Okinawa - Day 1

Today I got up at 6 to catch the flight at 0840 at Osaka Itami airport. As it's a domestic flight there's no passport control, no one even asked for any form of ID. I just used my Asiamiles membership card at check-in (it was a redemption flight).

The flight was a little over 2 hours long. Japan Airlines isn't really as good as what people generally expect from a Japanese company. Maybe 'cause it's almost broke. Throughout the flight all the passengers had were drinks. Not even peanuts or pretzels. Even British Airways manages to give out sandwiches, chocolate bars and sometimes paninis (on a 30-minute Heathrow-Manchester flight). I remember flying from Heathrow to Charles de Gaulle once on Air France and had a pretty good baguette.

It was just past 11 when I arrived in Naha, but I was starving already. The hostel I booked is in the city centre, about 15 minutes from the airport by monorail. I couldn't wait so I just found a nearby shokudo-style restaurnat (with a meal ticket system) and had my first bowl of Okinawa soba. At 450 yen, it was quite divine. The soup wasn't too salty, and the pork belly almost instantly melted in my mouth. Yum.

I booked a dormitory bed at 月光荘 (Gekkousou) for 3 nights (1,500 yen per night). It's not the cheapest I've seen (some are 1,000 yen per bed per night), but I found this in a Japanese guidebook. The house is quite old, but has a great atmosphere. The floor, the pillars and the beds are all made of beautiful dark wood, giving it a primitive (in a nice way) and country feel. The shared toilets and shower were very clean too, and the staff are very friendly. It's only a couple of minutes' walk from a monorail station, and a short walk from 国際通り, a thriving high street and the main shopping/dining area of Naha. Between the monorail station and the hostel is a branch of Junkudo bookshop. I was impressed by the branch in Niigata, and this one is Naha is just as good. Three storeys, stocking plenty of books in both Japanese and English. Tonight after dinner I spent over an hour, just reading various magazines and books. There's also a bargain shelf, selling outdated Lonely Planet guides at 500 each. I was tempted but didn't buy any 'cause I don't know where I'll travel to next (or when).

After checking-in, I went to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Shuri-jo (首里城). It's at the end of the monorail line. I bought a one-day ticket at the airport, which cost 600 yen. It's quite worth the money if you travel at least 3 times on the monorail in a day. And it offers a 20% off discount at Shuri-jo.

Shuri-jo was the palace of the Ryukyu kingdom until its end in the 19th century (during the Meiji Restoration it became part of Japan). It was also the venue of the 2000 G8 summit. There was a small exhibition on the banquet dinner the G8 leaders had at Shuri-jo. All seemed to be expensive delicacies - is that what world leaders do? Spend their time frivolously on expensive wine and food instead of solving global issues?

It was only 1500 when I finished touring Shuri-jo. Then quite spontaneously I hopped onto a bus and went to Futenma. It's an hour away from Naha - and home to one of the several US military bases on the island. The town was really quiet and most of the shops were closed. You can see some American influences scattered around town, e.g. a taco shop. One shop that was particularly interesting was an antique shop, which even had jukeboxes for sale!

Surprisingly it was rather difficult to see any Americans, perhaps they're limited to certain hours or places, I don't know. In the end I only saw a couple of (presumably - they're were in casual clothes) US servicemen jogging on the pavement outside Camp Zukeran (also known as Camp Foster).

It was dinner time when I got back to Naha. I found an izakaya on Heiwa-dori and ordered one of the more well-known dishes of the Okinawan cuisine - goya-champuru. I've made a veggie version of it before, but I guess the pork is quite essential to the dish (to my surprise, it's SPAM luncheon meat that is generally used in this dish, perhaps another US influence here?), and the original was indeed quite delicious.

I also bought something called 海ぶどう from a shop on Heiwa-dori. The name literally means "sea grapes", due to its appearance. But it's more like a cousin to seaweed. The shape and texture is quite funky (in a good way). There's not much taste but I like it anyway. I've had it once before at a Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong. This plant seems to be a local Okinawan specialty.

The hostel is very lively at night. One of the female staff plays the guitar and sings Okinawan music. It seems to be a popular place for young backpackers. They gather at night in the common area and drink and sing together. I guess "lively" could be euphemism for "noisy"! My room (has four bunk beds but right now it's just me and another lady in her 40s) is right next to the common area so it's quite a racket out there!