The Six Month Update

Technically, we have been living in Okinawa for seven months and five days. We are entering our first summer and simultaneously our first typhoon season. I am now comfortable with speaking Japanese phrases, using chopsticks, and driving on the left side of the road. I feel very accomplished and happy on my island home. While Matt arrived on Okinawa knowing his mission and work location, I had a lot of free time that needed filling. I had spent five months preparing for this move (see previous blog posts), and now it was time to settle. While I have kept everyone up-to-date on my weekend escapades, now that I have reached the six month mark I thought I would share how I fill my time in between adventures.

First of all, I have a job! I was unemployed for over a year before Okinawa, so I am happy to be entering into the workforce slowly with part-time work. I am a desk clerk at Kadena Air Force Base ITT, which stands for Information, Tickets, and Travel. I sign up customers for local and guided international tours and sell tickets for attractions on Okinawa. I enjoy knowing before all my friends what festivals or events are being held and where. I have the inside scoop!

Second of all, I enjoy eating at small cafes off-base. A lot. Whether with Matt on weekends or my girlfriends on my off days, I have really tasted some excellent and novel dishes. I have expanded my palate to include sashimi (raw fish) and unagi (freshwater eel).

Lastly, I have a reputation with my friends as the girl who brings cakes to events. I happily spend hours on each cake: baking, making buttercream icing from scratch, piping flowers. I now have quite the repertoire.

Baby Shower Cake

Easter Cake

Purple Birthday Cake

Lots of cakes and fish and tickets in my life in order to tide me over until the next exploration, which I will be sure to include in a post very soon!

The Secret Vacation Part 4: The Exploration of Yoron

This is another post by Amanda's husband, Matt. Amanda has been talking a lot about our surprise vacation, so I am going to talk about my favorite part wherever we travel: exploring. Amanda planned most of the vacation: where we were going, how we were getting there, where we would stay... But once we got there she left the schedule wide open for us to fill with whatever fun we found.

Yoron Island offered many things to do, but the resort itself offered a whole slew of awesome activities. Of course, with it being a tropical island surrounded by coral reefs and beautiful beaches there is always the option to lay out and enjoy the sun. My and Amanda's genetic disposition make this an option for about twenty minutes tops, so we had to get creative with our free time.

The first thing we did was get Thai massages. I've never had a massage before, but this was no average massage. Instead of laying there and getting rubbed on, the masseuse very actively contorts your body and stretches and pops thing you otherwise could not on your own. He was able to pop parts of my back that have been bothering me since Quantico.

That night Amanda and I went on a "twinkling night cruise." The language barrier sometimes makes it unclear what you're going to get, but we went for it anyways. It was a glass bottom boat night cruise which allowed you to see the bioluminescent plankton that live in the reef.

The second day we spent exploring Yoron Island outside of the resort. Pricia had a bank of rental scooters. The two-person 100 cc scooters were no longer available, and Amanda was uncomfortable with driving one herself. So we squeezed both of us on a one-person, very tiny, 50 cc scooter.

Fifty cubic centimeters of fury!

Using a map that was entirely in Japanese and translated by my understanding of pictures, we set about exploring the island at a roaring 13 kilometers per hour. Most of the attractions on the map were mom and pop tourist traps. For example, one thing we wanted to explore was a cave. When looking for it we drove past it three times before following signs we thought might have said cave into what was definitely somebody's backyard. We found a tool shed with a man in it who informed us that tickets to see the cave were 500 yen a piece. He then handed us a flashlight that would have made 1990 proud and pointed us to the cave. The cave was nice and cool, and interesting because instead of limestone it was made of clay. What was also interesting was the homemade wiring job on the lights. We explored  the cave until I came across the grounding system for the lights which was under three inches of water in a puddle that ran from one side of the cave to the other. For those not savvy on electrical wiring, just know that is bad. We decided that was enough spelunking for one day and made a hasty retreat back to the toolshed. We also used our trusty weed-eater powered scooter to visit a Shinto shrine, castle ruins, amd some beautiful beaches famous throughout Japan. And the island's only traffic light. It was one of those yellow blinking ones without the green or red options.

This cave seems totally legit and not scary at all!

All in all, exploring this quaint little island was quite the adventure. We had a map I couldn't read, a vehicle I'd never driven before, a pocket full of yen, and not enough sunscreen. It was a vacation to remember!

The Secret Vacation Part 3: The Greek Island in the Pacific

I will finally reveal the secret vacation destination! We took a holiday to (drumroll please) Yoron Island! Yoron Island is part of the Amami Island chain north of the main island of Okinawa. This island is completely surrounded by a coral reef which results in shallow, bright blue water right off the coast.

The most interesting aspect of Yoron Island to me was the Greek influence. Yoron Island, Japan is considered the sister island to Mykonos, Greece due to similarities in landscape and views. This little island in the Pacific took the title of twin to Mykonos to heart and decorated the island in white monuments and murals. The resort in particular was done completely in blue tile and white buildings reminiscent of Greece. The combination of blue water and white architecture was stunning!

The Secret Vacation Part 2: The Resort

After two hours and forty minutes on the ferry Matt and I arrived at our island vacation destination, the location of which I will reveal in my next post. The suspense!!! I first have to describe our novel experience at a Japanese-style resort. I had booked two nights in the superior deluxe room at the Pricia Resort. While very luxurious, we experienced first-hand the idiosyncrasies of staying at a hotel in a different country. A special key was needed to turn on the electricity, so we could not leave it on when we left the room. The air conditioning units were controlled by a remote with all the buttons in Japanese. The toilet was electric with a warmed seat. In the traditional style, all the beds at the hotel were twin-sized with rock-hard pillows. We spent a few minutes just trying to figure out our living arrangements for the next two nights!

We were in the first floor apartment.

House slippers for the interior. They did not fit Matt.

Our twin beds with provided pajamas!

Slippers for the exterior (our back yard). Still did not fit Matt.

Despite our confusion, we loved our room due to the AMAZING back yard. We had our own beach chairs and hot tub complete with an ocean view!

A one minute walk from our room brought us to a Mediterranean-style restaurant (with a Japanese twist accidentally) where we ate every lunch and dinner for our stay. The resort was not crowded, so every visit we were able to sit at the same outside table and enjoy the view.

The view at lunch.

The view at dinner.

And what resort would be complete without a private beach?

The Secret Vacation Part 1: The Ferry

For Memorial Day Matt had a long weekend, so I decided to plan our first vacation off the island - and keep it a secret! Matt was given a packing list and directions to the Motobu port where our vacation began. Our ferry only left once a day, so we arrived promptly at nine, purchased tickets, and climbed aboard the largest boat I have ever seen!

The bottom half of the ferry was cargo. I wasn't sure what to expect on the boat when I saw that we were sharing our ride with livestock!

Our fellow passengers. Bulls!

We climbed up stairs that were attached to the side of the ship. We went up at least two stories before our tickets were taken and we were allowed inside the ferry which reminded me of...

A super swanky hotel!

The information desk.

The grand staircase.

The convenience store.

While the ferry did have some tables and chairs, most of the passengers found the sleeping rooms. You slipped off your shoes before you stepped onto the carpeted area. Mats were laid out on the floor with one blanket and pillow per mat. Matt can sleep anywhere on anything, but I decided to forgo the common pillow and used my backpack as a cushion for my head. We had a nice nap as the ocean rocked us to sleep.

Check out my next post to discover where in the world we had arrived when we awoke!

The Okinawan-Themed Theme Park

Although we are smack in the middle of rainy season right now, we decided to brave the weather in order to visit Okinawa World. It is a theme park in the style of a traditional Ryukyu village. There are vendors demonstrating historic crafts such as glass blowing, weaving, and beer brewing. The biggest draw for us was the Gyokusendo cave which is Okinawa's largest cave.

We started the day at the Cave Cafe which is just outside the park. Beverly had read about online, and hands down it is the coolest place I have ever purchased a coffee.

Once we entered the park we were given a schedule of the shows. There is an Eisa dance show which is a combination of dancing and drumming. In addition to the drums there is a lion dance with two men acting as one lion that was my favorite! The character acted more like a giant dog with wagging its tail and biting the rear end of an unsuspecting audience member. After the show we toured all of the old-fashioned buildings with the traditional crafts.

Lastly, we entered the cave through a long hallway and metal staircase. Although the day was rainy, I thought we would be sheltered underground. However, due to the increased rainfall this month the water had risen in the underground rivers and drops of water from the stalactites kept hitting my head. The cave was huge, and the metal walkway for tours only explored one third of the total area! The stalagmites and stalactites that had taken so many thousands of years to form were amazing! I thought the whole park was a really neat place to represent a historical Okinawa.

The Koinobori

We could not help but notice the beautiful koinobori right outside the base gate in early May. They are flown to celebrate Children's Day, traditionally Boy's Day, which falls on May 5th. The koinobori are wind socks in the shape of fish that are hung outside every home as well as over the Tengan river that flows right outside our tower. The carp is a symbol of strength based on a Chinese legend in which one fought its way upstream in order to become a dragon. Therefore, they represent the future strength of the boys in the family. A large black carp represents the father, a red carp represents the mother, and all following colors represent the sons of the family. We loved the rows and rows of flying fish fluttering in the breeze.

Our tower, one of many.