A Gift Shop

This is a pic of another of the shops that we passed on the tourist strip in Okinawa. This one looked like a gift shop. Coffee mugs, plates, garden and house decorations, postcards etc. Not really my cup of tea, but we did go in and have a look. Just so different to the shops here at home.

Okinawa Shop Front

A shot now of one of the shops on the tourist strip in Okinawa. I actually think it may have housed a number of businesses including two cafes. Once again we see that Chinese influence in the building decoration.

Okinawa Street View

Just part of the view of the main street in Okinawa. We went for a walk up this main street, doing lots of looking and occasional buying. So different from home, but catering very much for the tourist. There were quite possibly streets behind this one that would be meant for the locals, but we really didn't have time to explore. It's the shops for the locals that I find really interesting.

A Street View

A street view now of some local shops,  taken through the window of the coach we were travelling in, We were on our way to the Shurijo Castle Park for some more Japanese history and culture.

A Shopping Lane

Branching off the processional walk to the Sensoji Temple was another shopping lane way. In this section the shops were more every day, not full of trinkets aimed at the tourist. It went for quite a distance, and the higher levels makes me think there may have been even more shops above. We turned the corner though, and went up another lane way parallel to the processional walk.

Shopping

On the walk back down the hill, it was very much dusk, and the lights were on in all the shops. We passed this one, which I thought was just beautiful. Just fans! Yes, we can buy fans in Australia, but a shop that just sells fans and nothing but? I haven't seen one like this before. How stunning is this?

Gion

Gion is a district in Kyoto, Japan,  Apparently it developed way back in the Middle Ages in front a shrine. The age of the district is apparent with the narrow streets we experienced.

This photo was taken late in the afternoon and I was surprised to see so many people still out and about shopping. Though I found out later that the shops in Japan stay open until very late. At least  the ones that I experienced stayed open  until way  after 9.30 pm. There were many shops along this street, all kinds of strange food, some of it black which I was not game to taste. Things in packets that I could not read. There were fan shops, clothing stores, food stores, souvenir stores, and much more. A lot of them were aimed at the tourist market, which of course included us. Yes, I did buy something, but more on that later. This street was very interesting and there was a prize for climbing right to the end, but more on that later too.