Okinawa

Friday, May 8, 2008--Nagoya to Okinawa

I have slept well for the past two nights. The sinus headaches are gone. My nose is still dripping, though.

I was up at 7:00 to head to the airport. I was a bit worried about how early I should be there for a domestic flight. I shouldn`t have worried, though. There was a mix-up at the train station, though. I bought a ticket for the regular train rather than the one with reserved seats. When I expected a regular train, one with reserved seats showed up. Then someone told me it would be 35 minutes until the next regular train. I rushed upstairs to check again, and was told it was only 7 minutes until a regular train. Whew!

The regular train stopped at a lot of stations and took 50 minutes versus the fast train with reserved seats which makes the trip in 30 minutes. But when I got to the airport, there were no lines. It is a big, nice airport. And there are international flights to many places. That`s probably because of Toyota being in Nagoya. I was checked in and waiting at the gate with still 1 1/2 hours to go before departure.

I wondered what I would do to pass the time, since my books were in my checked luggage. I decided to open my camera and delete the bad pictures I had taken. When I got to the beginning, however, I discovered there were pictures before it. In fact, all 1000+ pictures I had taken on my travels last year were still on the card! I couldn`t format it, because I would lose all my new photos. I knew I would have to delete the photos one at a time. I managed to delete half of them during that 1 1/2 hours I was waiting for my flight. Will work on the others in similar situations!!

Okinawa is bright. Guess that`s because it is an island with water everywhere. It`s also humid. I had no problem getting maps and directions from the tourist office. I took a bus that dropped me off in the center of town about 2 blocks from my ryokan. I have a large tatami mat (7 mats, as rooms are measured in Japan) room with a balcony, TV, hair dryer, etc. Unfortunately, TV, as everywhere I have stayed, has been only local channels.

Japan is not as connected to the outside world as elsewhere. Not only does TV not carry international stations in the hotels where I am staying, but ATM machines are not connected to the international system except at very selected spots. Here in Okinawa, only the airport and the main post office have machines where one can use international cards. It was similar in Nagoya.

I ate the set lunch at a nearby restaurant. It was a spring roll as an appetizer, fried rice with chicken, soup, a dessert made with whole red beans (popular as a dessert in Asia), and iced green tea. It was a bargain for Japan at $6.55 U.S.

After resting for a couple of hours in the room, I went back out in the evening and wandered the main shopping street. I saw a few American airmen. Supposedly, the bases still have restricted leave due to bad relations after an airman raped a local girl a few weeks ago. The ones I saw looked like they could easily cause trouble by being too American rather than considering local tastes and feelings. They were a bit loud, a bit fast, etc.

I will make the most of being here in Okinawa, but I realize I made a mistake in planning my trip. Originally, I was going to be here about 3 days and then go down to Ishigaki for another 3 days. When I booked my ticket, however, I learned that it would give me too many stops in Japan (limit of 4). I just canceled the trip down to Ishigaki. I should have canceled Okinawa. Ishigaki would have been more exotic and interesting.