Okinawa, Japan

The Southwest Islands of the East China Sea stretch like stepping stones from Taiwan to Japan, serving as a bridge between the two cultures (as well as a source of tension as to who should have control over them). In 1372, an Okinawan king began paying tribute to the Chinese court, a practice that continued for over 200 years. However, Japanese power was on the rise by the 17th century, and the Satsuma Kingdom of Southern Kyushu soon invaded and annexed the islands.

Okinawa is the largest and most important island in the group, and Naha (where we docked) is its capital city. Okinawa was flattened during World War II, and there is little left of the Ryukyu structure. Its most famous attraction, the Shurijo Castle, has since been restored. This had been the residence of the Ryukyu royal family for 450 years. After its restoration based on photographs, historical records and memory, it was reopened in 1993. It served as the venue for G8 Meeting of Heads of State in 2000 (Bill Clinton was there). The entire surrounding area is known as Shuri Park, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Following our visit to the Castle, we returned to the ship and to Joanna’s favorite spot, the “Bridge.” As you can tell from the photo, the Captain doesn’t even pay attention anymore to the buttons she is pushing. The Captain, (whose name is Angelo Corsaro, by the way), is the senior Captain aboard the Silversea fleet. As he laughingly likes to say, “the name Corsaro is derived from corsaire, Italian for pirate, so the obvious choice was a life at sea.” Unfortunately, he’ll be leaving us in a few days in Yokohama to continue preparations for the new Silver Spirit, which sets sail in early 2010. It is everyone’s opinion he is training Joanna to take over in his absence…
Anyway, after successfully navigating a departure from the Naha harbor, we enjoyed a farewell dinner with Captain Corsaro and some other Grand Pacific voyagers. (John was there, too, by the way, but he is the one taking the photos).

We are now en route to Nagasaki, Japan