SQ421

A few months late in starting the thread (but better late than never!).

In the sixth iteration of this Do (which began as eightblack's musings after a liquid dinner, I digress) we'll converge on Okinawa.

As has now become the norm, we'll kick of with welcome drinks on the Thursday followed by a day of exploration and a main Do dinner on the Friday and a day trip or further exploration on Saturday.

We have an expanded organising team this time with nme7 and The_Wrath_of_Khan joining NewbieRunner and armagebedar while penegal and I remain these mysterious interlopers / thread straters from an island far far away!

Post Do, again, will be in South Korea (with Pusan / Seoul being discussed as the options) and details (and perhaps a new thread).

I don't really know much about Okinawa besides the fact that it has a US Military Base, but if Google and Wikipedia are to be believed, the airport is reasonably well connected, and all the major hotel chains are represented.

See y'all there (or as is more likely, at an airport elsewhere!)

The_Wrath_of_Khan

I'll start working on some possibilities. Okinawa is like no where else in Japan - for one it has only one train line which is relatively new (a monorail actually which goes from the Airport at one end to Shuri Castle at the other). Outside of Naha the only public transportation option is bus. While there is a lot to see and do outside of Naha staying outside of Naha without your own car is impractical.

For now I highly recommend making a booking at the Hyatt Regency Naha.

Other options for international chain hotels are (in order I recommend them):
1. Doubletree Naha
2. Crown Plaza Okinawa Harborview
3. DoubleTree Shuri Castle

There are 3 Marriott properties and one SPG property on island as well as a new Hilton and several other IHG properties none are centrally located and will be easily an hour by bus to Naha if not further.

Depending on turn out I will try and rent a bus for the Saturday Do event, but that is a definite maybe.

NewbieRunner

Confirmed (attending the Do Dinner on Friday unless otherwise stated)
Aeolus
armagebedar
beckoa
beckoa +1
BigRedBears
ellyse
ellyse +1
kirkwoodj
krazykanuck
LennartH
LennartH +1
NewbieRunner
nme7
nomadic.relief
oliver2002
restlessinRNO
restlessinRNO +1
Sykes
The_Wrath_of_Khan
TravelKane


Maybe / Interested
angra
bennos
CDKing
JY1024
monitor
penegal


Not this year
gvdIAD
johnnywho
pudgym29
tkey75
tkey75 +1
UncleJed
wysiwyg

NewbieRunner

Arrivals:
Sykes - 3/24 11:55 OZ172
LennartH - 3/28 14:20 NH471
NewbieRunner - 3/28 16:05 NH473
Aeolus - 3/28 18:50 JL921
BigRedBears - 3/28 19:30 JL1213
krazykanuck - 3/28 22:40 NH479
restlessinRNO - 3/29 08:40 IT230
oliver2002 - 3/29 12:30 CA831
nme7 - 3/29 13:15 GK305
beckoa - 3/29 15:45 7C1802
ellyse+1 - 3/29 16:40 MU287
kirkwoodj - 3/29 17:30 NH475
ellyse - 3/29 18:10 HO1331
TravelKane - 3/29 21:05 NH2159
nomadic.relief - 3/30 09:15 BR112

Departures:
LennartH - 3/31 15:00 NU617 OKA-ISG
BigRedBears - 4/1 07:10 JL1200 OKA-FUK
nme7 - 4/1 07:30 GK312 OKA-NRT
kirkwoodj - 4/1 08:00 NH460 OKA-HND
NewbieRunner - 4/1 10:15 NH994 OKA-HND
oliver2002 - 4/1 10:15 NH994 OKA-HND
Aeolus - 4/1 10:20 JTA052 OKA-FUK
restlessinRNO - 4/1 10:40 BC552 OKA-NGO
nomadic.relief - 4/2 08:25 MM925 OKA-TPE
krazykanuck - 4/2 12:50 NH464 OKA-HND
Sykes - 4/2 13:00 QZ171 OKA-ICN
ellyse+1 - 4/2 17:40 MU288 OKA-PVG
ellyse - 4/2 19:00 HO1332 OKA-PVG
TravelKane - 4/3 11:55 CI121 OKA-TPE
beckoa - 4/3 12:10 JL2084 OKA-ITM

NewbieRunner

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Naha
Aeolus (DT Shuri Castle 3/31-4/1)
beckoa
beckoa +1
BigRedBears (Crowne Plaza Naha 3/31-4/1)
kirkwoodj
krazykanuck
NewbieRunner (DT Shuri Castle 3/28-29)
nme7
restlessinRNO
restlessinRNO +1
TravelKane

Hyatt Regency Naha
armagebedar
Sykes

Almont Hotel
nomadic.relief

Guesthouse Umikaji
ellyse
ellyse +1

Sheraton Sunmarina
oliver2002
LennartH
LennartH +1

The_Wrath_of_Khan

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Tons of options, one of the best is near Kokuksai Street/Hyatt Regency which is the yatai area https://goo.gl/maps/59MbM2bzuem

kirkwoodj

I'll be there, arriving Thursday and departing Sunday. No post-DO.

The_Wrath_of_Khan

So sad!

beckoa

Confirmed flights, hotels and time off from work ^



#5 for me

Thanks for organizing again everyone. And let me know if I can be of assistance ^

armagebedar

But soju-free!

BTW, I went ahead and created a wikipost for whatever use we may come up with.

restlessinRNO

Please consider me a definite maybe at this time.

Edited to add: Based on the above recommendations, I would be staying at the DoubleTree Naha.

wysiwyg

Had a great time this year, but need more time for my Aeroplan account to recover
Already making plans to attend DO #7 , in 2019, wherever that will be in.

kirkwoodj

I'm sure we can get a hold of some for those who are nostalgic or desire PTSD!

nme7

Count me in. Guess what I am bringing? Yep, a bottle of Soju for our dear friend Armagebedar.

CDKing

Like usual i'm going to try to go with plans foiled as time gets closer. Have flights (to and from ICN so still have work to do) and grabbed a crappy guesthouse near the Hyatt.