Most viewed - Okinawa World & Gyokusendo Cavern おきなわワールド・玉泉洞 |
Okinawa World's Habu show was interesting, but not particularly thrilling. The viper is not like a trained monkey doing tricks for a treat each time. The snake doesn't understand such a concept. 50 views
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Red hibiscus in Okinawa World.42 views
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In Okinawa Culture Museum, Shisa made of coral.39 views
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Chinese banyan or gajumaru tree (ガジュマル) at Okinawa World.37 views
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Shisa (シーサー) guardian lion dog statue on the roof to ward off evil spirits at Okinawa World.35 views
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Blue Spring is also a limestone dam.33 views
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Habu viper from Kumejima.33 views
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Inside Okinawa World's Gyokusendo Cavern, this is called the Blue Spring. Perhaps the prettiest spot of all. 青の泉25 views
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Okinawa World is a fairly large theme park centering on a large underground cavern called Gyokusendo. Above ground, there are attractions featuring Okinawan culture including traditional architecture, traditional crafts, habu snake show, 16 viewsand Eisa drum show. Major tourist attraction in the southern part of Okinawa island.
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"Ceiling of Spears" 槍天井14 views
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Also showed a cobra and tried to provoke it to show its expanded neck.14 views
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Okinawan shishi-mai lion dance.14 views
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Okinawan shishi-mai lion dance.14 views
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Uezu Residence is the grandest home in the park. Many of the homes are National Tangible Cultural Properties.上州家14 views
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At Okinawa World, studio to try on Okinawan bingata kimono and pose for photos.14 views
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How bingata kimono is made.14 views
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Kingdom Village also has a noborigama sloping kiln for pottery. 登り窯14 views
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Where the stalactites are too long, they had to be cut to make way for tourists.13 views
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Freshwater goby, one of the creatures that live in the cavern. ヨシノボリ13 views
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Striking reach of the habu is much wider compared to a cobra. It's 360˚ all around. Watch out for it.13 views
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Where habu bites occur. Most common (31.8%) on the fingers, then the calf of your leg. Ouch!13 views
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First-aid for a habu bite. Suck out the venom and spit it out.13 views
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About the stone walls.13 views
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Stone wall for privacy in front of Uezu residence.13 views
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Shisa made of ivory.13 views
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Weaving Okinawan fabrics.13 views
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Okinawa World's gift shop.13 views
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Bus came on time. No. 83 back to Naha.13 views
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Buses in Naha look almost the same on the inside as buses in Tokyo. However, in Naha you board and exit through the front door. The back door doesn't work. In most cases, you pay the fare when you get off. 13 views
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Map of Okinawa World. Many attractions above the cavern. When you buy your ticket, find out when the next habu snake show will be. See it first if it will start soon. 12 viewsSee the habu show or cavern first which are near the front gate. Also find out the Eisa drum show time. Largest building is the shopping mall and restaurant complex which you can see last.
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Map of Gyokusendo Cavern. Many natural features have names. After getting out of the cavern, you can go across the park toward the main gate and see the Kingdom Village.12 views
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Lots of blue lighting.12 views
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The cavern basically follows an underground stream. Tourists can walk on this walkway. It's always wet and water dripping.12 views
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Golden rock12 views
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Habu Museum Park has an educational museum about the habu, a zoo of habu and other snakes, and a small hall for the habu snake show. First find out what time the next habu show will be.12 views
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Habu's nostril, eyes, and pit.12 views
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The extract from the snake supposed to be good for you. The snake's venom is somehow neutralized by the alcohol, so it's not poisonous when you drink it.12 viewsSo what do they do with the snake after drinking the habu-shu? Would a bird of prey eat an alcohol-soaked snake?
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Bats sleeping.12 views
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Inside Uezu Residence. Sanshin also displayed.12 views
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Paper craft workshop. 紙漉き12 views
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Inside Okinawa Culture Center. Two rooms with glass cases of artifacts.12 views
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Okinawan children's toys.12 views
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Okinawan red roof tiles12 views
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Some sugar cane in Nanjo, Okinawa.12 views
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To get to Okinawa World, I took a bus from Naha Bus Terminal. There are many buses and bus stops, so ask the bus information booth inside the bus terminal. Say where you want to go, and she will tell you which bus to take and where to get off.11 views
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Seesaa at the entrance of Okinawa World. 11 views
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The part of the cavern open to the public is 890 meters long. Takes about 30 min. to walk through it. Diverse features and stalactites everywhere with colored lighting.11 views
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Blue Spring limestone dam.11 views
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Platform for a higher shot/view.11 views
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Habu zoo.11 views
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The trainer mentioned that in the past, they had a mongoose and habu snake fight each other in the show. But due to animal rights concerns, it was discontinued. These are only stuffed animals on display in the Habu Museum.11 viewsThe mongoose was introduced to Okinawa in 1910 to control the habu population. But the mongoose instead preyed on other native species.
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Hooked poles for catching habu. Habu are caught for making Habu-shu liquor.11 views
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Inside Nanto Brewery producing habu-shu liquor. 南都酒造所11 views
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Eisa Plaza is where they perform the eisa drum show. エイサー広場11 views
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Large taiko drum.11 views
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Stone walls in front of Uezu residence.11 views
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Okinawa World's Kingdom Village also has other traditional Okinawan homes converted into gift shops and craft workshops.11 views
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Lots of different shisa displayed in the museum.11 views
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Another room of exhibits.11 views
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Scale model of one shisa in front of Okinawa World's main gate.11 views
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Masks, handkerchiefs, neckties dyed green with sugar cane leaves. Very nice green color.11 views
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About the Sanshin, Okinawa's shamisen string instrument famous for snakeskin (not habu).11 views
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Sugar Cane Hall also has a Sanshin exhibit.11 views
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Side of the noborigama sloping kiln11 views
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About the noborigama sloping kiln.11 views
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Glassware you can make at Ryukyu Glass Kingdom Studio.11 views
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Laughing shisa in the gift shop.11 views
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For Okinawa World, take the No. 83 bus. The bus leaves only once or twice an hour and takes about 45 min.10 views
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Okinawa World's front gate is decorated by five seesaa/shisa to ward off evil and bring in good fortune.10 views
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Okinawa World charges ¥2,000 admission. Open 9 am to 5 pm. Note that the park might be closed if there is a surge of Covid cases on Okinawa.10 views
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Pair of shisa after entering the Okinawa World gate.10 views
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"Ceiling of Spears" 槍天井10 views
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Not sure if this is the natural color or the color of the lights.10 views
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The trainer explained about the habu while handling it with a hooked pole.10 views
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The habu's rear pair of fangs excrete the venom.10 views
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Two balloons to irritate the habu. 10 views
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The habu didn't care for the white balloon, but went for the green one in a split second. Very dramatic...10 views
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The stage also had two partially filled water tubes for the show's climax (?). This is the Snake and Mongoose Show. Instead of fighting each other, they race in the water.10 views
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In the tubes, it was a swimming race between a mongoose (upper tube) and habu (lower tube). They were both released into their tubes at the same time.10 views
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It was to see which would reach the other end of the tube first. The tubes were about 5 meters long.10 views
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The mongoose immediately and hilariously swam through the tube, winning the race hands down.10 views
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Boa constrictor.10 views
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Okinawan Eisa drummers.10 views
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Rear view of stone walls.10 views
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Pricing for renting Okinawan bingata kimono.10 views
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Indigo dyeing workshop.10 views
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About shisa in Okinawa.10 views
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Okinawan children's toys.10 views
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Small shisa for sale.10 views
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Pottery workshop in Okinawa World. 陶器工房10 views
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Pottery workshop in Okinawa World.10 views
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Stone wall10 views
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Orange hibiscus10 views
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Shisa (シーサー) guardian lion dog statue on the roof.10 views
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Entrance to Gyokusendo Cavern or Cave. 玉泉洞9 views
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The Habu Museum has live habu on display. Nocturnal, so they were sleeping. Habu are venomous vipers in Okinawa.9 views
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The snake didn't understand it was a race and wandered back and forth in the tube until it finally reached the other end after correctly thinking that it was the way out. So that was the main highlight of the show...9 views
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Exhibits of different species of habu. This one is from Kumejima island.9 views
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Great show! Saw it twice.9 views
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Okinawa World also has an architectural park called "Kingdom Village" with a few traditional Okinawan homes which were moved here. This is the grandest home, called the Uezu Residence 上州家9 views
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Shisa on the roof.9 views
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Inside Uezu Residence.9 views
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Leather crafts.9 views
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Okinawan bingata kimono9 views
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Indigo fabric goods.9 views
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Okinawa Culture Center is a small history museum in Okinawa World. 王国歴史博物館9 views
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Tin can sanshin.9 views
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Different shapes of the sanshin.9 views
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Bingata Okinawan kimono.9 views
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Red hibiscus9 views
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Ryukyu Glass Kingdom Studio is where you can make your own glassware. 琉球ガラス王国工房9 views
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Ryukyu Glass Kingdom Studio9 views
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Ryukyu Glass Kingdom Studio9 views
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How to make glassware at Ryukyu Glass Kingdom Studio.9 views
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Tropical Orchard has pineapple. 熱帯フルーツ園9 views
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Stone wall9 views
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In the gift shop, bought this kariyushi shirt. Kariyushi is an Okinawan-style Aloha shirt. Most designs are muted in color, similar to showing the reverse side of the material. 9 viewsThis design shows the deigo, Okinawa's official flower or tiger's claw (デイゴ). I made sure that it was made in Okinawa. Cheaper shirts are made elsewhere. かりゆしウェア
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Okinawa World front gate.8 views
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Chinese-style tri-color shisa with glazed finish. Made in China and originally decorated the Chinese Pavilion at the Tsukuba Expo '85 in Ibaraki Prefecture.8 views
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Red hibiscus at Okinawa World.8 views
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Ice on the walkway.8 views
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Rest house in a cavern.8 views
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Deer bone fossils.8 views
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Take a selfie here.8 views
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At the end of the Gyokusendo Cavern is a long escalator going back up to ground level for the exit.8 views
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Habu Museum Park is another major attraction of Okinawa World. Habu is a venomous pit viper endemic to the Okinawan and Amami islands. There are a number of species.8 views
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Red hibiscus.8 views
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Confusing signage, but still photos are okay, but video prohibited.8 views
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Weaving workshop.8 views
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Okinawan bingata kimono8 views
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Shisa (シーサー) guardian lion dog statue on the roof to ward off evil spirits. 8 views
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Okinawan children at work.8 views
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Sugar Cane Hall is mainly an exhibition space. No sugar cane. It's also the entrance/exit for the Kingdom Village. サトウキビ館8 views
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Parts of the sanshin.8 views
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Diverse fabric dyeing in Okinawa.8 views
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Little fish clean off your skin on your feet.8 views
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Pottery workshop in Okinawa World.8 views
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Okinawan red roof tiles8 views
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Happy shisa gifts8 views
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Steps down to Gyokusendo Cavern.7 views
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The main attraction of Okinawa World is Gyokusendo (玉泉洞), one of the largest limestone caverns in Japan. It's cooler in here (21˚C), so it's great in summer.7 viewsThis section is called Toyo Ichido. 東洋一洞
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"Buddha statues"7 views
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Banyan tree formation7 views
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Japanese mitten crab, one of the creatures that live in the cavern. モクズガニ7 views
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Nearing the cavern exit.7 views
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Habu ready to attack. If you see this pose, run away quick.7 views
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Brewing Habu liquor or habu-shu (ハブ酒) made with awamori or brandy.7 views
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Old tortoise.7 views
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Okinawan shishi-mai lion drinking awamori.7 views
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Indigo fabric goods.7 views
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Okinawan children babysitting in the old days. It was a common sight on mainland Japan too.7 views
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Ryukyu Glass Kingdom Studio7 views
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Tropical Orchard is what you see after exiting the Gyokusendo Cavern. 熱帯フルーツ園7 views
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Gyokusendo-mae bus stop back to Naha. Buses are infrequent. Typical bus stop sign on Okinawa. Simple, metal panel with a grunge look. Must be like this to withstand frequent typhoons.7 views
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Deer bone fossils.6 views
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Also popular in Okinawa World is the Habu Museum Park and Habu Show. Habu is Okinawa's venomous snake. Habu Theater for the 20-min. habu show a few times/day.6 views
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Habu Museum has many interesting exhibits about the habu. There's also some English.6 views
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About Uezu Residence. 上州家6 views
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Uezu Residence6 views
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Different sanshin6 views
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Botom end of the noborigama sloping kiln where the fire starts and the heat climbs up the kiln.6 views
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Super Eisa Show is performed three times a day for 30 min. スーパーエイサーショー5 views
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Pottery workshop in Okinawa World.5 views
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