CONTRIBUTED BY HEATHER OLSEN
Tucked away from the main road stands the Ginowan City Museum. We weren’t sure what to expect as we entered the building, in terms of affordability and kid-friendliness. We were pleasantly surprised. Admission is free to the museum – great so far!
There is one permanent exhibit hall and the other one rotates every one to two months. The permanent exhibit includes areas for archaeology, history and folklore within Ginowan. This exhibit hall is picture (no flash) and kid-friendly.
We discovered a game that lets the kids pretend to be archeologists. You have to put the broken pot back together and match the tools in the correct spots before each timer runs out. As we were playing the game, the time ran out and the pieces popped off the board, like in the game Perfection. It was pretty funny as it made all of us jump!
There is even a model of a traditional Okinawan house with replicas of the things you would typically find within it. The household items that are not supposed to be touched and picked up are marked.
The final pieces are about the Battle of Okinawa and how it affected the residents of each area. The special exhibition hall does not allow picture taking or touching of any items. When we entered the hall, I felt like I had just walked backed into the 1950’s. The exhibit shows the daily lives of the people and what the everyday items looked like. I really liked the massive sized telephone, cash register and the old man in the Coca-Cola ad. There is very little English translation in the museum and the staff speaks very little.
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., closed Tuesdays and holidays.
Cost: Free! Just sign in at the help desk.
Phone: 098-870-9317
Group tours are available upon reservation, but they ask you to please provide your own translator.
At the back of the parking lot there are some stairs that lead to the Morinokawa park.
Directions: From Kadena gate one – Head south on the 58, past Futenma. Turn left at the purple and green trimmed Onishi Housing Building. There will also be street signs for Morinokawa spring pointing in this direction. Go through the next light and the road turns sharply right. After you pass the next stop light, look for a gated parking lot for a white building on your left. Turn into here. There will be a sign on the gate for the museum.
From Kinser – Head north on the 58, just past the Ginowan Police station. Turn right at the purple and green trimmed Onishi Housing Building. There will also be street signs for Morinokawa spring pointing in this direction. Go through the next light and the road turns sharply right. After you pass the next stop light, look for a gated parking lot for a white building on your left. Turn into here. There will be a sign on the gate for the museum.
GPS Coordinates: 26.269962,127.740171