Solo travels: Okinawa Part 1

No post this month at all? Fear not, the next few.. couple.. of posts shall be dedicated to this month entirely. So many things have happened, so little energy to put them into words. Since there is still over a week of vacation, I'll endeavour to get them down on this blog because I realise, I actually do like writing about what I do and what happens around me, and read them back again.

So I'm doing this for whomever else reads this blog and for myself. Bad memory, you see. And only 23... (Hey, that rhymes!)

These will probably come in mutliple parts, with focus on the places visited and later if I ever get around to it, some sort of self-reflection and observations. *cracks knuckles* For now, focusing on the beginnings of the trip and Okinawa.

I have a draft post I've entitled "March plans and expectations" which I never finished. But the gist of it were:

Plans: Travel, eat all the new food, soak up some sun, talk to people, meet friends.
Expectations:

• To magically muster the courage to speak to everyone in Japanese and improve 2-fold, 
• for the weather to be always nice and sunny, but still comfortable
• to be able to see everything I planned to see and more,
• to feel at home
• to be bitten by the travel bug

All in all, there is little deviation from the plans and the expectations. I did in fact travel, because that was the whole point, ate new food, yep, check. Soaked up some sun properly for one day and other days got burnt, a tentative check. Talked to people, yep. Met friends, yep and also debatable (more on that later).

As for speaking to everyone in Japanese... I tried. At least my first choice of language was Japanese and then English when needed. In terms of improvement? Mmm maybe not so much. The weather.. hasn't been that cooperative but not too bad either. Itineraries are guidelines and were never finished or followed as planned, but it was also nice to just stroll around and not be chasing places. And yes, the travel bug has bit.

Okinawa + first day (04/03/15)
Ah, Okinawa. The first destination. Coming from Hokkaido all the way to the southern islands of Japan had such a novelty to it. And it really did not disappoint. Apart from the rain that welcomed me and stayed for most of the time.

My flight to Naha was through Kansai Airport and because I chose the cheapest albeit most inconvenient flights ever, I travelled at night from Shin-Chitose, arrived in Kansai after midnight, stayed there for about 6 hours, and flew to Naha in the morning. Airports used to scare me, and the idea of navigating one by the myself used to terrify me, but now, I feel pretty confident about airports. They're pretty fool-proof really.

From Shin-Chitose, I expected there would be delays, because all my friends' flights have always been delayed from Hokkaido. So I sat there, just waiting with a bunch of other people. What I did not expect was their reason for our plane's particular delay: There are reindeers (they later said shika so maybe just normal deers) in the runway. Huh. Too amusing for me to really be angry, and it was still early and I didn't have another plane to catch for another couple hours or so. Others were not as happy though. Some were curious enough to get up and look through the windows onto the runway to see if there are deers. From their expressions, I don't think anyone saw any.

Deer problems aside, we managed to get to Kansai Airport well, if an hour late. For me, it just meant spending one hour less in one airport and one more in another. Surprisingly Kansai is very long-transit friendly. They have plenty of benches around the airport, most of which were handle-free so you can lie down quite comfortably. As it was after midnight, and many people are waiting for their flights, presumably in the morning, most of these seats were occupied already. Some were even placed together to form makeshift beds! I read online that the airport provides blankets so I think many of them ended up using that service. Lots of seats pressed together, shoes by the side and sleeping passengers.

It took me a long while to find somewhere to rest and even considered the airport lounge, but I thought "Do I really wanna spend my money before I even start my holiday? In an airport?" In the end, I found a free spot and stayed there. Conviently a Lawson and Family Mart on either end of the arrivals lounge, and toilets and shops in between. If I wasn't so tired and carrying two bags I would have explored. The extent of my walking was to the combini and toilets and the sukiya in the food court. Beef bowl, finally eaten! Gyuudon achievement unlocked.

Accommodation
I stayed in a little hotel called 'Sora House' which was nice little hostel in between the airport and last stop on the Naha monorail, called Yui Rail. It was great, it was about a minute away from the monorail stop, and a few minutes walk away from the city proper. Naha is small enough that you can walk anywhere, but if like me, you're lazy when there's rain and want to experience public transport, get the 1 or 2 day ticket for 700en or 1200en. It becomes useful at some point as going to either end of the rail line, the airport or Shuri for the Shuri castle, will make the pass worth its cost. You also get a discount on the Shuri Castle entrance if you show this day pass. About 100en discount, if I remember correctly.

Whenever  I got lost, I'd just follow the monoral line because it runs almost parallel to where the accommodation is.

There was also this sign. I was pretty sure I remember this from the Genki textbooks but maybe it's just a common name...

I stayed in a mixed dorm, but thankfully I was put in a 5-bunk room with 4 other ladies. Kitchen, bathroom and everything else were shared. Every floor has a small balcony I believe, and a rooftop for hanging clothes.

Didn't have any other photos, but here's my view from my bottom bunk.

The hostel was pretty basic but it had everything you need. The kitchen provides coffee and tea and simple seasonings and things needed for cooking, and a fridge you can store your food in. The staff are helpful and you can ask them for reservations for tour guides, etc. They'd even drink with you after hours, as evident from one night when I actually stayed in the lounge. Basically, all you need are your own stuff and nothing else. Maybe room slippers but I survived without one. (And it's super affordable, I spent 4 nights there for under 5000en in total.)


First Day
Arrived in Naha airport in the afternoon and still had a few hours to spare before I could check in (Japanese hotels/hostels seem to have this 3/4pm check in time, why so late, Japan). I was starving but also wanted to see something right away so I decided to go to Kenchomae station to walk to Naminoue Shrine and Gokoku-ji. Thankfully, Kenchomae is right next to a department store, so I grabbed food there, let the rain pass and walked to my destination.

There was a huge garden on the way and I passed another shrine? This was Shiseibyo, according to my records...

Entrance to Naminoue Shrine

Naminoue Shrine

Naminoue Beach

Actually, did I ever see Gokoku-ji? I don't think I did... Anyway, the shrine is atop a cliff overlooking the beach and it's such a strange concept. It was almost empty because of the rain and also because there was a no-swimming sign, but I still went to the beach and tried to get as close to the water as I can.

It was so refreshing to walk outside and not see a speck of snow or ice. It wasn't as warm as I expected though, I never did go outside in nothing less than 2 layers of clothes and trousers. Everyone I met has the same thoughts and many of those who were a few days ahead of me in Naha said that it's been raining since they arrived. Perfect. The rain was annoying but a welcome difference.

I got a bit lost trying to find my way back to the station, but thankfully I still managed despite being wet and annoyed. I had my backpack and everything at this point so I was tired, wet, and just wanted to check in and possibly shower.

After I've been showed into my room and explained to of the house rules, I said some hellos to my roommates, unpacked a bit, showered, and napped. I was just going to spend the first night in and just crash, but then hunger struck and the thought of "you did not come here just to sleep more, go out and see places". But I wasn't going to try very hard and just went to the city to see Kokusai Dori and grab dinner.

First up in the the food list: Okinawan Soba. It's not even soba, but I'd eat this again for the pork.

Blue Seal ice cream. They're everywhere. I tried the famous Okinawan flavour: beni imo (purple yam?) and um.. pistachio.

After dinner and dessert, I actually had some energy to do something else so decided to check out the castle at night. (I think I also bought the day pass on this day and wanted to use it as much as I can..) I knew they were going to be closed, but my trusty little guide, it said that there should be illuminations and some part of the castle grounds will be open. And so I went!

It was both slightly scary and beautiful. From the station it was still a few minutes walk to the castle and with limited lighting, my guess as to where the castle is was as good as anyone's. The lights were limited but you can still work out where to go and you do see some parts of the castle. Also saw lots of cats here.

The castle has a few events, some of which I wanted to see but didn't. There's the opening of the gates at around half 8 in the morning, which I never saw, and a free Ryukyuan dance show on certain days.
Obviously couldn't go in on this particular day so I knew I had to come back in the morning some other day.

***
And on that note, that ends this post. I'll cover the next few days I spent in Okinawa next, and a few posts after the rest of my trip to Cebu and my parents' visit. There's a lot to process so I'm slowly going to sort them out.

Until next time!