Beni-imo & the Aquarium

The whole family

New Year's Eve we went up north to the Beni-imo store and then to the Aquarium. 

They have finally finished the renovations to the Dolphin Lagoon, so we were able to watch the dolphin show there and the big dolphin show in the Okichan Theater.  We've never seen the same dolphin show twice, and today was no exception.  In fact, there were three kinds of dolphins (instead of two) and more dolphins in the tank than we had ever seen.  Made for a very fun show (although the wind coming off the sea made for a very cold show, too.)

The Aquarium was having a special for visitors after 4pm due to New Years, so we all got to participate in a lotto, where 4 of us "won" stickers and two "won" Aquarium folders.  Free stuff is fun!  :)  We even got to the Whale Shark tank just in time to see them being fed!  Talk about perfect timing!

We stopped at Cha-Bira Shoku-Do, the Ryukyu restaurant we found while Dick was here, for dinner on the way home.  In addition to our meals, we ordered a gorgeous plate of Okinawan sashimi (raw fish) for everyone to try.  Yummy!

We stayed up til midnight and watched the neighboring communities' (we could see four sets) fireworks from our balcony.  A fun way to ring in the new year!  I will admit, it was a little strange to realize that the ball in NY would not be dropping until 2pm the following day for us, but it was officially the new year in Okinawa.  Crazy time zones!  :)  Happy New Year!

---Arielle