OKINAWA BABY

Okinawa!

DAY 1: We packed our bags, and jumped on a plane to Okinawa. Ami had taken a week off work to spend time with us, so she kindly came and picked us up from the airport. We didn’t waste any time, after dropping our stuff off at Ami’s house and met Gitaro…the cute 1 year old massive pit-bull cross bull terrier, we went straight to dinner that Ami had organised for us.

ADORABLE Gitaro! Ami's pup!

We met some of her work friends, and enjoyed a restaurant where it is all you eat and drink a
ll night long. There was a bar there, where you have to make your own drinks and pour your own beer! Unbelievable! We tasted some fresh Okinawan food, and drank some local Awamori (similar to Shochu).

Can't complain about self serve!

Yay! Ami chan!

Okinawans, Poms and Ozzies

The restaurant closed and basically kicked us out, and we bumped into one of Ami’s friends on the street so we decided to go to another bar (surprise surprise!). It was so good to catch up with Ami and find out what she has been up to, even in her totally drunken state. Ami decided to be the in house photographer for the night and took about 150 photos of us sitting at a table drinking and random plants. Also, the feeling of not having to work for a month was a great feeling. It has been quite a while since our last break, and we have been working really hard in Tokyo for the last 6 months or so. This break is well-earned we think!

A very wasted Ami!

DAY 2: The hangover we all incurred the next day was one of the worst in a while, doubled with humidity, and sight-seeing. We visited Shuri-jo (castle); it was built when Okinawa traded heavily with China, and so the design has a lot of Chinese influence. There is an enormous Una (forecourt) where they used to hold important ceremonies. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around the island, just checking out all the different areas of Okinawa. Ami showed us all the US army bases, and told us all about the opposition of all the forces there. There have been a lot of incidences involving US marines, including rapes, stabbings, etc. It will be interesting to see the outcome of the occupation here.

Shiuri Castle

Nice outfit

Massive. Where's Cam?

Funny Cam

Recently, a curfew has been put in place and all US military personnel must be back on the bases by 10pm due to an alleged rape on a 14 year old girl. This is having an affect on local businesses that rely on foreign money to survive, so there are heaps of businesses with the shutters permanently closed.

On a happier note Okinawa is a developed island of 1.3 million people occupying all the area. So a combined island feel with military presence makes Okinawa a lazy place for a holiday. But most of all… Ami chan makes it even better!!

A random drunk passed out standing against the rail

During our travels we picked up a traditional Okinawan drink made from the local Shikuwasha fruit.

We finished off the day with an easy dinner at the izakaya next to the big tree one. We munched on a yummy cheap feed and called it an early night due to a heavy hangover and an early morning rise to come.

DAY3 started off with a nice early 7.30am start. We were to head to Aka Island to see adorable Gitaro’s brother. This island sounded very interesting, Ami’s friend that was living there was apparently living on the beach in a shanty type house?!? Sophi was freakin’ out a little! We were to be camping too, with maybe no showers…and who knows what else! So we dressed Gitaro up in his sexy outfit that Dave S sent from Sydney. We set of in a cab to the ferry wharf. When we arrived we found out firstly the ferry wasn’t operating and realised Ami had left the tent at home!

After struggling to find a taxi driver that wasn’t shit scared of Gitaro, Ami decided to go home by herself to get the car. So Cam and I waited with the beloved pup. To our horror Gitaro was trying to sit on the ground outside the entrance and we then realised he needed the toilet!! Cam was trying to drag him somewhere else and whilst doing so Gitaro started to let it all out!!! Boy did he let it out!!

PHOTO

Due to Cams stupid weak stomach, Sophi (of all people) faced the horror and attempted to clean up the mess. Armed with only 2 small plastic bags and newspaper she got from a store from a lady that kept only offering smaller and smaller bags. After several dry wrenches and lots of gagging, a man came from heaven from the hotel next door and started to help Sophi clean.

Ami finally arrived and we dropped Gitaro off and headed to the Eastern island Aka We arrived at a tobacco field and opposite were the entrance to a secluded beach. This was gorgeous even though the day was overcast.

Pasties

Secluded beach entry sign, comforting

Rabbit hole pathway to the beach

Smokers heaven - tabacco field

Beach graffiti. Such a rarity in Japan

We lazed there for few hours then headed to Chatan (the paradise beach and American area) where we stayed for another 5 hours. We were so happy once the day cleared up and it was all blue skies in the island paradise! Lots of beer, swimming and sunbathing later, the sun went down and glowed an amazing red.

Sunset Beach

Bubba and Ami

Sexy boy

Nice beach wear


Statement beach wear. Why is everyone clothed?

Cam harassing schools girls


Japan Sea

Where the name comes from - Sunset Beach

We headed for a cheap dinner and munched on some tacos and burgers. The day had been gorgeous and we were sooooo happy to be out of Tokyo and back in the sun and beach!! However upon our return home our sunburn started to set in!

Beach babies

I'm sorry, are we in Okinawa or America?

Sweet sweet holiday

With the preconceived idea that Japans sun is “weaker” we were some what wrong with bodies pulsating hot heat. Particularly bubba Cam! As to be expected…. But definitely not this red!!! Cams so silly!

Ouch!

We headed home and on the way we met Ami’s boyfriend Mike; an awesome guy who is half American/Okinawan. He lived in a pretty pimp pad for Japanese standards, as he’s in the U.S Air force, therefore being our ticket into Okuma in a couple of days. Okuma at this point was explained to us as an American military base in which we were going to camp on! Little did we know what to expect or what the true Okuma was!!

DAY4 as predicted was crappy weather so we took the morning easy and eventually made it out of the house to head to Kurukuma for lunch. It was a famed place that Ami has taken James, Dave and Kumi to. After driving for 3 hours along the west to south coast, we started to realise that maybe we were lost! After locating where we were on the map we realised we were heading up the east cost! So we had almost done a full circle!

We eventually made it, and the drive was good, it didn’t feel that long and because the weather wasn’t that great we happily saw the countryside. Upon arriving at the restaurant, the view looked amazing as it stretched across the East China Sea. It looked even better on a bright clear day in the brochure! Sadly we couldn’t experience this sunshine today!

The 3 hour drive was well worth the effort. We launched ourselves into some of the most delicious Asian food tasted. We had a massive Indian curry plate, a yummy Thai soup for 3 and a pilaf. The flavours were delicious, the sizes were huge…. Definitely a tasty meal, which filled us for lunch and dinner.

On the way home we decided to stop into a hairdresser and get our hair done. Sophi wanted to get her sexy roots done and Cam was in dire need of a hairy! So we found a salon for Sophi and Cam a barber. Sophi and Ami chan both got extensions, Ami got red and Sophi a pink blonde, with one red streak for Ami!! Sweet Ami treated Sophi to the hairdresser as her birthday present (THANKS SO MUCH AMI CHAN!!!!) When Cam had finished his hair turned out to be similar to that of an army cut! Very funny and cute!

The ‘on the way home’ trip ended up with us at an international bar near by that went by the name of ‘Rehab’. A friend of Ami’s is the owner, so obviously it ended up with lots of drinking!! Hours later lots of beer, cocktails and CC had been drunk. Cam mixed it up a bit by trying out the ‘chili beer’ that was available. When they say chili they mean red hot chili! The beer was bottled with a chili inside it that floated to the top, so every sip taken meant chili lips! Interesting!

Red Hot Chilli Beer

The owner of the bar Paul (a Canadian champ that lived in oz for 4 years) and his wife Tomoko invited us to the opening of another bar of their friends. Paul had been helping construct the interior of the new bar from old driftwood. Paul had set up his own bar himself. It was great to finally be in a normal open bar with huge windows, good interior and a munt out couch! Some gorgeous artworks too. Paul’s theory was great: build a bar that you’d want to go to if you were in another country! The theory works.

We headed to the bar opening and what a great little place!! Everything was made of wood and they had man made tree coming out from behind the bar. There was the top level built of wood also where we sat in our own private area.

The top level

? A random bunny, why not ?
Very Japanese

Lots of white Russians, tequila and everything else was drunk! Was a good night had by all, and we headed home to get ready for the next few days ahead at Okuma!!

DAY 5: Hello Okuma Haven!!

We set off to Okuma! On the way Sophi wanted to make some glassware. Some of her Junior High School students had shown her in class the ones they made in Okinawa. So we dropped by and there is so much glassware in Okinawa! Another tradition, to go with all the foods, like pigs feet, face and ears, seaweed grapes, purple potato, shikuwasha , Awamori, soba, Orion (local Okinawan beer), squid ink and goya

Ami decided to make a vase and Sophi a glass cup. As expected there were limited things that we could do, but they turned out gorgeous and all was happy! When making the glass it gets to 4000 degrees, so some sexy safety wear was needed, although when making it, it still felt like your arm was going to burn off! Thank god for Ami being able to translate all the important processes, otherwise the language barrier would’ve proved very difficult with the glassware staff!

With little knowledge of the full historical background of Okinawa and it’s relations with America, to arrive at the most Northern point of Okinawa mainland and enter the gates of American soil. We then realised the true meaning of Okuma.

Okuma

This was no crazy U.S base where we were expecting soldiers doing push ups and running around chanting their ego songs. This was crystal clear blue water with beaches, families and basically a resort! In essence Okuma is the recreational park only for the U.S military to use with their friends and family. This is America boys and girls, we’re talking American food, dollars and people only!

So luckily for Cam his army haircut fitted right in!! We waited for Mike who came and escorted us to the campsite.

We got introduced to the 3 Air Force boys; Mike, Chris and Fred, and Fred’s girlfriend Megumi (aka Azu), had all began to get the tents sorted out. We were looking forward to the BBQ that was organised. As Australians, we were expecting steaks, sausages, etc, but we discovered that because we were in America, we would be having USA burgers. So we scoffed down a few and started to get into the beers.

As the boys played a bit of gridiron, the girls got bored so started having shots of tequila (none of Sophi’s influence of course). After several attempts and a lot of gasoline, we finally got the fire going as the afternoon started turning into quite a chilly night. We felt quite spoilt actually, as everything was provided for us; food, alcohol, snacks, tents, campsite. As the night went on, some more of Ami’s friends came and also Mike’s sister and her boyfriend, who are both also in the Air Force. We were enjoying a good old chat around the campfire, when the drinking games started. A very simple game, you take it in turns to guess a number, and everyone either sticks a thumb up or doesn’t. If you guess the right number, you’re out. Winner has to drink. Easy.

This game wasn’t making enough inroads for Sophi’s liking so she decided to just start sculling tequila/Bacardi/absinth/aomori and challenging Chris to a drinking contest (Chris is about 2.5 times the size of Soph and also wasn’t drunk). This ended very quickly and the next thing Sophi remembers is waking up in the car in the morning.

DAY 6:

After waking up in the car we were treated to an American style buffet breakfast, the perfect cure to our enormous hangovers, and fuel needed for the trek to Hiji Falls. Hiji Falls is a 20ft waterfall. We had been told that the trek was pretty intense and difficult, but we discovered that it was nothing really, even in the state we were in. It took us about 45 minutes to walk the recommended 25 minute path. It was such a nice feeling to be out in nature breathing fresh air and being out of Tokyo and the constant busyness we encounter every day. We reached the falls but unfortunately the water was absolutely freezing. The waterfall itself and the surrounding bush were extremely beautiful, but it was a little disappointing that the water was so cold.

We went back to camp and went for lunch at the restaurant. We were lucky to be treated to the traditional Okinawan dance: Eisa. We had USA burgers (again), which really hit the spot, and we made way for the beach. Chris had organised a jet ski for us, and this being the first time for both of us, we were both a little nervous. Cam jumped on first with Chris and showed immediate skill, flying off the back when Chris made the first turn. But when Cam jumped behind the wheel, he gave Chris the exact same treatment. Sophi went next, and showed some real spirit, but called it quits after about 5 mins. After a swim and a well needed rest on the beach, we left Ami behind to sleep and Mike and us went for a wander. We tried to hire some bikes, but we had to be wearing closed shoes. We found the putt putt course, but then realise that the clubs needed to be hired from the same place as the bikes, which was too far to walk back to. So, we thought, what better way to end the afternoon, than with a few White Russians and a game of checkers, while watching the sunset over the horizon.

From here, there was no turning back. Being Saturday night, there was a DJ organised for the night club (just a bar really), so after a few too many and way too much food, we headed inside for the party.

The usual drunkenness started including shots of Southern Comfort and lime (???? Obviously an American thing!). Lots of U.S marines and air force men filled the bar and the dance floor started jumping. Everyone was up there at one point or another. The girls were loving all the spunky boys who continually mixed up the difference between army and marines. Cam had been stuck with a drunken marine guy who kept buying Cam drinks and wouldn’t leave him alone! The marine was so drunk he kept buying a round of drinks and then would leave them at the bar! Funnily enough they had met in the toilet earlier.

Due to the fact we were in America we got to have the test tube shots which a marine had bought for us. He had previously tried to pick up Sophi but realised Cam was her boyfriend. Cam said it was fine he could dance with Sophi but he felt so bad he bought a round of shots. Funny enough though the size difference between the two!

Some arm wrestles later the place closed and we eventually got kicked out. We headed back to camp escorted by some military police guy and continued to drink. More arm wrestle challenges later ended up with push up challenges. The rest of th e night is a bit of a blur, but all had a good time!

DAY 7 Sunday. The fact that camping generally sucks, at Okuma it was good as you had all the facilities handy. The one thing you can’t escape is the heat in the early morning. So Cam and Sophi scrambled out of the tent early and copped-a-squat under some shade. The 3^rd day running hangover proved to be at its worst and we headed for the buffet breaky again. This time even less was eaten and we packed up our stuff ready to hit the road. Sophi particularly felt shit and the road trip to the Churaumi Aquarium was painful!

As always though when up and running the hangover eases and all is good. The aquarium proved to be this cure and the wonders of the aquarium were documented in over 200 photos!! Obviously most were culled!

WTF??!!?

The main tank, which uses 60cm thick glass (the thickest in the world) is massive, and holds 3 whale sharks, countless sting rays and manta rays, and a whole bunch of sharks and fish. The rest of the aquarium displays underwater creatures from the surface of the ocean down to the deep dark ocean. There is also an outdoor area, with a turtle pool, dolphin pool, and a manatee pool. We were too tired and too hungry to check these out though so we just had some lunch and started back to Ami’s place to get as much sleep as possible.

Best attraction: tiny eels grounded in the sand - just bop up and down their whole lives

So cute, Cam got one of his own

It had been a long few days, but it had been a really fun few days too. We would like to give a huge thanks to Mike for organising the trip, and also to Mike, Chris, and Fred for their hospitality and generosity in showing us a great time while on Okuma, and if you guys are reading this, keep in touch and maybe we will see you again later in the year or in Australia.

When we arrived home, we discovered that Gitaro didn't approve of being left at home, even though Ami's uncle was there looking after him. He must have gotten hungry and chewed up our speakers, Cam's iPod headphone, and Sophi's little soft toy.

The evidence of a naughty puppy!!

Teeth mark holes = evidence

Sophi's shisa has been 'Gitaro-ed'

On the adorable note of Gitaro, lets take a moment to see just how cute he is!

The Protector: Always by Ami's side

The Cute as a Button Look

So much of the fuzzball!

DAY 7:

One week had passed already in Okinawa, the time flew by so quickly. Ami had to go back to work, so she kindly lent us her car so we could tick some more things off the list. We planned to go to the Memorial Peace Park, and then go and visit the American area of town to find some bargains. First, we drove up to the main road, Kokusai St. and had a traditional Oinawan lunch of pigs trotter (ordered accidentally) and soba noodles. We browsed the shops and bought some souvenirs. When we got back to the car, we found we had a parking ticket; we didn’t realise that you can’t park anywhere on the streets in Okinawa. This made things a bit complicated, after checking the internet to see whether we were supposed to be driving or not, the site said, that we needed an international license. This was worsened by the fact that Ami had lost (mis-placed) her license about a year ago, so she wasn’t even supposed to be driving her car. Once again, sorry for the fuck-up!

So, we managed to get ourselves completely lost, and drove around in circles trying to find our way to the Memorial Peace Park. Some of the roads in Okinawa have signs, but on the map they don’t. We drove for so long, that Sophi ended up falling asleep while Cam finally managed to get there.

The Memorial Peace Park in Okinawa is an incredible experience. It tells the story of the Battle of Okinawa, during the Pacific war. The Cornerstone of Peace displays the names of all those who dies in the battle, including Okinawan civilians, American and English soldiers. The Memorial peace Park Museum shows in great detail the amount that the Okinawan people suffered during the 3 month bombardment by the Americans, and also how they suffered at the hands of the Japanese army too. Some Okinawans were forced to kill themselves and members of their own families. There are testimonies written by survivors from the battle and they are difficult to read, as they show, first hand the trauma endured by some of the people there. We spent a couple of hours in the museum, by the time we walked outside it was almost 5pm.

We were supposed to meet Ami at 6.15 at Koksusai St for dinner, but we got caught in a bit of traffic so we were about half an hour late. The traffic in Okinawa is unbelievable, such a small island, an about 1.3 million people, not much public transport system, this all leads to some insane traffic congestion. We heard from Ami, that sometimes it can take 3 or 4 hours to make a 30 minute drive along main road 58.

We stuffed ourselves stupid on Chinese food. A 3 hour all-you-can-eat and drink bonanza for $25. This Chinese was heaps better than any we have tasted in Tokyo by a long way. Being our last night in Okinawa, we wanted to stay out for a while, but the exhaustion of the last week was too much. We stopped at a Habu-chu (Awamori with a snake in it) shop and tasted a couple. It tastes a lot different to standard Awamori, with a slight cinnamon flavour to it. Not very pleasant though, and when we got home Sophi threw up. We had one day left so we all went straight to bed to get some sleep.

DAY 8:

Mike had organised a lunch for us on one of the US camps on the island, Camp Foster. We were looking forward to another US sized meal and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. We went to The Macaroni Grill, where we ate fresh Italian bread, crab stuffed mushrooms, and huge servings of pasta, cannelloni, etc. We all ate so much, it was hard to move afterwards.

We had enough time left for one more activity, so we drove down south to the limestone caves (gama in Okinawan). These caves are the biggest in Japan, and seemed huge. Part of the same park, there is a re-created traditional Okinawan village where you can buy old style art and craft and watch people making them in the traditional fashion. This was really interesting, especially for Ami, as she had never been there before. We bought some more souvenirs, and had a photo taken with a huge yellow python, tasted some more Habu-chu.

A Habu-shu distillary with a tank full of habu. Yum

The coconut shaped like a bum was decorated in a big display

Sadly, our time in Okinawa had come to an end. Ami had been such a fantastic host to us, and we are so happy she was able to take some time off work to spend time with us. We all really got to know each other a lot better in the week we were there. We want to say a big THANKYOU to Ami, and we can’t wait till August to climb Mount Fuji with you on the mainland!

We said our sad goodbye’s and jumped on the plane for Hiroshima. Sayonara Ami chan and Okiniawa.... ja ne!