Day 62 Okinawa, Japan

Today we had our first and only stop in Japan. Okinawa was significantly involved in WW II when the Japanese occupied the area. After the war the US controlled it until 1972 when it reverted back to Japanese control.
Today we were treated to Japanese immigration and control. This consisted of having them analyze our fingerprints this morning and at lunch time the entire ship had to file past a camera that was equipped to detect if anyone had a fever. If we would have had a fever we would have been required to stay on the ship. Well we passed the test which means that Interpol has not yet loaded our fingerprints on the international database.
We visited the Shurijo Castle which overlooks the harbor. This was the home of the ruler since about the 1400's. It is always entertaining to see troops of westerners have to remove their shoes to enter a special building. After the castle we were off to their shopping district. This was like so many we have seen in our travels.
I found Okinawan to be a nice place and in my mind it probably suffers from following so many other cities on our trip. It is a nice civilized city with a seemingly healthy economy. The people are cordial and welcoming. There were no swarms of people following us around which moves it up on the list. I was surprised that they will not accept US money and they drive on the left side of the road since the US had such a long presence here with a major military installation.
Tomorrow a sea day.

Chris - Okinawa was very much a metropolitan city with not much beauty or distinction. It was very clean and the Japanese people are very efficient. All our exposures with the people of Japan were positive experiences, starting with the quick and very organized thermal imaging of every passenger and crew to the efficient check in at the Shurijo Castle. The market was very impressive. Yes, it sold food and a variety of items like lots others we've visited, but none were as clean, as orderly, as calm as the one in Okinawa. The market was extremely large, all under roof and had large aisles that allowed for you to walk leisurely along and see all the booths without feeling hassled in any way. Unlike other markets, the food section didn't smell, despite the presence of LOTS of exposed meat. That meat included exotic fish, pigs head and various other meat I couldn't even identify. One thing that was puzzling to me was that all afternoon I looked for a flag, any flag, that I could photograph. I usually take a picture of the flag from each country and city/state (if they have it), but I couldn't see ANY flag today. Where was the Japanese flag....nowhere in site, even at the City and official buildings? There were flag poles everywhere but not one flag anywhere on the 45 minute drive into the city and around the city....interesting. When I asked the guide why, all she said was , "sorry I didn't take you to see a flag." Obviously I told her it wasn't disappointed with her, just curious why there were no flags. She didn't answer why. Too bad that we don't get to see any other ports or places in Japan, I would have liked that. Hummmm, maybe we need "world adventure, part 2" :)