9/4/2024: Okinawa
I have officially arrived in Okinawa, Japan! This is one of the unreal benefits of my job. I get to travel around and do what I love and explore new places. Those of you that know me know that this is the kind of job that is made for me. After a 26 hour travel day starting on Monday, I arrived late last night. Today is my adjustment day before I go support a childcare program for the next week here. I have a total of 10 days on the island of Okinawa before my next city. Most people who travel here spend a few days, so when I mentioned I would be here for 10 days, many people were surprised. But so far, I’ve loved it.
I am staying in the Chatan neighborhood, which is considered the American Village of Okinawa. Nestled in between two US military bases, it is more westernized here than other places. However I have been surprised by the lack of people who speak English. Which yes, I know I am in Japan, why would they speak English? Well when I was in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia English was pretty wildly known and spoken. Here I am a bit lost with the language barrier but I am actually enjoying the unknown. I always learn a few basic words when I travel to other countries to be respectful, but I am lost here. I have Hello (Konichiwa), Thank you (Arigato), and Goodbye (Sayonara). But I am quickly realizing I need to learn a bit more basic Japanese these next 3 weeks. The rainy weather is starting to roll in, so this felt like as good a time as any to do my first journal entry for this trip.
Today has been a day of exploring and food. I woke up earlier than I’d like and walked around the bay to find some breakfast. The pancake house I was going to go to was closed (a lot of things seem to be closed on Wednesday?) so I ended up heading to a family mart to pick up some Onigiri. Family Marts and 7-Eleven’s in asia are actually top tier food. So getting some onigiri here was an easy choice. They also had these stuffed pancakes in their bakery section so I grabbed a few of those and some coffee and headed to the bay to find a place to sit. It is rude to walk and eat in Japan so I hustled to find a bench because I was STARVING by the time I finally got food. Breakfast with a view is a great way to start the day off. After a quick change in my hotel, (it is far too hot and humid here for sleeves) I decided to wander into the American Village. This is like a weird combination of Vegas, Anime, Rainforest Cafe, all wrapped into one fever dream of Okinawa’s interpretation of America. They have a Pokegenic street art murals where you can search through the chaotic buildings to find hidden pokemon.
This area is right by the water so the views are to die for. I wandered through some shops, took loads of photos, facetimed some family to prove I am still alive, and enjoyed a great lunch. I ended up finding a Cat Cafe where I got to sit and play with kittens for 30 minutes and give them loads of treats. I was the only one there at the time so I was absolutely swarmed by kittens. Overall, a great first day in Okinawa. I am going to chill at my hotel for a bit while the rain passes, and then go to an authentic restaurant for dinner that my Sponsor in Okinawa recommended. I’ll update more tomorrow. But wow, I love my life and I love my job.
