Okinawa - 沖縄

DAY 1

My friend and I decided to fly out to Okinawa after our program had officially ended and we were free to do what we wanted. We flew out on Thursday morning and left Saturday around 1 PM. Luckily we lived 2 stops from the airport so it took like 6 minutes to get from home to the airport. The flight was about 2 hours, and it was really nice because it was a big plane but very empty, so we got to get comfy in the uncomfy seats. When we landed, we went to our hostel to drop our stuff off then we walked to the main/touristy part of Naha: Kokusai Dori (or international street). The main street was filled with shops that we saw back on the main island (i.e. Don Quixote) but once you went into the street itself (it was pretty much a shopping arcade), there were many many shops selling touristy stuff and food. The first place we went to eat made these onigiri sandwich thingies. (Onigiri are the riceballs in Japan) We also got boba from (what seemed like) the only boba chain on the island. It had an interesting flavor, the tapioca was different than normal (I can't remember what exactly made it different but I think it might have been made with brown sugar? Since that's something Okinawa is known for).

Yummy spam rice ball with fried shrimp and egg

After we walked around, we wanted to get to a beach, since that was the main reason for coming! The picturesque beaches were pretty far from where we were staying (I'll talk about getting around in Okinawa later), so our only option was this beach under a freeway overpass (rip). It was actually really pretty despite the huge concrete things blocking the view haha. The water was such a nice temperature, so unlike the beaches here in the Bay/SC.

We walked back to the hostel, but left soon after to get dinner! We Yelped this cute lil mom and pop store that sold homemmade Okinawan food so we decided to walk over. It was run by all women (cute lil grandmas) and the kitchen was open and right next to the dining area. There are several well known Okinawan foods such as soba and scrambled eggs with bittermelon. We decided to get a bowl of soba and a plate of tofu with beef. While we were waiting for our food, I was looking at a painting hanging on the wall and next to it I saw what looked like a lil green stick. When I looked again it was a tiny gecko or lizard or something, but it was so flat that I thought it was a painting on the wall. I told my friend and she looked over and was like nah that's a painting. BUT THEN the lil sucker moved!! We both yelped a little and the cute lil grandmas looked over at us and had a nice chuckle. The food didn't take long and we didn't take long to finish it. It was so good!! Honestly nothing beats grandmas' homemade cooking <3

Yum yum yum yum

Yum yum yum yum pt. 2

DAY 2

Since we had a full day today we decided to finally go to a nice beach. We found a beach and used Google maps to tell us the best/fastest/cheapest way to get there. We had to take a bus, and the stop was kind of far from the hostel. We got to the stop right on time, only to find a sign that said we couldn't pay with cash to get on the bus, we had to pay at the information center a block away to get a ticket. The next bus wasn't for another 45 minutes so we slowly made our way over to the information center, where the nice lady actually said we didn't have to take that one, and there was a more frequent bus that came. We ended up taking this bus (about 30 minutes) to the beach. When we got to the beach it was so nice T_T . The colors of the water were soo pretty and the camera doesn't capture most of the colors. The water was again such a nice temperature. There was actually a net to prevent people from going too far, and also to keep sharks out. It was really nice to lay out in the sun and relax. The weather said it was supposed to rain for most of the day, but we lucked out and it only rained for 2 minutes.

We walked back to the bus stop, but we missed the bus we were planning on catching and had to wait another hour for the next one. When we got back we went back to Kokusai Dori to get dinner. This was pretty random but taco rice is another popular Okinawan food (tacos like the Mexican food). We found a place that had taco rice for $5. It was a cute little restaurant and the taco rice was pretty good, but nothing too great in our opinions. Since we bought gifts for friends and family back at home, we were debating if we should buy another bag or something to carry the extra stuff in. We went back home to pack and we were actually able to fit everything into the bags we already brought. Our flight was around 1 PM and we really wanted to go scuba diving or snorkling. We couldn't really find a close/cheap place to rent gear (especially since we would have to leave early in the morning to get there), so we decided to buy our own from Don Quixote, which was back at Kokusai Dori.

Famous ice cream chain on island

When we were walking over, we saw a tiny white kitten (he was so smol), so I picked up some cat food from Don Quixote to bring back for him. He ate all of it and was purring and let us pet him ^_^ But when we were walking back, we saw another smaller kitten near the trashcans, so we decided to walk to the Lawson's to get some cat food. When we passed the parking lot, we saw even more stray cats, about 9 total. So for a good 30 minutes we were feeding the poor kittens.

DAY 3

So the original plan for this day was the catch the early bus, swim/snorkle for a good 3 hours, bus back, then catch our flight back home. Well we didn't wake up in time so we missed the bus, and this bus only came once an hour. So we just walked around and explored the area around us more. At Kokusai Dori there is a fish market, where on the bottom floor you can buy fresh fish, then bring it upstairs to any of the restaurants to prepare it for you! Then we decided to eat at this ramen place that always had a line (even at 11 PM). It opened at 11AM but the line was already super long at 10:30. There was only room for like 10 people to be in there at once, so it took quite a while to get in. When we did finally get in (around 11:45 so cutting it close to our flight) we ate really quickly since we understood how awful it was to wait outside (the line was in the sun, and we couldn't move into the shade since it would block the walkway). The ramen was good, but we didn't think it was anything super special, worth waiting that long in line for.

What a snazzy looking fish

That pretty much concludes our trips in Okinawa! But touching on the transportation: it's not as good as back on the main island. The only train we took was from the airport to the stop for the hostel. Everything else we had to take buses, which wasn't awful but it just wasn't as convenient since they don't come as often. The best option for us would have been renting a car, but we didn't have an international driver's license.