Time to hit the road in my fresh yellow wheels. Let's move on out!
But wait...while everyone is still getting ready, I think I'll go grab me a bowl of ramen. Although ramen is still scarce in a land dominated by Okinawa soba, I managed to find Rinya (林屋) in Ginowan, claiming to serve Kyoto-style ramen.
Mmm...not bad. It does remind me of Kyoto. Well sort of. It's similar to the ramen I had at Masutani.
Alright, time to get our Okinawa soba on. Last night, I mentioned to the owner of Kuran that I wanted to try Shuri Soba (首里そば) so he grabbed his phone, called someone up and made us a reservation. How cool was that! Everyone knows everyone here.
Upon arriving at Shuri Soba we noticed that the place was packed. This shop has been around for years and it's easily one of the most popular shops among tourists. I only say among tourists because the only locals in the shop were the ones working. Which leads me to say...
Are you serious? This is Okinawa soba? I mean...it's good...but...I've had better stuff in Tokyo (no offense). The noodles were too hard, almost raw, and we all agreed that it didn't meet our expectations. Perhaps there's a reason why locals don't come here. Anyway, next stop Shuri Castle!
Shurijo is a castle in Okinawa. I'm not much of a historian but it was built by the Ryukus and it's one of the main tourist stops on the island.
Shureimon (above) and Kankaimon (below).
Seiden, the main hall of the castle, is currently being remodeled so it wasn't very attractive with the giant scaffolding in front of it.
How do I get over there?
The castle was actually destroyed four times due to fires and war. The current building was constructed 70cm higher to protect the ruins of the previous buildings.
This is what it would have looked like on New Year's Day.
To be continued...
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