Okinawa, Part 2

Beach Camping

For us, the new year began handsomely thanks to the kindness of strangers.

After the pottery class, we walked about 80% of the 8 km (nearly 5 miles) to our next campsite before copping out and getting a 5-minute taxi ride the rest of the way.  Remember when I said I like walking places because it’s a nice way to see the area?  Still true, but now I know that there are limits.

When we arrived, we went straight to Shinri Beach to see the beautiful ocean view.  There was a small, one-story building (including bathrooms, a cold shower, and a makeshift restaurant that was closed for the day) across the path from a huge hotel.  The only flat, open ground nearby was the hotel golf course.  I’m still not exactly sure if there is a designated area for camping other than “not on the golf course,” but we were lucky to find the lady in charge who said we could camp on the beach-beach.  As in, on the sand, right in front of the water!

We set up camp and then went in search of food.  We were happy to intersect the same helpful woman and  talked to her for a bit about the weather and why we came to Kumejima before she invited us into the lodge for coffee.  It was 5pm but sure, why not?  She showed us a map of the island and asked what we were doing the next day.  Oh, you need a taxi?  My friend drives a taxi.  When do you want to be picked up?  8:30am?  She called him up and said it was all set (or so we thought).

Finally, we asked if there was a restaurant nearby.  No, there is nothing close.  Ok…  Does the hotel have a restaurant?  Yes.  They have curry rice and various food.  Ok…  Is it any good?  No.  It’s not so good.  Do you like soba?  Yes!  Is there a good soba restaurant we can go to?  No, please wait.  I will make you some.

We froze and quickly exchanged surprised looks.  We didn’t want to trouble or offend her, so what should we do?  Accept?  Decline graciously?  Our silent telepathic conversation quickly became irrelevant as she went straight to the kitchen without waiting for a response.  In the meantime, another couple had come into the lodge and were having coffee, inspecting a map of the island.

Shortly after that, an older gentleman made his way into the building, talked to the other couple briefly, then he came over to us.  Did we need a taxi for tomorrow?  It was our hostess’s taxi driver friend.

I will not recap the subsequent conversation as it was very confusing.  Eventually the coffee-drinking-man, who spoke very good English, came over to offer his translation skills.  Once the driver realized that we only wanted him to take us from point A to point B – not drive us around all morning – he remembered that he already had an 8:30 appointment for the next day and could not help us.  The coffee-drinking-man explained this to us, then offered to pick us up at 8:30 in his own rental car and take us wherever we wanted to go.

Yes, he actually offered to take time out of his personal vacation to drive us to another part of the island that was surely out of his way.  There’s hardly a greater blessing as a traveler than finding yourself surrounded by kind, concerned and generous strangers.

We awkwardly accepted his offer and turned to face steaming hot bowls of soba noodles (with eggs and Spam) and onigiri (rice wrapped in seaweed).  Soba is a traditional food to eat on New Year’s Eve, as the long noodles signify hope for a long life.  Here is a really nice explanation of soba and the end of year tradition.

As we enjoyed our delicious food, we watched the phenomenal sunset.  Apparently, the smog from China makes it way to the west coast of Kumejima and is responsible for creating the most radiant sunsets.  (Oh, and I should mention – during this sunset-viewing, we discovered that we set up camp not by a quiet jetty but by the airport runway.  Oops.)

Fortunately, the smog did not impair our view of the stars that night.

P.S. The coffee-drinking-man and his travel companion did pick us up the next day and were very friendly.  In fact, he came to Nagoya for business the following week and we got to show him around our city!  Now we have a standing offer for a tour guide when we visit Tokyo, where he lives.

P.P.S. The woman at the lodge also gave us a pack of cookies for breakfast the next morning!  She was so nice.

Pineapple Park

A couple days later, back on the main island of Okinawa, we went sightseeing in Nago.  Our first stop was the Pineapple Park.  Though it was essentially an excuse to market Okinawan pineapple, we thought it was a delightful experience for $6.  First, we rode  through “pineapple fields” on an automatic, open-air jeep a la Jurassic Park.  During the ride, a recorded woman serenaded us with fun facts about pineapples.

Alert!  Pineapple wearing a bow!  Now you know why I really liked this place.

Then we were given UNLIMITED samples of pineapple and walked through a never-ending shop filled with UNLIMITED samples of pineapple confections: wine, liquor, vinegar, cookies, cake, chocolate, crackers, candy, and most of those in multiple variations.  It did eventually end, but I think I ate and drank my $6 worth.

Aquarium

Pictures are better than words when it comes to describing an aquarium experience, so here you are.