Meet and greet drinks venue for Thursday evening:
- Thursday drinks will be at the DOJO bar, a great place with a strong connection to the Karate scene in Okinawa. The DOJO bar was also featured in one of Anthony Bourdain's shows about Okinawa. A group will be leaving the Double Tree at 18:30 and the bar opens at 7. Show up anytime there after.
Activities/visits for Friday (usually half day):
- I would suggest Tomari Fish Market and Naminoue Shrine - both are relatively close together and Naminoue has a significant amount to see and do within walking distance, the fish market could also be done early Saturday for anyone interested. The water should be fairly warm by April so we can hit the beach at Naminoue also.
- Makishi market also makes for a half-day walking tour, but is easily accessible enough that people can do this on their own
- The Do Dinner: We currently have a reservation for 20 people at 琉球ダイニング 地酒横丁 at 7pm (1900) - This place has a really nice looking menu full of local food including the famous Ishigaki Beef. We have a course dinner for 6,500 yen including 120 minutes of all you can drink. Menu and more details are posted here in post 177.
Activities/visits for Saturday (usually full day):
- Shuri Castle walk with lunch and shopping in the Shuri area, this can easily take a whole day, but if we wanted to make it just a half day then we should integrate the Former Japanese Naval HQ into the day: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...ture_Kyus.html
- An alternate would be to take a bus (tickets are readily available for 1-infinate PAX) from Naha to the famous Churaumi Aquarium which I believe also involves some stops in the northern part of the island.
- I will lead an early morning scuba diving excursion for those who are interested and have a valid PADI or NAUI open water certification. The diving here is spectacular.
Any post dinner/visit drinks excluding clear liquors:
I have plenty of other suggestions as well. Is anyone interested in renting a bus to take us around to different locations? Again Okinawa does not have the public transportation system that the rest of Japan enjoys. I am looking forward to showing off the island I've made home for the last 15 years. Another day trip option for Saturday or Sunday is to visit one of the outer islands which may involve humpback whale watching as they are in the area from January-March and we might just be able to catch them in April.