports club during the day on weekdays. Almost. When I get closer, I realize that it's the military training.

I continue walking and then decide to visit Shuri Castle. On the way from the park to the monorail station, I also visit a small temple. I immediately notice the pleasant smell of incense.

After a short squeeze in the monorail, I go up to the castle.

Here too, I take a detour to one of the small temple grounds on the way. And here too, I am greeted by a pleasant smell of incense. The previous temples didn't have that. I immediately like this facility. One reason is the many different shrines.

There is, among others, the shrine of 'Good Engagements'. It has a koi pond attached to it, I could just sit here for hours and listen to the 'plip' of the carp.

There are stairs going up. Once I reach the top, there seems to be the baby shrine. But it's just a feeling.

As if to confirm the cat rule, a cat comes to me today, with a goal: to be scratched by me. Well, okay. 😅

I turn around and see a torii. And another torii. A whole bunch of toriis.

I like it immediately, it has something captivating. It is 'The Torii Gate of fulfillment of great Wishes'. Well, I'd be happy to go through it.

At some point, I continue towards the castle, but I don't get ten meters far. Out of the corner of my eye, I see something made of wood in a garage. Something that stands out. I take a look. And I'm surprised, but that's nothing new here. It's a shrine for traffic safety. There really are shrines for everything here. And each one has its own vibration. Of course, when everyone visits the same place with the same intention, it leaves its mark.

The castle doesn't appeal to me at all, so I leave it behind. Instead, I wander around like one of the nocturnal cats.

At some point, I end up in my third home, next to my Airbnb and malls, namely a café.
Finally, after ages, I find some time to write a few postcards. At least I start with it.

I can only manage four cards. On a holiday. This could be tight, by the end of the month.
After a short stop at the accommodation, I go to the mall for some souvenirs to take home. Off to the café with the green logo, to enjoy the exuberant service and the joy when I thank them with an 'Arigato Gozaimasu!'. It's soooo contagious, this joy. And all 'just' because of a respectful phrase. 🙇‍♂️

In my YouTube suggestions, I get a video recommended: 'Travelling ALONE in Japan | An introvert's dream'. I watch it and find it slightly amusing. After 12 hours, he already feels lonely, he does it for a total of 36 hours. In his home country. I look at the clock. Since my departure, about 916 hours have passed, that's 38 days.

I'm kicked out at 11, even though I'm nowhere near finished with my topics. I go back. They're not the brightest here. Only about 5% of the cyclists have lights on. It's late, time for me to disappear into the dark.