During my first couple of weeks in Okinawa I decided to go on a newcomers tour. This tour included Zakimi Castle ruins, Yomitan Potter Village and Onna village. I was more than excited to go on this tour. I have made it my mission to go on as many cultural adventures as I can while we live here. The first being Zakimi Castle ruins.
Zakimi Castle was built in the early 1400s by the Chuzan Kingdom and is located on a hill in central Okinawa Honto. It served as a safeguard against rebels after the Chuzan Kingdom defeated the Hokuzan Kingdom in the north. Today, only the stone walls of the castle remain standing. However, when you get to the top the views are unreal! There is also a museum (the Yuntanza Museum) next to the parking lot. It gives general information about the community, archaeological findings, and the war. To visit the castle is free but there is a fee to visit the museum.
On this tour we also traveled to the Yomitan Pottery Village. There are many shops in this area. Most are dedicated to glass blowing and, of course, a pottery. One of the cool these we got to see was an old-style noborigama (climbing) kiln. This is a communal kiln fired up several times a year to heat up joyachi, a subtype of Tsuboya-yaki pottery that Okinawa is well known for. Joyachi was introduced by Korean potters sometime after the 17th century so you can probably guess how old the kiln is!
Lastly, we traveled to Onna Village where we visited a farmer’s market and a museum. There were so many food options at the market. Including, but not limited to, Okinawa soba (more on that later), a donut shop, ice cream shop, a place to get sushi and ramen, and also an area where they sold produce. Since I wasn’t that hungry on the trip I decided to try out the donuts. To my surprise they weren’t extremely sweet like the donuts you typically find in the US. For me it was perfect because, fun fact, I’m not really a sweets person. I decided to go with the brown sugar donut and was pleasantly surprised! It was crisp on the outside but the perfect softness on the inside. I wish I would’ve bought more than one or tried the other flavors.
The ruins of Zakimi Castle is just one of the many castle sites here in Okinawa. I can’t wait to visit the other! Be sure you go check out the vlog on my YouTube channel to see this tour in action!
If you could visit any sight what/where would it be?
