A Taylor Swift Photoshoot in Okinawa
Are you Ready for It?
Following our highly successful Taylor Swift photoshoot in Seoul, we set out to make similar photos — this time in Okinawa, Japan.
It took us an extra day to get to Okinawa because the airline cancelled our flight and we had to get one the next day. Upon landing in Okinawa, we were surprised to find that it was over 30 degrees and as humid as the tropics.
On our first day we went to Shurijo Castle, which is probably the most visited attraction in Naha, the capital and largest city of Okinawa.
The castle was at the centre of the Ryukyu Kingdom before Okinawa was a Japanese territory. Due to its location between mainland Japan, China, and Korea, Okinawa became an important trading hub and has both Japanese and Chinese influences.
Shurijo and several other castles on the island were together designated a World Heritage Site in December 2000, making this the 11th World Heritage Site in Japan. We got excited because we found a stamp rally around the castle and Yuki collected enough to set a new record, getting a total of 29 stamps in one day. For completing the stamp rally, we received a reward package including a children’s book, stickers, and a plastic folder.
A few days later, we went to Shikinaen Royal Gardens to do another Taylor Swift photoshoot. We chose the garden because it is distinctly Japanese but with a tropical Okinawan twist. The garden was destroyed during World War 2 but recreated from old photos.
The gardens used to be the residence of the Ryukyu royal family and has a palace building that was used to entertain royal family members and foreign guests. The interior of the open building was significantly cooler than the humid exterior, even though it was overcast.
The large pond in the centre of the garden was oddly dirty, with a lot of floating plant life. It looked pretty gross to be honest, but the stone bridges (made out of limestone and volcanic rock) were neat to see.
At the end of the garden we found a lookout for part of the city. Naha is surprisingly large and quite hilly, which makes walking around anywhere quite tiring. Other than buses, there’s only one monorail line, so it can be difficult to get around. With that said, we enjoyed visiting the castle and the garden and recommend visiting these places if you’re ever in Okinawa.
