You can't visit Okinawa without seeing Shuri Castle, so of course we took Matt to see it. Shuri is the only castle on Okinawa which has been rebuilt to it's former splendor. It, like most of Okinawa was destroyed during WWII. The grounds of the castle are scenic but what I find most impressive are the gates, there are quite a few of them. They are tall and regal looking, in my mind I can imagine guards waiting to escort visiting dignitaries to their audience with the king. The castle is an impressive sight. I'm sure Matt enjoyed seeing a little bit of historical Okinawa. After our trip to Shuri we decided to go out to dinner. Since Greg was on call he needed to stay close to the hospital so we selected a restaurant right across the street from our base. The restaurant is referred to as the ticket restaurant, because instead of ordering from a server you actually select your meal from a vending machine, then hand the ticket to the wait staff and take a seat. You order everything from the machine, drinks, food, desserts all at the same time. It was a unique experience and the food was absolutely delicious. Thankfully Greg's pager managed to stay quiet through dinner however once we were finished he was paged to the hospital. Our evening ended watching TV and relaxing at the house while Greg slaved away at work.
My family and I spent 5 wonderful years on "Oki". I was there when Shuri Castle was dedicated.
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