I left my heart in Okinawa...

Those six days spent in Okinawa were unbelievable. My expectations were high having done a lot of research prior to leaving, but the experience surpassed all of them. There were a lot of times when we just coudn't believe that we were in the same country. It just felt so much like Hawaii...the beaches, the sand, the hospitality, the food...To think we were freezing our ass off in 0 degree weather the day before, then took a 2.5 hour plane ride down south and we're wearing tanktops and slippers. It was exactly what we wanted :)




We arrived in Naha on January 2nd. Our guest house was just an 8 minute walk from Kokusai Dori (the main shopping drag in Naha). The street is very loud, busy, and colorful all day and night.


We started the trip off right with some Okinawan soba and goya (bittermelon) for lunch!

The symbol of Okinawa would have to be the Shisa-which is a half dog, half lion. You'll see the Shisas EVERYWHERE you go, they are in front of stores, and on the rooftops of all the houses, it is believed that it gives protection.


Okinawan Tanuki-san! This one is very aloha'd out, and it says MEN-SO-RE which is WELCOME! in Okinawa. It's equivalent to YOU KO SOU.


First stop was Shuri Castle (a World Heritage site)


There were some festivities going on to celebrate the new year.

Tea and sake tasting

Shuri-jo


The original foundation of the castle is still intact, amazing considering it was attacked and destroyed four times over.

The king's chair

King's crown

New year's ceremony outside the castle




Hibiscus sashiburi!

That night there was a takoyaki party at our guest house. I was so excited because I had never made takoyaki myself, and I always wanted to try! (It wasn't as easy as it looks)







Dekimashita!

Our second batch looked more like soup...but we still ate it!

It was such a good time! I was STUFFED with takoyaki :) That night I also had my first taste of AWAMORI (Okinawan sake). Awamori is 30% alcohol, double the amount of normal sake, tasted like straight vodka. Good stuff!

Happy awamori face :)

The next day was II-TENKI DESU YO :) Lana and I were stoked that we could wear tanktops and slippers in JANUARY!

A park with real grass!


I know you people back home are probably thinking, "Big whoopie doo, it looks like Hawaii", but it was a big deal to me!!

Nami-no-ue gu shrine

Big new year's festival! My favorite thing about matsuris-yakisoba, takoyaki, yakitori....ALL THE YAKIS




Doesn't this girl look like Jodie Unten when she was little? Hahahaha...




HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY LANA!

I bought her this pink plastic dog for her birthday, and we made her drag it around all day like it was a real dog. She named her Mochi...it was HILARIOUS seeing all the looks from the locals...they thought she was seriously crazy.

Ahhhh ocean!!


Taking Mochi for a swim

Drying Mochi off

That night we went to this place called the Beer Dome for Lana's birthday dinner. It was Nomi and Tabe-ho-dai (All you can eat and drink).




Awamori!! This is where I was all night!

Kampai! Otanjoobi omedettou!

After faces (look at Kim!)

Candace had too much awamori, she couldn't figure out how to put her pajamas on :)

The next day we took a trip to Naha Culture Center, where the famous Tsuboya Pottery Museum is. I suck at ceramics but we decided to take a class, and we got to make our own clay Shisas!!






Our very patient instructor


Hard at work



Tada! My baby :)



It was so much fun!

Bye bye Naha, we're off to Nago! Our guest house was right near Mie-bashi station (which I considered MY station because it's MIE-bashi...Haha what a loser

We took a two hour bus ride up north to Nago, not knowing what to expect. When we arrived in Nago it was already dark and it was definitely not what we expected. The bus station was small and run down, but luckily there was this man who knew where our guest house was. As we were following him we started to get a little nervous because there were no street lights, no signs, NOTHING, just a little ratty old beach house. When they had my information, I knew it was the right place. I was so confused because this place had rave reviews online, but from the look of things I was like, "Oh shit, what did I do?" Hahaha...but as soon as we got settled in the guy who ran the place was nice enough to drive us to the local supermarket, and they made a fire, and the next thing we knew everyone was talking, sharing food and drinks, basically having a good time.



One of the guys is an Uchi-min-chu (Okinawan fisherman) and he brought in his catch- 2 ika, 2 tako, and 1 pencil uni


We didn't know this would be our dinner the next two nights! :)


The next morning the owner of our guest house offered to take us out on his boat to go diving!! I was so excited!!


The water was pretty deep, but the water was so clear you could see the reef from the surface



Me and Lana

Can you see us?

It was amazing! There were so many reef fish, eels, starfish, seacucumbers, vana...when we were heading back on the boat, Kim saw a manta ray! After diving we went to the Pineapple Park :) All you can eat pineapple, and all you can drink pineapple wine!











Our favorite moments were these just lounging in the hammocks talking story...Kim made friends with this guy who runs a temple on Shikoku island.



Enjoying our fresh tako sashimi, and tako rice (see previous food blog :) )

Awamori anyone?


Yosuke-the birthday boy (a surfing legend in the area)

Ryota-the guy who runs the place he is a TRIP!! Can you believe he's 40?


This guy was so drunk he fell backwards off the table and just fell asleep. He hit his head pretty hard, so we thought he might have a concussion but he was alright.

For some reason I was up when the sun came up everyday this trip...It was just too beautiful :)




The second day in Nago the guy who caught all the tako offered to drive us up to Churaumi Aquarium. Churaumi is the second largest aquarium in the world, with a beautiful view! The aquarium was a 20 minute drive, but an hour by bus so we were so lucky that this guy offered to take us!


Ocean Expo Park







This is what it looked like when we went diving

The aquarium houses three whale sharks!


Kani-kani-san

After lunch we drove even further north to visit another island, Kourijima. There are so many BEAUTIFUL islands that surround Okinawa honto, and we were hoping we would be able to visit one. Next time I go to Okinawa I want to spend a lot more time on the smaller islands and just dive all day :)




Driving through the sugar cane fields












Breadfruit!



After Kourijima we went back to the Takashi's (the fishermen) apartment. He told us he collected shells as a hobby, but we weren't prepared for the mini museum he had in his tiny room.


Kim was sad because she loves shells and this was her dream



The guy also makes shell jewelry as a hobby, and so we all got to make necklaces :)

For dinner we made squid ink spaghetti (very popular in Japan) with the squid that he caught the other night!


YUMMMM!!!



Bye bye Nago guest house...Everyone looked like they were going to cry...it was so sad.


My friend Tora-san


Joh looks suicidal



Back in crazy Tokyo station...Naha-Tokyo, like night and day.

Back in the fast lane...eating dinner in boxes on the bus...where's the beach?

I know I've said it over and over but Okinawa was just indescribable and I would return in a second...Our hearts were seriously left in Nago, and life in freezing Fukushima will be a little more depressing this winter after that trip. Gambarrimasu!