Nakagusuku Castle

Friday was so beautiful here. Actually, it's been so nice for the past week... including the weekend! I was a little shocked by the weekend part because usually it'll be nice all week and then when it's playtime, it'll rain. Murphy's Law at its best.

Anyway, I initially planned to stay home and clean on Friday. However, it was just too nice to be stuck in the house so I headed to Nakagusuku Castle. It's one of the best preserved castles in its original state and was registered on the World Heritage List in 2000.

I, luckily, didn't forget my camera like I seem to do often. Thank goodness! This castle had some awesome flowers and views that I was happily practicing my photo skills on.

The layout of Nakagusuku Castle is pretty interesting. There are three wells within the walls of the castle, which pretty much was like having a fireplace in your bathroom back in the day. Ha! Seriously, though, I read that it added to the "prestige and reputation" of the castle. There's also an awesome panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean on one side and the East China Sea on the other.

I loved all of the different textures that I found.

In the middle of the ruins, they are still hard at work discovering more sections. This has always been amazing to me: people are literally digging up history. It's really cool to think that the next time we go it could look a lot different than this time.

Next to the ruins is a rundown (condemned) hotel, Royal Hotel. It's, as told by locals, haunted. If you click the link the story is at the bottom of the article. Don't worry, I didn't go in.... and I'm already crazy so it doesn't matter anyway!

Naturally, on the way home I pulled over randomly to snap some pictures of the beautiful ocean. Okinawa really feels like paradise on days like these.