Okinawa, Japan’s Tropical South!

After two weeks exploring the famous (and very busy) sights of Japan and its busy cities, we traded neon lights and shrines for sunshine, sea breeze, and the beautiful beaches in Okinawa.

Leaving Tokyo was a bit of a chaos, we left our Airbnb and squeezed onto the train at Komagome during rush hour on the Yamanote line. We were all standing shoulder to shoulder, squeezed in like sardines. We got off at Hamamatsuchō Station and made to board the train to Haneda airport. As we got off, the platform turned into a sea of people, all trying to reach the escalators and stairs, all lined up. As as new trains arrived at the station, the chaos continued but eventually we got onto the train and were all pushed from behind as more and more people were trying to get on. So a quick tip, when leaving Tokyo, try not to do so during rush hour, it’s a bit crazy. 

Anyway, we finally made it to Haneda airport and checked in where we were assigned seats, three together and one by himself (me). Unlucky for me, I got the middle seat, squeezed between two fairly large people, however the flight was just about three hours so it was doable.

After landing, we caught the monorail and made our way to our hotel, the Hotel Palm Royal Resort Kokusai Street. Checked in, we left to explore the nearby Kokusai-dori street, filled with shops and restaurants. After some lunch, we wandered down the Tsuboya Pottery District, where Suz was trying to find something for Granpa. After our exploration we just happened to wander past a local craft beer brewery, Heavy Sasori Brewing where we stopped to sample the goods before returning to the hotel for a much rewarded dip in the hotel pool. 

Later that night we wandered down to the Kokusai Street Food Village where we tried some classic Okinawan dishes such as Goya Champuru, a stirfry of the bitter vegetable goya mixed with pork, tofu and eggs, quite bitter but very tasty and also tried some Umi-budō, or ‘sea grapes’, tiny green bubbles that pop in your mouth, unleashing the salty flavour of the ocean. Both of these went down a treat, specially combined with an ice cold Orion beer, the famous local brew of the island!

After dinner we wandered down Kokusai-dori street once again, where we ducked into Don Quijote, a crazy 24hour mega store that has almost everything and is found everywhere in Japan. Here we did a bit of shopping for some souvenirs to take back home. We grabbed a few different bags of KitKats in all kinds of flavours, Xander grabbed an electronically instrument called Otamatone, quite quirky, shaped like a musical note and makes funny sounds when its squeezed. Finally, Eloise and I both got personalised Hanko Stamps, with our names in Japanese script, a great memory of our trip!

We ended our night at the hotels onsen, a great way to relax and get ready for the following day where we planned to visit Keramashoto National Park.

The next morning we made our way to the Tomari Wharf ferry terminal (by Taxi, despite to what we had read, taxis in Japan have been surprisingly affordable, especially for short rides). Here we collected our ferry tickets to Tokashiki Island, I had initially planned to visit the island of Zamami Island. However as I left it too late I missed out and instead booked tickets to Tokashiki. 

The ferry took about 70 minutes and it was a smooth ride to the island, once we got there we got onto a local bus service that took us to Aharen Beach. Upon arrival, Suz and Eloise went straight to the beach, Xander and I however decided that we wanted to explore a bit first and made our way to the Kubandaki Lookout. On our way there, we came across a small quiet cove that we had completely to ourselves and were we enjoyed the beautiful turquoise waters before we continued our exploration. Once we climbed to the lookout, we were offered with amazing views over the bay and we then joined Suz and Eloise for a well deserved swim in the ocean.

Eloise and I then got some snorkelling gear and went for a swim. Whilst the area near the beach didn’t really offer great views, it was filled with tropical fish and it was just great being back snorkelling in tropical waters.

Once we finished in the water, we wandered over to Arakaki Shoten, one of the few convenience stores in the area where we got some cold drinks (and a yummy Spam Onigiri) before we got onto the bus again and returned to the harbour and our ferry back to the mainland.

Back in Naha after a great day out, we jumped into the hotel pool and that night we headed out for another dinner with local food. Here we got to try some Mimiga which is a thinly sliced pig’s ear that is cooked and served in a sesame sauce, quite chewy but tasty and went down great with a cold beer. We also got some Agu dumplings, made some Okinawa black haired pork, some Okinawa soba noddles and some Rafute, a slow cooked pork belly, all of it delicious!

We got some dessert from Blue Seal, the famous Okinawa ice cream chain where Suz, Xander and Eloise went for ‘normal’ flavours whilst I had to try the ‘Salty Milk’ soft serve, it was creamy, salty and almost a bit of cheese flavour to it, it was ok but I would probably not have it again.

The next morning we checked out of our hotel and caught a taxi to Orix car rental where we collected our vehicle for the next few days.

Our first stop was the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters, where we got to climb down into the tunnels which were dug by hand during the WWII battle of Okinawa. The narrow corridors were a sad reminder of the desperation of the war with one of the rooms still showing damage from hand grenade where officers took their own life rather than surrender. 

We next drove to the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, a large area overlooking the sea where one of its section has the listed names of all the people that died during the war. We walked, all by ourselves, amongst the granite walls which was a surreal experience, specially since so many other areas of Japan had been filled with people.

Last on our list of areas from WWII, we visited the ruins of Urasoe Castle, where a small sign shows the area of Hacksaw Ridge, the location of one of the bloodiest battles of the war and the story that inspired the movie Hacksaw Ridge.

We left the sites of WWII and started our drive north, stopping at the American Village and wow, it’s such a tacky place, it’s a crazy mix of shops, diners and neon sighs that would look more at home in Florida than in Japan. We found a place for some tacos, because why not, and then continued our drive north.

By mid-afternoon, we reached and checked into our accommodation, the Grand Mercure Okinawa Cape Zanpa Resort, arriving just in time for their 3–6 pm free drinks and snacks, which meant unlimited beers (Orion, Asahi or Kirin), soft drinks and lollies and snacks before we walked across the road to a local restaurant, Hanagasa, where I got to try some taco rice, a very post-war fusion of cultures.

The following day we just relaxed at our hotel and used all the facilities available to us, the pool, the slides and event the inflatable water park at the beach. I took a quick trip and climbed the Zanpa Lighthouse which offered spectacular views over the ocean. After some more free beers we just had dinner at the local pool bar which offered pizzas and didn’t require us to travel anywhere for food. We again finished our night with the additional free cocktails between 9-11pm, a great way to spend a full day relaxing!

On our last full day in Okinawa, we drove to the Ocean Expo Park, a large area where we got to see large sea turtles, manatees and a dolphin show, however the highlight was the Churaumi Aquarium, which houses a massive tank where you were able to see manta rays and a whale shark swim past gracefully, absolutely beautiful, even after seeing one up close when snorkelling with them in Philippines.

On our way home, we stopped at Family Mart to enjoy some Famichiki, which at this stage had become one of our favourite snacks from the Konbini stores in Japan. We finished our last night once again at Hanagasa for our final dinner which consisted of fresh sashimi and crispy karaage chicken. Not a bad way to finish up in Japan.

Back in our room, whilst packing to leave the following morning, I got to enjoy a final One Cup Ozeki sake, which had almost become a nightly routine for me during this trip! We also had some time to reflect on our trip, with part excitement to go back home (to see our dog Toby) but also sadness that our great trip was coming to an end!

The next morning, we drove back to Naha, returned the rental and boarded our flight to Osaka where we only had two hours before we flew back to Singapore and finally touched down in Melbourne!

We have had an amazing three weeks in Japan, from beautiful and serene temples and shrines to theme parks and baseball to monuments from WWII, including Hiroshima and Okinawa, to the beautiful island of Miyajima and the craziness of Tokyo and Osaka to finally finish in a tropical island, Japan has really showed us a beautiful part of itself and we can’t wait to return!

Arigatou gozaimasu, Japan…. until next time!