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
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 beachOkinawa, 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-sanUnfortunately 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
posted by Jason at 10:12 AM
1 Comments:
Hi, Jason and Yukiko. Happy New Year! Since I have never been to Okinawa, it was nice reading your blog and imagining what Okinal would be like. Sara and I miss you guys so much. I hope we can see each other again sometime this year!!
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