View near the entrance.
The entrance to the stairway going down to the tunnels is lined with thousands of paper cranes strung together. Schools have their students make them and then they bring them here in remembrance of the devastation that happened during WWII.
The tunnel system. It was so hot and muggy down here with drops of water on everything. I don't know how they built these tunnels in this heat!
One of officers' rooms. Sorry for the blurriness!
There's a playground just down from the entrance to the Japanese headquarters. Playgrounds here are awesome! I understand why we don't have them in the US (I can't imagine all the lawsuits that could take place), but our playgrounds are nothing compared to these.
The blue thing is all one slide! It's hard to tell, but the bottom is made up of tiny rollers. I went down this one, and it's so long that by the time I gone to the bottom, my bum was practically numb, but I had to do it at least once. 
Apparently, Japanese kids go down on their feet in a squatting position, like this boy. Smart...hard to do but it does prevent bum numbness!
Our next main stop was Peace Prayer Memorial Park (another WWII site) but on the way we stopped to see Ryukan glass being blown. It's colorful and very expensive, but apparently Okinawa is known for it.
They also made Shi-Shi dogs here.
It was so hot even with fans blowing! I don't know how they do it!
This mosaic is made from colored glass tiles.
Pretty colored glass!
Our next stop was Peace Prayer Park, a memorial for all the Okinawans that died in WWII. Since the island is in such a strategic location, the US fought Japan to take control of it and eventually they did. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed in crossfire and bombings. Even before that, the Japanese were cruel to the Okinawans and forced them to eliminate their language and culture. After the US took control, they helped the people here and worked to rebuild. The Japanese were later given the island back under the condition that US military bases could remain here. The currency changed back from the dollar to the yen and the roads were again driven on the "wrong side". I think this all happen in the 70's. I really had no idea that all of this took place. It's all very sad, but enlightening...war is such a terrible thing!
This building has a museum inside of it...it was really interesting and eye opening. I felt pretty much the same way when I went through the Holocaust Museum in DC.
Walls and walls of the names of Okinawans who were killed. There were tons of them...this picture doesn't do justice.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE the ocean?! : )
The museum and park; it's huge. You can see the walls with the names on them in the left middle of the picture.
One of the many monuments.This is turning into a long one! On the way home, we stopped at a mall, tried on some fancy clothes and shoes, and ate a Japanese feast!
Yummy! I love the food here and will miss it! The closest dish is fried pork and an egg on top over rice. There was so much food...we had a Japanese feast!
Notice the giant red shi-shi dog...they are everywhere!
We then spent some time on the beach. And fyi, my Japanese experience is now complete...I used the squatty potty! I'd been able to avoid it this entire time, until today. Not a normal, American toilet in sight. Anyway, there is a proper technique to it, which I was told in advance, so it really wasn't too bad, just a little weird. The nice part is you don't have to touch anything! 
This is the same tank. There's a section that you walk underneath. The manta rays were so big and very playful...lots of fun to watch.
The view of everything behind the aquarium: dolphin show, sea turtle tank, and manatees.
A flying dolphin. I'm really proud of this picture; don't know how I managed to catch it, but think it's really cool!
I love sea turtles!
There was also a really fun play area that the girls loved. This is only one small section of it; it went on forever. Too bad it was only for kids ages 6-12!
Vending machines like these are everywhere on the streets, but this is the most I've seen together. They only have drinks in them and right now, they're all ice cold. In the winter, they also have hot drinks. They have all varieties: teas, sodas, juices, smoothies, water, energy drinks, and pudding and jelly drinks. People stop their cars in the middle of the road and block a full lane of traffic to get a drink.
Yesterday, we went to a pineapple farm. It was so cool...especially when you love pineapple!
Pineapples, everywhere, mini, medium, and gigantic ones!
Once we got off the cars, we walked through a shell gallery and then into the store, which was huge. It had pineapple everything: juice, wine, in a can, cake, pie, cookies, chocolate, jelly, and ice cream. The best part was being able to taste it all; this is where we ate our lunch!
Another view of the point, there were lots of little monuments and statues.
I love the color of the waves when they broke against the rock. We were so far up, yet could still see straight down to the bottom where there was lots of coral and fish. I so wanted to get in!
The bird...it has stairs inside and you can climb up a few flights. I guess it serves it's purpose:
Breathtaking views!
The beginning of our hike. It was about a mile to the falls.
I have never seen so many butterflies. They were huge and colorful.
The worst part of the hike was that as soon as we got up these stairs, we went back down. Up and down, up and down...my workout for the whole time I'm here!
Hiji Falls.
Japanese lizard!
