Gyokusendo Cave is located at the southern end of Okinawa Honto. At 5km in length, it is the second longest limestone cave in Japan. 890 meters of the cave are open to visitors and it’s well worth a trip. Gyokusendo Cave is located in the theme park Okinawa World. Once you leave the cave you can see various traditional Okinawan crafts including pottery, glass blowing, weaving and pickling poisonous snakes in alcohol. This shot was taken with the camera on a tripod and a shutter speed of around 15 seconds. The slow shutter speed means that all the tourists wandering along the walkway have magically disappeared.

This morning I got up early and drove over to Zakimi Castle.  I decided to get a shot from the same place I took one of my favorite photographs of Okinawa. Although it was 7.30AM the sky was a little hazy, and even with a polarizer it didn’t pop. When I came home I compared the image to the “original” taken with the Pentax 67II, a 45mm lens, a polarizer and Fuji Provia. The detail in the first shot is fantastic but I prefer the wider angle and the saturation of colors in the original. Unlike today, I had managed to catch the castle under glorious clear blue skies. However, I did get an interesting new image of the stonework. It’s a simple “detail” shot that says a lot about the construction of the castle.

It’s the job of some men to drag the danjiri through the streets, while other men get to ride along. The above photo is clear evidence that I was standing where I shouldn’t be standing! The large group of men in the left of the image are just about to stampede past. The man on the roof of the danjiri jumps from side to side and performs something similar to YMCA as they hurtle through the streets.