Snorkeling, diving and tropical waters is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japan. But Japan has tropics and this trip we wanted to go visit tropical Japan, since it is pretty far away and difficult to get to during a normal “highlights of Japan” trip (especially when any Japan trip requires several Disney days). So this time, we scheduled almost a week in Okinawa. We flew ANA from Tokyo and they treated the girls very well, giving them little gifts, such as this cute ANA badge:
We landed in Okinawa (Naha) and I was instantly confused. I thought I was back in Hawaii. But with more Japanese-like structures (tall residential buildings, a monorail and of course left-hand driving cars). For the few days we were there, I did indeed often find myself thinking I was in Hawaii and I had to remind myself I was still in Japan. This disorientation made sense, once I thought about it. The obvious similarities are the weather and island living. Steamy, tropical, check. Flip flops everywhere, check. Shoes off at the door, check. But beyond that, Okinawa has a significant American influence going back to World War II. Americans have been living in Okinawa for decades. For a long time, it was an American possession, and it was returned to Japan in the early 70s. The U.S. had a large military presence there for decades, much like Oahu. Japan was a staunch U.S. ally during the Vietnam War and much of that support came at Okinawa. Hawaii is an American island that has a significant Japanese population and influence. Okinawa is a Japanese island that has a significant American population and influence. Essentially, Hawaii and Okinawa are cousins. In some ways Okinawa and Hawaii are much closer culturally than Hawaii and say, Kansas. There is a lot more English spoken in Okinawa than the rest of Japan.
One of our highlights in Okinawa, before heading out to the Kerama islands, was a nice meal in a restaurant across the street from our hotel. Our waiter had the best English, and I don’t want to stereotype or profile, but he looked half American to me. I also don’t remember much from that night, I must confess. I ordered something called an “Okinawa Mojito.” I have no idea what was in it, but it knocked me for a loop the rest of the evening. Everything is very, very vague after that. But luckily we took some pictures of the food.
We only had two nights in Okinawa proper (Naha city), and most of it was spent recovering from (in addition to my Mojito) our very busy four cities in seven days that was “Japan, Week 2.” The hotel had a very nice swimming pool and laundry facilities, so we spent most of our two days hotel bound, which is what we needed. On day three, we took a 45 minute ferry ride and headed to a place that, well, feels to me to be most remote place I have ever visited — the Kerama Islands. (I define remote as something that is off the beaten path, not developed, takes several modes of transport to get there, and is tiny and barely populated. 15 years ago, I would have added no cell service or wi-fi but now even the most remote places have cell service and internet.)
We spent three nights on Aka Island, the smallest of the islands with any development, though honestly at one mile across, it has almost no tourist development to speak off. There is a port, a few guesthouses, a super market, and that’s about it. I chose it because it was the island the guidebook said you could manage entirely on foot. (The other islands needed a bicycle or motorcycle, neither of which is that doable with the kids and suitcases)
Aka was essentially raw nature, with gorgeous scenery.
And very friendly locals, as usual, happy to help you out. There are some weird things, like the fact that they built a gorgeous bridge between islands that connect 200 people to the island of 50 people.
We walked across the bridge just to say we did it (since it doesn’t really go anywhere touristy, we walked over it and back)
The island also had some feral cats and deer, both of whom liked the beach (or maybe the cat was just fishing).
The scenery was stunning. We loved snorkeling just off our breach.
We saw some really good fish and coral (like this starfish), but uncannily, the first fish we saw was a humuhumunukunukuapu’aa — the Hawaii state fish! The connections between Okinawa and Hawaii are underwater as well.
Amalia and I ran into a 6-foot eel just swimming at the surface. Biggest sea snake I have seen free swimming. Previously, when snorkeling, I have seen eels safely in their caves. I was pretty freaked out. Amalia was more excited than freaked. We didn’t have the camera, and I am not sure I would have paused to take a picture anyway.
Lots to see in this area and we only hit one tiny island. Too soon, our time there was over and it was time to, finally, head to the place where we had decided to establish as “home base” for this summer — Sapporo. We really covered a lot of ground in three weeks! [Train rides in red, plane rides in purple arrows]