Fukushu-en Gardens

Yesterday Grammie, the kids and I visited China. Well, not really, but if you stopped for just a moment and looked around it was almost like being in China. Really we went to the Fukushu-en Chinese gardens in downtown Naha (the capital city) and they were amazing. An oasis in the middle of a sea of urban concrete. A breath of serenity in a bustling environ.

The gardens are walled off from the street and upon entering you don't see the gardens, but instead another wall. But peak just around that wall and it was like being in another world. There was a large pond with a patch of wild iris and a bridge and a huge waterfall cascading at the far end. Even the kids, who were complaining about going to a garden before we got out of the van, were entranced. (Maybe that's what was so peaceful about the place - the lack of whining???) Anyways, there were little nooks and crannies full of beauty around every turn. Mini-waterfalls,

bridges with sculptures of the Chinese zodiac,

(Grammie and London next to the Goat - their birth year symbol)

fish ponds,

walls with windows that led the eye to another point of beauty,

hills with stone steps, towering temples all in this space that was really quite small. What I wouldn't give to have one tiny part of those gardens in my garden at home.

The highlight for the kids was the big waterfall and the fish and turtles. They had those fish and turtles eating out of their hands, literally. So plentiful were the fish, and so distracted by the hopes of food, that the kidscould pet them - which thrilled the kids although I'm not sure the fish felt the same.

The big waterfall was an amazing structure for not only the cascade of water, but the fact that you could climb all behind it, even walk behind the waterfall itself. There were all kinds of twists and turns built out of rock and coral. It was an awesome place for a game of hide and seek!

After the gardens we took Grammie to Kokusai Street. Kokusai in Japanese means international and this is the street full of touristy shops for all the international visitors who come to Okinawa. But tucked at the far end of the street is an indoor market that sells everything from sweet potato cookies to clothes to vegetables to herbal remedies. It's an eclectic, fun-filled place to meander along. Of course the best part is the meat and fish market which I've written about before. The place lands you in a state of sensory overload - the sights, smells and sounds of the market can be overwhelming, especially combined with the bustling of too many bodies in a tight space. It's a long way from the meat counter at Wal-Mart. But Grammie persevered and ended up buying what we think was squirrel fish from one of the counters for us to fix for dinner. Whatever kind of fish it was, it tasted delicious!

(Ice cream on Kokusai)

(my beni-imo [purple sweet potato] Okinawan donut)