Katsuren Castle overlooks the Pacific Ocean and looms high on the cliffs overlooking Awase and Nakagusuku Bay.  A sprawling complex of hand-hewn limestone blocks back during the 15th Century it, along with most of the Castles of the Ryukyu Kingdom, was destroyed during World War II by the typhoon of steel rained upon Okinawa in the final days of the war.

Most of the roadsigns directing visitors to these landmarks still call the places Castle Ruins, even though, many of them have been rebuilt and are UNESCO World Heritage Sites today.  As a photographer trying to get postcard-perfect pictures of the five major Castle sites, during the best light conditions, I used to get upset with people (tourists and construction workers, alike) popping-up in my photos.  Recently, however, I've decided sometimes it's not such a bad thing, especially when it adds scale to the photo, or I can use a picture to show what the local folks do in order to maintain these historical assets and keep them safe and pleasant places for travellers to visit.

The woman pictured is removing the vines, grass or plants that take root among the blocks of the Castle.  As far as I can tell, no mortar was used in the construction; the blocks are just stacked on top of each other during construction and not cementede in place.  This photo was taken early in October 2008 before 9am and I remember it was already getting hot, as if it was August.  Not wanting to bother the worker to ask for permission to photograph her, or ask her to sign a release form, I kind of sneaked the shot with a zoom lens. When I finished climbing the stairs to the top of the Castle, I sneaked a few more shots showing the ocean in the background.

As I was going back down the stairs and passed her I gave her the polite, "Ohio Gozaimus" (Good Morning) greeting, as she was looking at me.  Maybe she spotted me taking one of my clandestine shots and she was ARMED  and DANGEROUS !!!

She laughed and said, "Lets' go drinking !"  I forgot, I was wearing a T-shirt with Kanji Character's that said (In Okinawan Dialect, not Japanese) LETS GO DRINKING !