Yes, I named the Facebook photo album containing all my photos of my first year on JET 'The Year of Living Dangerously'. Reference to that Mel Gibson movie aside, I named it so as a snide comment on the misplaced but well-meant concerns of my friends who were afraid I was going to Japan to get radiated.
Who knows? Maybe in the years to come, I might suffer from complications arising from exposure to nuclear radiation in the past year, but, that's another story.
It's time to take stock. But that'll happen in the next entry. Before I start the tedious but necessary reflection, I need to tell you about Okinawa.
Some information first:
Dates: 23 - 29 July 2012
Places: Naha City, Peace Museum, Chuurami Aquarium, Nakijin Castle Ruins, Zamami and Aka Islands.
I spent about 3 days in Naha City. 24th - the aquarium and Nakijin Castle Ruins. 25 - Peace Museum.
Naha City reminds me of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore all rolled into one. The people look like Singaporeans or Malaysians. They are usually tanned and stocky, dressed down. Slippers and singlets and shorts. Small wonder why I felt at home there. Then there's the city itself. Looking a little worn-out, kinda like Thailand, but without the hard-selling and underlying sleeze factor. Kokusai Dori, or International Street, is a street where you can buy all your omiyage and have American / Western food. LOVE LOVE LOVE that Naha City has A&W. Rootbeer Float, YEAH!!
There are plenty of quirky little cafes - try Mission Cafe on Kokusai Dori for quiet atmosphere, interesting art prints on the wall, and yummy savoury and sweet breakfast waffles. Village Market, about 5 mintutes walk from Miebashi station, has a homely feel and sells bagels and muffins. The berry muffin I had tasted so good the day after I bought it. Cinnamon Cafe, behind the JAL Hotel, is recommended by Okinawan JETs, and is suitably and satisfyingly arty farty. Little variety of cakes, but the pasta looked yummy. People are allowed to smoke there, though, so beware. Also, all customers at the cafe HAVE to order something.
That's what I liked about Naha City. The cafes. And the laidback atmosphere. Stayed at SORA House, which has a very relaxed and long vacation feel. Simple, but the basic necessities are taken care of. Air-conditioning not too good though, which, in summer, can sometimes be a mood-killer. SORA is a 10 min walking distance from Kokusai Dori, and also another 10 min, in the opposite direction, to Tomari Wharf, which is where we took the ferry to Zamami Island. In summer, call ahead to book tickets, cos Zamami can be a popular destination.
Here's come my favourite part. Zamami Island is so beautiful, laidback and quirky, that I found myself seriously wishing I could be the ALT that got sent to Zamami Island (yes, this year is the first time an ALT is sent there). Can you imagine the kind of day I would have??!!
First of all, I bet I could wear nice shorts and sleeveless shirts to class. With SLIPPERS. or NICE STRAPPY SANDALS. Without SOCKS. Next, the Okinawan people seem to be missing the usual Japanese aversion to English. Probably cos Okinawa has so many foreignors visiting it, all Okinawans understand that it's kinda useful to learn English. So, I imagine that lucky / blessed ALT is going to have the time of his life teaching all those beach boys and girls English. And after class, I bet he could go laze by the beach. ALL THOSE BEAUTIFUL BEACHES.
I mentioned to my travel buddies that I had never, in my life, seen such amazing shades of blue in the sea, and they said Thailand's Fifi Islands were like that too. Maybe it's the sun, maybe the breeze, maybe the people, maybe all of that, but I promise you, I could have spent my life on Zamami Island, never mind that there are no newish apartments there, or that there is only one supermarket (I've seen bigger combinis, actually), or that somehow, finding restaurants that serve breakfast is like going on a treasure hunt - you go to many different places first, collecting information about restaurants that actually open for breakfast, before you manage to hit paydirt and sit down gratefully to a yummy meal.
On the 26th, we checked into our hostel, and then headed out to Furuzamami Beach. Rumour has it that it is the best beach on the Island, and that may be so. But Aka-jima's Nishibama Beach is better. To me. More on that later.
Furuzamami Beach is about 20 min from the port. The way there and back is pretty hilly, but the walk is refreshing, especially near sunset, after an entire afternoon of lazing at the beach. A taxi will take you there for 630 yen one way. Or if you say you might rent some of the snorkel or dive equipment from the shops, the ride is free. Our taxi driver didn't even ask us to promise. He just told us, maybe later, you rent from the shop, ok? This ride, free. Laidback? Totally. There are many dive / snorkel shops set up, but they are not pushy, so you don't have to worry about being pressured to take up a package or anything. We didn't. Not even once, all the three days we were there. What on earth did we do then, you ask? Nothing, really. Slept and read and swam and ate ice-cream, or kakigori (shaved ice with flavoured syrup). Anyway, there are toilets there, but to use the showers, you have to pay. If you wanna use a beach chair or a beach umbrella, you have to rent them from the store, but we managed to find some shade on the far edge of the beach, and just laid out beach mats and towels. Kate got quite a lot of sun that day, and was red for the rest of our trip. The sand isn't fine, and the washed-up corals kinda look like minature bones, but it's fairly comfortable once you've hunkered down to read or tan.
Ama Beach, which we went to the next day, is next to a camping site. There's space for tents amongst a grove of trees, but there're also chalets / beach loghouses kind of accommodation for rent. There's absolutely no way of getting natural shade on the beach itself, so please be ready for that. Beach umbrellas can be rented. Technically. But the lady apologised and told us no, because the wind was so strong, all her umbrellas kept flying off. So go to Ama if you want good diving and camping and bbqs. It's about a 15 min walk from the port, and on the way there, you'll pass the statue of the dog Marilyn (or Maririn, as the katakana reads). Cute story there, find out more on other websites. We managed to find some shade on the beach quite a fair distance off, near a little stream, but if you're queasy about lotsa hermit crabs, forget it. The sand at Ama is finer and blindingly white. In fact, that's what Zamami Island is about. No shades of grey, no pastels. Everything is brilliantly, vividly, clear, green, white, yellow, blue or red. You are struck by the colours but far from being overkill for your senses, you keep wanting more. It is manificently Zamami, hides nothing, proud of itself.
On the last full day we had in Okinawa, we took a 15 min, 300 yen speedboat ride to the neighbouring island of Aka. BEST BEACH. Did I mention that? Yes, but I'll say it again. BEST BEACH. Wider expanse of beach than either Furzamami or Ama, waters are a little stronger, but just as clear, just as manificently blue.
Easy to find shade. Possible to rent any equipment you want, less people than on Zamami. Getting there is a 710 yen ride on a taxi, but again, about 20 min walk from the port. There was even an Aka-nised version of Ice Kachang, but it was done so badly I wanted to show the guy a proper picture of Ice Kachang in all its multi-colored wonder.
I had so much time to day-dream, I thought of opening Ice-Kachang stores in Japan. It'll be a huge hit here, you know, especially in summer, and because the name is cute. My students told me so. Missing ice-kachang real bad, can't wait to eat it soon. I also thought of an opening sequence for CSI: Miami (washed up coral like minature bones, remember?), and various other business which are really good ideas, but require start-up capital of which I do not have. Sigh.
You never feel like a tourist on Zamami. Ok, maybe it's cos I'm kinda used to Japanese life now, but there's also none of that touting that you get in Thailand, less people around, less sleeze, more fun, more quiet, more, yet less of everything. Make sense? No? Then you have to go see for yourselves. You won't regret. Honma.
So if you're looking to go to Okinawa, please please please go to Zamami Island and Aka Island. Best beach holiday ever.
Who knows? Maybe in the years to come, I might suffer from complications arising from exposure to nuclear radiation in the past year, but, that's another story.
It's time to take stock. But that'll happen in the next entry. Before I start the tedious but necessary reflection, I need to tell you about Okinawa.
Some information first:
Dates: 23 - 29 July 2012
Places: Naha City, Peace Museum, Chuurami Aquarium, Nakijin Castle Ruins, Zamami and Aka Islands.
I spent about 3 days in Naha City. 24th - the aquarium and Nakijin Castle Ruins. 25 - Peace Museum.
Naha City reminds me of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore all rolled into one. The people look like Singaporeans or Malaysians. They are usually tanned and stocky, dressed down. Slippers and singlets and shorts. Small wonder why I felt at home there. Then there's the city itself. Looking a little worn-out, kinda like Thailand, but without the hard-selling and underlying sleeze factor. Kokusai Dori, or International Street, is a street where you can buy all your omiyage and have American / Western food. LOVE LOVE LOVE that Naha City has A&W. Rootbeer Float, YEAH!!
There are plenty of quirky little cafes - try Mission Cafe on Kokusai Dori for quiet atmosphere, interesting art prints on the wall, and yummy savoury and sweet breakfast waffles. Village Market, about 5 mintutes walk from Miebashi station, has a homely feel and sells bagels and muffins. The berry muffin I had tasted so good the day after I bought it. Cinnamon Cafe, behind the JAL Hotel, is recommended by Okinawan JETs, and is suitably and satisfyingly arty farty. Little variety of cakes, but the pasta looked yummy. People are allowed to smoke there, though, so beware. Also, all customers at the cafe HAVE to order something.
That's what I liked about Naha City. The cafes. And the laidback atmosphere. Stayed at SORA House, which has a very relaxed and long vacation feel. Simple, but the basic necessities are taken care of. Air-conditioning not too good though, which, in summer, can sometimes be a mood-killer. SORA is a 10 min walking distance from Kokusai Dori, and also another 10 min, in the opposite direction, to Tomari Wharf, which is where we took the ferry to Zamami Island. In summer, call ahead to book tickets, cos Zamami can be a popular destination.
Here's come my favourite part. Zamami Island is so beautiful, laidback and quirky, that I found myself seriously wishing I could be the ALT that got sent to Zamami Island (yes, this year is the first time an ALT is sent there). Can you imagine the kind of day I would have??!!
First of all, I bet I could wear nice shorts and sleeveless shirts to class. With SLIPPERS. or NICE STRAPPY SANDALS. Without SOCKS. Next, the Okinawan people seem to be missing the usual Japanese aversion to English. Probably cos Okinawa has so many foreignors visiting it, all Okinawans understand that it's kinda useful to learn English. So, I imagine that lucky / blessed ALT is going to have the time of his life teaching all those beach boys and girls English. And after class, I bet he could go laze by the beach. ALL THOSE BEAUTIFUL BEACHES.
I mentioned to my travel buddies that I had never, in my life, seen such amazing shades of blue in the sea, and they said Thailand's Fifi Islands were like that too. Maybe it's the sun, maybe the breeze, maybe the people, maybe all of that, but I promise you, I could have spent my life on Zamami Island, never mind that there are no newish apartments there, or that there is only one supermarket (I've seen bigger combinis, actually), or that somehow, finding restaurants that serve breakfast is like going on a treasure hunt - you go to many different places first, collecting information about restaurants that actually open for breakfast, before you manage to hit paydirt and sit down gratefully to a yummy meal.
On the 26th, we checked into our hostel, and then headed out to Furuzamami Beach. Rumour has it that it is the best beach on the Island, and that may be so. But Aka-jima's Nishibama Beach is better. To me. More on that later.
Ama Beach, which we went to the next day, is next to a camping site. There's space for tents amongst a grove of trees, but there're also chalets / beach loghouses kind of accommodation for rent. There's absolutely no way of getting natural shade on the beach itself, so please be ready for that. Beach umbrellas can be rented. Technically. But the lady apologised and told us no, because the wind was so strong, all her umbrellas kept flying off. So go to Ama if you want good diving and camping and bbqs. It's about a 15 min walk from the port, and on the way there, you'll pass the statue of the dog Marilyn (or Maririn, as the katakana reads). Cute story there, find out more on other websites. We managed to find some shade on the beach quite a fair distance off, near a little stream, but if you're queasy about lotsa hermit crabs, forget it. The sand at Ama is finer and blindingly white. In fact, that's what Zamami Island is about. No shades of grey, no pastels. Everything is brilliantly, vividly, clear, green, white, yellow, blue or red. You are struck by the colours but far from being overkill for your senses, you keep wanting more. It is manificently Zamami, hides nothing, proud of itself.
On the last full day we had in Okinawa, we took a 15 min, 300 yen speedboat ride to the neighbouring island of Aka. BEST BEACH. Did I mention that? Yes, but I'll say it again. BEST BEACH. Wider expanse of beach than either Furzamami or Ama, waters are a little stronger, but just as clear, just as manificently blue.
 |
| Nishibama Beach, Aka-jima |
I had so much time to day-dream, I thought of opening Ice-Kachang stores in Japan. It'll be a huge hit here, you know, especially in summer, and because the name is cute. My students told me so. Missing ice-kachang real bad, can't wait to eat it soon. I also thought of an opening sequence for CSI: Miami (washed up coral like minature bones, remember?), and various other business which are really good ideas, but require start-up capital of which I do not have. Sigh.
 |
| Rented a car to explore Zamami Island. Road overlooks the Asa hamlet. |
You never feel like a tourist on Zamami. Ok, maybe it's cos I'm kinda used to Japanese life now, but there's also none of that touting that you get in Thailand, less people around, less sleeze, more fun, more quiet, more, yet less of everything. Make sense? No? Then you have to go see for yourselves. You won't regret. Honma.
So if you're looking to go to Okinawa, please please please go to Zamami Island and Aka Island. Best beach holiday ever.
 |
| Top: Nishibama Beach From left: Cakes @ Cinnanmon Cafe, Ice-kachang, Goeya-champuru Bottom: Furuzamami Beach |
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