Picture: Boys playing around a locally made lion statue (notice the child on the head of the statue). It reminded me of my childhood when we used to play around a stone statue of the "Earth God" near our house in the village of Kaigok in China.

The freedom of having the bicycles is amazing. After the tour of the Peace Park, we went to the Naha Tsuboya pottery district, where local pottery is made and sold. We followed Google Maps until we reached the area and spotted a quaint corner store on a winding back-road. It was a small shop with merchandize piled up high on both sides, leaving a narrow path down the middle of the shop. It was so narrow that we had to take off our backpacks for fear of knocking something over. The pottery was gorgeous but the price was unbelievably expensive! For example, a small cup and saucer was priced at $17 US dollars! I was just about to walk away and when I spotted some elegant sake cups with a carafe. The lady attendant, who appeared to be the shop owner, was willing to bargain and we agreed on about $25 for them. When we first came into the shop, she appeared suspicious and grumpy but by the time we left, she was friendly and welcoming. She was curious about our travel and we gave her one of our boat cards. It was remarkable that we could communicate without speaking the same language.

We enjoyed seeing the back roads of Naha and ducking into small restaurants for delightful Japanese meals.