Naha, Okinawa

Can I get a cup of tea?

It was a chilly, overcast day, we were walking down Kokusai Street, the main shopping street of Naha when it started to drizzle. What a perfect time to duck into a cafe to have a cup of hot tea. After seeing a lot of cute shops selling ice cream and take-out snacks, we saw a sign for McDonalds. I thought that was getting pretty desperate to head to McDonalds. We continued to walk, seeing more signs for McDonalds when we came across a small shop “Rice Ball”. Yeah, Oolong tea and Miso soup were on the menu and it had indoor seating. Imagine my surprise when the Oolong tea was actually iced tea. At least the miso soup was hot.

After our quick snack, we continued to walk and shop. After about 3 hrs, we decided to head back to the ship. The taxi stand was located at a large department store. As we approached, I looked up and saw a sign “Cafe”. Immediately we went in and headed up to the cafe. Finally a good hot cup of tea!

Japanese Underground Headquarters

The name of our tour in Okinawa was “The Battle of Okinawa”. The first place we toured was the Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters in Tomigusuku City, Okinawa. We descended 100 steps underground. Yeah, the way out was a ramp. Rear Admiral Minoru Ota fought the battle from this site. Near the end of the battle, Ota stated the Okinawan people did their very best in the battle. Then on June 13th, 1945, Admiral Ota and his men committed suicide.

The Underground Headquarters was opened to the public in 1970 in the hopes that people would visit and realize the futility of war. In fact, there are several Peace Memorials in Okinawa dedicated to the purpose of promoting peace.

Himeyuri – A Girls School

This was a very moving and thought-provoking visit. Accounts of what happened to the students and their teachers are memorialized in videos of the few survivors. It was heartbreaking to hear them recount what they endured, and what they were told would happen to them if they were caught by the American soldiers. Those survivors came together to develop the school as a site where visitors can reflect on the horrors of war and to promote peace. Up until a few years ago, the former students acted as guides to the museum. The one rule in the museum was to not take photos.

Himeyuri is the site of a former all-girls school that was dedicated to teaching them to become teachers. When the war came to Okinawa, they were conscripted by the military to be nurses. These young girls were taken into caves near the front lines to nurse the wounded soldiers. They faced the hardship and horrors of battle. Food was scarce, often only 1 scoop of rice which had to be shared with the patients. Their role in surgery was to hold the patients down while limbs were amputated without anesthesia.

When their experience ended mid-June 1945, they were simply told to go home now. Per the accounts from the survivors, once they were told to go home, many of them died or were wounded as they got caught in the crossfire. Several talked about the time it took them to be able to tolerate sunlight when they first exited the caves. Several did commit suicide once released. Others begged to be killed. In all, 80% of the staff and students died once they were released.

Around Okinawa