April 19: Okinawa

Today we had breakfast a little bit later than yesterday. It was a little after 7 by the time we got seated and when we finished there was a line waiting to get in. Auntie Tokimi came by at 9:30 to pick us up and we went up to Churaumi Aquarium.

Hi Mr. Turtle

Luke really enjoyed watching all the fish and was totally mesmerized by some. When we got to the whale shark tank the bleacher seats were fairly empty so we sat in them for a little while just watching all the fish swim around. For some reason there were only two whale sharks this time instead of three.

The Whale Shark Tank

At about 12:45 we left the building and headed to the dolphin stadium to watch the dolphin show. Luke was able to enjoy it more this time and seemed to like when the dolphins jumped.

Waiting for the Dolphin Show

After the show was over we walked around the surrounding park some more than we had in the past. It is quite extensive in how far it reaches and we barely saw any of it.

View From the Park

When we finished walking around the park Auntie Tokimi wanted to take us to a local fish restaurant, but unfortunately it was closed. We ended up going to a Cafe Gusto, which is a diner chain in Japan. I ordered a chicken katsu teishoku that came with miso soup, tsukemono, greens with jako and rice. It was actually better than what I was expecting, but then again, I probably shouldn't have been expecting the Japanese equivalent of Denny's.

Chicken Katsu Teishoku

From lunch Auntie Tokimi dropped us off at the Aeon Rycom mall for a couple of hours while she did some errands. I bought some pants at Uniqlo that were on sale and Christal bought some chinsuko for herself. When we finished we hung out at the aquarium to wait for Auntie Tokimi. Luke was again enthralled by all the fish and when he found some clownfish he started pointing to them and shouting Nemo. We tried to pull him away at one point when we saw Ojiichan, but he wouldn't have it. Eventually when Auntie Tokimi came he let us take him away from the tank.

Showing Us Nemo

Our next stop was a quick visit with step Hi-Ojiichan, who was at a nursing home very close to the mall. He was in good spirits when we arrived and he looked like he was in better health than the previous visits that we have seen him. His cheeks seemed more filled out and there was more color in his face. We took some pictures and then left to meet Uncle Dan, Makoto, Hayato and Manami for dinner.

With Step Hi-Ojiichan

Hayato had requested yakiniku earlier so Auntie Tokimi took us to a restaurant called Karubi Daioh. It was all you can eat that included an ice cream bar so we ate our fill. They had all different kinds of kalbi and they were all delicious and Luke especially like the corn on the cob.

Karubi Daioh

After we finished eating we said our goodbyes and Auntie Tokimi took us back to the hotel for the night. It was pretty late so Christal got Luke ready for bed and down for bed pretty quickly.

Almost Ready For Bed