I visited the Gusuku Castle Ruin in Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa on 29 Oct 05. The fee for adults was 300 yen. The castle ruins itself is impressive. There is some restoration still taking place, but the fee is well worth it.

On the same day of my visit, a friend accompanied me. He and I also planned on checking out the "haunted" hotel. We had brought flashlights and were prepared to thoroughly investigate the nooks and crannys of the hotel. We visited on a sunny day, so we didn't need to use the flashlights that much. Before visiting we made sure that we had new batteries, just to make sure. We were standing inside a hallway, which seemed to be an entry way from the hotel's access road to the upper tier and lookout. Across the street from where we were standing there is one tomb that had the cement block removed and a cave that was cemented and had a small shrine in front. As my friend and I were talking, his flashlight quickly went from shining brightly to nothing. It was as if the power had been drained from it. He had a small pocket flashlight as a backup, which he pulled out and it too began to have a power drain. Seeing this I turned on my flashlight and it was fine. He swore to me, with a look of astonishment, that the batteries in both were new. It was at that point that he took out his cell phone and began recording. I asked "is there anyone here with us"? We both stood still and waited...nothing. He again clicked on the record button and I askted the same question. Again, nothing. We proceeded with our walk through the hotel up to the look out point at the very top. The view was incredible. I intend to go back and take many photographs. Later after we had left the site. My friend had emailed me the audio clip that he had recorded. He said listen to it and tell me what you think. Upon listening to it, I heard my voice asking the question, silence and then what sounded like someone took to steps. The funny thing is that my friend and I had not moved during the recording? Not sure what to make of it, although I intend to go back, with a digital camera and recorder to check it out more thoroughly next time.