Okinawa Day 3: 4-Sept-10 Head to the North

After staying 2 nights at the Naha City, we headed to the Northern Part of Okinawa. It was our first time to park the car in a Japan-style elevator carpark. Once we key in the number onto the panel, we heard some electronic movement noise; then, Ta-Da~~ The garage door opened then there was our Honda Fit.

We head to the Northern part of Okinawa - Nago City. Thanks to the Okinawa Tourism Department, they offered free Highways to everyone until June-2011. Thus, we decided to go by the highway. Honestly, it had been a while since I last drove; plus this was my first time to drive a Right-handed Car. The roads in Okinawa City were quite narrow; but it was so much better on the highway. After about 1.5 hour, we've reached the Northern Part of Okinawa. Our first destination was the Zanpa Beach. 

It was a convenient to drive around Okinawa because you could just leave a set of extra clothes, slippers and towels in the car and you could just get change anytime. September is a rainy + typhoon season and when it rains, it could get very nasty. We stopped by the beach for a while then we moved on to the famous Lighthouse. It was only cloudy when we reached the lighthouse; but once we had walked to the top, it was extremely windy and we could actually see the storm clouds coming. Then, it rained heavily. 

We drove along the road and decided to visit the famous snack kingdom (御菓子殿堂). This is the one place where you could buy all of Okinawa's famous snacks to your families and friends. One of our favourite pick was the "Purple Yam Tart. It came in individual packs or you could have a taste of the freshly baked ones inside the little cafe. It was made out of fresh yam. To be honestly, it always taste better when you have a bite of it when it was made fresh out of the oven. :p (390 Yen for 1 Yam Tart + Coffee or Tea)

It was raining heavily (even though we've turned on the wiper to the highest speed, we still couldn't even see the road clearly) and the wind got stronger and stronger, we finally reached the hotel in another 30-40 min. Marriott Okinawa was located on a slope and the wind was so strong on the hill top. When I opened my car door, the door just went opened entirely... If I parked a bit closer to curb, the wind would have definitely wrecked the door... Finally, we reached the hotel and because we were so tired running and driving in the rain and wind, we had a BBQ all you can eat dinner in the Hotel.