The last weekend we ended up just going for a drive out to the Islands which are on the East side. We just went exploring. Ended up driving through a large farm looking for a castle ruin, which we may have found but we aren't sure. Then on the last island we went to we stumbled upon a interesting beach that looks promising for snorkeling when it gets warmer but we found some huge shells there. Then it started getting blustery and late so we had to head back.
The next day we hit up a couple of castle ruins. The first one is called Katsuren Castle. It was really interesting to see the old walls without the actual buildings on them. The first castle had the remnants of support posts that were apart of a building. The also had lots of wells around the gusuku (castle) grounds. The view from the top was amazing! You could see the Pacific Ocean on both sides. Getting to the top of the castle was kind of a trick in watching were your footing was because there was loose rocks all over and the stairs weren't very wide. My favorite was watching an Okinawan lady climb down the stairs in high heels. We came down from castle and ended up at a little visitor's center that had some of the findings from the digs around the castle.
Next, we headed on our way back but along the way stopped at Nagagusuku Castle. This one was a lot bigger in size. We paid our entry fee, got yet another stamp, and then headed up. There was several levels in the castle. At the tallest area we could see both sides of the Island, the ocean on one and the sea on the other. The view was breath taking. The castles also have many sacred areas, which I'm still not exactly sure how they become sacred because they don't look very special to me. We worked our way down and made it back to the vending machines for a drink and then back home.
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