Okinawa pt 3

The mum update: Mum is at home and doing well. The swelling in her leg is going down and she is walking on her own again. In fact she says she's taken the dogs for some short walks and she can drive by herself again.
Now to continue with the Okinawa report. Hopefully I can finish this up soon because at this rate I'll finish by mid summer.

Okinawa, day 4: January 1st. Due to our wimpiness the day before we promised our diving guide we would go diving this day. So we woke up early and headed off the dive shop for 2 more dives. The water was a little rough on the surface but everything was fine "under the sea."

Our diving guide Shu-san

Which mask would you like Mr. Henwood? Why the biggest, ugliest, gaudiest pair of course.

Live long, prosper and maintain equal buoyancy.

A 100% genuine, no-substitutes, Okinawan rainbow. You saw it here first true believers.

Great view from the back of the boat. The ocean and sky are beautiful too!

Back on dry land

Unfortunately I was disappointed by our diving company. Most of the coral I saw during our dives was dead. And I can guess why. At each dive locating the crew on our boat threw their anchor directly into the coral reefs. This is a huge no no for diving operations as anchors just smash away the coral. During our dives our guide was constantly kneeling in or standing on the coral. At one point his wet suit was covered in dirt because he had been literally lying in the coral. I'd never seen such utter disregard. Every other dive shop I've been with in other countries was very protective of the nearby coral (which is good for their business) but this shop was just awful. I hope this shameful behaviour is limited to only this dive shop but judging by all the white coral I saw I guess it's more widespread. Too bad. At least the fish were beautiful.

After 2 dives and hot lunch we went back to our hotel where the beautiful weather afforded us some great pictures.

Pitch & Putt course at our hotel.

Swimming pool with main lobby & restaurant in the background.


Our hotel wing.

After a quick change of clothes we rented bicycles from the hotel activity desk and whisked off on mini-tour of Kumejima island.

What we saw on our bike tour. Although we didn't see the snorkel-equipped dolphin. Maybe next year.

Our hotel is the big building on the left.

Sand spits like this must be great when it's warmer.

Tatami Ishi this way.

The 'Tatami Ishi', natural tatami mat shaped rocks.

Statue outside of a Turtle Aquarium. I've seen how tiny the tanks are in Japan so I wasn't interested in seeing these poor fellows. Nothing beats seeing turtles swimming free when you're diving!

Traditional Kumejima house. Made from wood. Taller houses all had flat roofs with railings which probably served as balconies in the summer.

Shisa guarding someone's house.

The backup unit.

That evening Yukiko & I tried on some traditional Okinawan clothing in the hotel lobby.

Japan's newest crime fighting duo.

Okinawa pt 2

Well it was my birthday a few days ago and a group of us went out for a nice dinner. More on that in another post though. More importantly, I got an email from my dad saying that my mum had been admitted to Vancouver General Hospital with a blood clot in her leg. My dad assured me that everything was OK but I was still quite worried. I was very relieved after talking to my mum and doing some research on the net about blood clots. Luckily our family doctor was very 'on the ball' and properly diagnosed it. Thanks a lot Dr. Ng! I called mum the next morning and she said that she was expecting to be released in the next day or so.

This little shock made me realize that I haven't seen my parents in about a year and a half. Far too long. So I've decided to go back to Vancouver in March during my next school break.

With a feeling of great relief I'll now continue and, hopefully finish, the tale of our wondrous visit to Okinawa.

Okinawa, Day 3:

December 31. We were supposed to do a few more dives this day but the sky was very overcast, windy and raining lightly. So with a show of great intestinal fortitude we bravely weaseled out of it, promising to go the next day. So we spent the next few hours relaxing in our hotel room.

Japan, the land of twin beds.

Yukiko & her luggage take a break.

Trying to maintain my English reading skills.

With a look this innocent you know Yukiko must have done something really bad right?

Our little, hard working camera.

Diablo 2. Always better when you play during a holiday.

In the late morning we took a bus to the Body House (バーでハウス)spa. For only 3000 yen each we could relax in the rejuvenating, invigorating heated mineral waters. There were also various jet spray stations that massaged your head, feet, and all places in between. Unfortunately the experience was ruined a bit as there was a real assembly line feel to the place. You had to do all the stations in order. Everyone revolved around the pool in a big line. A helpfull timer on the wall alerted everyone to when 1 minute was up and it was time to move on to the next station. If you were late an old lady behind you would invariably grunt to get you to move on. Still it was fun, and the outdoor jacuzzi had a great view.

Entrance to the spa with our bus behind it. These next few outdoor photos were taken the next day when the weather was much better.

The main pool in the background.

View of the spa from the beach. The outdoor jacuzzi is on the balcony.

Something I really liked in Okinawa were the Shisa (シーサー), or guardian lions. Most homes and buildings had them at their entrances. They are very similar to the giant Guardian statues found at gates to major temples throughout Japan. Like the temple guardians, the Shisa always have 1 lion with an open mouth, 1 with a closed mouth. These Shisa are guarding the Body House Spa.

Close up of the Shisa.

Pretending to relax in my after-spa Yukata. Actually we had to rush out after this picture to catch our bus back to the hotel.

Our favourite little Okinawan restaurant.

New Year's special in the Hotel lobby. Toshikoshi soba (年越しそば）which would literally translate as long life soba noodles. A special New Year's Eve meal.

We had intended to go for dinner at a nearby Jamaican Reggae bar we had spotted earlier in the day but laziness got the better of us and after a late lunch we spent the night in our room drinking Okinawan Orion beer, and shikwa chu-hi. There were also 2 major MMA shows on TV (K-1 and Pride) so we did the traditional Japanese New Year thing, drink and watch TV. Ok the traditional thing should include a trip to a Shinto Shrine but hey we aren't perfect.

Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! Happy New Year!

Okinawa

Yesterday was Seijin-no-hi (Coming of Age Day) in Japan. Everyone who turns 20 is now officially considered an adult. More importantly, they no longer have to deceive unwary shop clerks when they buy smokes or booze. Of course this isn't too big of a challenge in Japan when they can buy either of them from any streetside vending machine.

Okinawa, day 1:

On Dec 29th Yukiko departed on our big New Year's trip. We went to the Osaka, Itami airport via train and monorail. I was a master of this route as it was how I got to the same airport a few weeks earlier for my Hokkaido trip. 2 airplanes later we arrived at Kumejima island, a small island in Okinawa.

Could you tell it was an eagle?

At the Kumejima airport we were greeted by the shockingly ugly statue seen above. It seems that the new pro baseball team, the Rakuten Eagles, will be holding their training sessions on Kumejima Island in 2005. The town was draped with large banners announcing the Eagles impending arrival. Hopefully they'll have a bus waiting for them at the airport though as the island's transportation system is somewhat basic. We learned this fact when we stepped out of the airport to catch a taxi to our hotel. Unfortunately we just missed a taxi when we got outside. No problem, we'd just sit down and catch the next one. 40 minutes we caught the next one, which happened to be the one we had just missed before. Yes Kumejima is proud to boast just 1 taxi.

Shortly afterwards we arrived at the Nikko hotel, unpacked our bags and took a little stroll around. The weather was clear but chilly. Surprisingly there were very few other people at the hotel. I say 'surprisingly' because we had payed a LOT of extra money for our flights and hotel accommodation because it was high season. High season? The place was virtually deserted! Oh well, it made for a quiet and serene atmosphere. The local beach was also fantastic. Unfortunately it wasn't warm enough to take a dip.

The hotel swimming pool - closed for the winter!

Yukiko at Eef beach

Me at Eef beach


Okinawa, day 2:

We woke up early on the 30th and went looking for Shirahama Marine, a dive shop that one of Yukiko's work colleagues recommended. They told us they were heading out with 2 other couples for a couple of dives later in the day and we signed on. Yay.

Our dive boat

View from the boat, and our dive leader Shun-san

Unfortunately I only took these 2 photos on our first dive day. I've still only got the old digicamera I bought years ago. It's beginning to show it's age and starting to break down. I was thinking about buying a brand-spanking new digital camera with an underwater case to take with us to Okinawa but we decided not to get it because we were already spending a bundle on the trip. Then I saw all the other divers with digital cameras and underwater cases. Evil plots involving turning off their oxygen and wedging them under rock outcroppings swirled in my head. Fortunately for them these ideas dissolved the moment I saw the frolicking clown fish. Little Nemos everywhere!

Hotel entrance - uncluttered with taxis



After a couple of dives and a small bento lunch at the dive shop we returned to the hotel and engaged in a spirited game of ping pong at one of the tables in the arcade.
In the evening we found a great little restaurant. It had Okinawan dishes at a very good price. They also played lots of great Okinawan music that I really dug.
The sushi chopper guy

Somen chanpuru (a noodle stirfry) & agedashi nasu (deep fried eggplant)

Yukiko and her 'shikwasa' chu-hi (a very sweet, orange-like cider)


A typical Okinawan menu

Flashback: Christmas 2004

Here's a little holiday flashback. On the 23rd we hosted a small Christmas party for a bunch of my friends. Yukiko prepared lots & lots of sushi stuff so everyone enjoyed making their own food. A few people cancelled at the last moment but it probably turned out for the best as our little table couldn't accommodate anyone else. Christmas parties are great. We should hold them throughout the year.

(left -> right) Yukiko, Simon, Dan, Tomita Sensei (my Japanese teacher)

(left -> right) Cliff, Owen, Craig, Yukiko again!)

On the 25th we went over to our friends Kazu and Hiroko's place for a little Christmas dinner. Hiroko's sister Mayumi and her new husband of only a few months Jun was also there. It was my first time meeting them and they were really nice. Jun seems to like MMA almost as much as me.

Super party hosts: Kazu & Hiroko

The newlyweds: Mayumi & Jun

The 2 who drank all the wine

Obviously I had no idea what everyone was talking about here.

On the 26th I was shocked by the news about the big tsunami in the Indian Ocean. First reports had the casualties at about 2000 but of course it's much higher now. Last report was 145 000 dead. Some say that may double with sickness and disease caused by lack of clean water. It hit home for me because I've been to a few of the places in Thailand that were hit very hard, Koh Phi Phi and Phuket. I'm sure if I'd have been there I would have been scuba diving or playing in the water and wouldn't be able to update this blog right now. Very scary. Now would be a good time for everyone (including myself) to make a donation to the Red Cross or some other charity helping the survivors.

On the 28th, the evening before we left on our trip, we went bowling with my friend Dan and a few of his friends from Kwansei Gakuin University. I haven't been bowling for ages and had forgotten how much fun it can be. In the last game of the night everyone had really good scores. I got a near, if not actual, lifetime high score of 135. Usually I just try to break a hundred. Dan who got somewhere in the 140's is now considering going pro I think. Excelsior Dan!!

Our nengajo, or New Year's Card, which we sent out to all our Japanese family and friends. 2005 is the year of the bird. Thus our bird motif. Pretty clever aren't we?

Funny spellchecker recommendations:

Yukiko = huskies
Tomita (Sensei) = tomato
Hiroko's = heiresses or Iroquois
Mayumi = mayhem
nengajo = menaces
spellchecker = splices