Okinawa Trip
In October 2006, we took an eight-day trip to Okinawa. It was our first time to explore the Ryukyu (Liu-ch’iu) islands that run from immediately northeast of Taiwan to the southern Japanese “mainland.” It was also our first time in Japan, a country foreign to both of us. We could not speak or understand Japanese language, so we relied mostly on body language, pantomime and English. Japanese writing uses some Chinese characters, which we could read for meaning, along with many other characters that were created in Japan which we couldn’t understand. Generally we found that “konichiwa” (greetings) and “arigato” (gratitude) were all we needed to know, though it would have been nice to have a simple phrase book with us.
One of our missions was to get a Taiwan visa for Chris. Since we have already been to Hong Kong a few times for that purpose, we decided to go somewhere else, perhaps Vietnam, The Philippines, Malaysia, Bali, or to Okinawa. One reason we chose Okinawa was because it has an international airport in the capital city Naha, and the flight from Taipei takes around 70 minutes. In fact, we entertained the idea of also traveling to Shanghai to see a friend’s performance, but finally didn’t because it was too expensive for our budget. Yet one can nowadays get from Taipei to Shanghai without landing in Hong Kong. The roundtrip airfare from Taipei to Naha was around $200 USD, cheaper than any other flight out of Taipei except to Hong Kong, and we both were allowed 90 days on a free landing visa, three times longer than a U.S. landing visa in Taiwan. We found a guest house on the internet to stay the first night for around $40 USD, conveniently located in walking distance from the Naha port but a little more distant (20 minutes walking) from the main nightlife district on International Street.
Another reason we chose Okinawa is because over a decade ago, Chris’ mentor, an anthropology professor in Los Angeles, had invited Chris to join her on a fieldwork project in Miyakojima, a small Ryukyu island between Okinawa and Taiwan. Chris had received a grant to support his part in the research, but then his mentor could not make the trip, so she encouraged Chris to go to Taiwan instead, which began his career as a visual anthropologist. For Chris, to finally set foot on Miyakojima, even if for only one or two days, would realize an earlier dream of his mentor.
We didn’t bring any Japanese Yen with us, instead trusting that the international airport in Naha would have an ATM from which we could get Yen. There was indeed a working ATM at the post office in the domestic terminal, which was much larger and more developed than the international terminal owing to the majority of Japanese tourists from Tokyo and elsewhere in northern Japan. Throughout the city, only post office ATMs worked for cash withdrawals from foreign bank accounts, and those machines were only open from 9am to 5pm daily. Some places, such as restaurants and car rental places take credit cards, but most transactions including paying for guest houses require cash. We recommend bringing enough Yen for the first two or three days.
Naha
City
On our first three nights in Okinawa, we stayed in Naha at the South Wind Guest House, a quaint four storey building with Mediterranean interior design that offers single cots or a private room that could sleep up to four people. Showers and bathrooms are shared. The first floor has a sitting area with a television and computer with internet access. There we met a fellow traveler who had come from Tokyo and already traveled around Okinawa and some neighboring islands. When we mentioned we would like to go to Miyakojima, he told us the boat ride takes eighteen hours and there is only one flight per week, always subject to cancellation. Moreover, the airfare is more expensive than the Taipei-Naha flight. Instead, he recommended we visit nearby Tokashiki Island from where he had just returned. Tokashiki is only one and a half hours’ boat ride from Naha port, and has a campground at the southwestern village of Aharen. He showed us a brochure of Tokashiki and some of his digital photos of the campground and beaches, and we were immediately convinced to go there. He also told us that the Churaumi Aquarium in northwestern Okinawa is not to be missed, but the best way to get there is by renting a car, since we are two people, and the bus fare is rather expensive. We put that on our agenda, and planned to catch the morning boat to Tokashiki Island after spending another day in Naha.
During the day, we explored the city of Naha on foot, and took a stroll down International Street. There were so many students wearing their school uniforms wandering around like tourists, as well as some foreigners, though most were from “mainland” Japan. The girls wear miniskirts, always above the knee and sometimes no longer than the upper thigh, even in October. Boys, however, all wear long dark-colored trousers and long sleeved shirts. We wondered how such a contrast in dress became mandated.
Looking at the Naha map, we identified a public swimming beach and decided to check it out. Although the sand and water were clean and warm, to our dismay two huge ugly highway bridges were built directly in front of the beach across the bay. We stayed for sunset and walked back to the South Wind across a huge seemingly unnecessary bridge that went across Naha port.
Tokashiki
Island
The daily boat from Naha Port to Tokashiki Island leaves at 10:00am and arrives at 11:30am. From Tokashiki Port, we took a bus to Aharen Village, a twenty minute ride. The driver stopped the car at the top of a mountain where we all got out and took photos. In Aharen Village, we checked into the campground and rented a tent and two blankets. The campground host helped us set up the tent. Our campsite was only a stone’s throw away from the white sand beach. We rented snorkeling gear and explored the coral reefs in the bay, seeing all kinds of colorful fish and coral. At night we sat by a campfire we built with collected wood. The coral reefs around Aharen Bay are so large and diverse that in two days we still could not see them all. The rock forms breathtaking caves and mysterious holes. The rocks to the north of the beach function like a sand production factory. Coral bones are washed into them, and then made into white sand. The local people and the few tourists are all very nice and not pushy at all, never trying to sell anything, but all is available, including water-play, snorkeling, and scuba-diving.
Ocean
Expo Park
When we returned to Naha, instead of staying at a guesthouse, we rented a small car and immediately drove north to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium North of Nago. Our rental car was called Carol, and came equipped with a video GPS system with television. We programmed the address of the aquarium, and Carol led us to the front gate. We parked near the aquarium and stayed in Carol overnight. In the morning we ate breakfast at Family Mart, a yummy seaweed rice wrap with sausage and cheese. The aquarium in the Ocean Expo Park is very well designed with different habitats for all the sea life, and they showed a film about the Black Current that was informative and well done. Also in the park are several museums and gardens. We decided to stay another day to see the Oceanic Culture Museum and the Traditional Okinawa Village. That night Carol led us to a lovely seashore where we camped. We bought a bottle of local sake, collected wood and had a fire, listening to the splashing waves.
Traditional
Village
The next day at the Okinawa Traditional Village, we learned that women in Okinawa traditionally attained very high social prestige and spiritual power. Only women became village priests, each village having several such women who are responsible for conducting the rituals of healing, mourning, and celebration for all the villagers. Male and female assistants helped these women carry out the rituals. The most successful male in the village, as regarded by the villagers, is appointed the “lord” and resides with his family at either a central or peripheral position in the village within a large “manor,” usually near the sacred water well and the house of one of the female village priests who keep the sacred fire. Traditionally, Okinawans had a coastal fishing, hunting, and rice horticulture subsistence economy. Sugar processing from sugarcane was evidently important as well, as there were several traditional production facilities in the village.
Last Day in Naha
Back in Naha, we stayed at another guest house near International Street. On our last night in Naha, we enjoyed our dinner while a local band performed Okinawan folk songs with traditional instruments. The energy of the songs, with the audience participating, reminded us of Taiwan’s east coast culture, nothing at all like Japanese aesthetics but more Austronesian. Influenced by what we learned about the Black Current at the aquarium the previous day, Chris hypothesized that there is a “Black Current Cultural Area” that extends from the Batanes Islands (northern Philippines), through the east coast of Taiwan (Amis, Puyuma), and into the Ryukyu Islands of southern Okinawa that is distinct from the surrounding cultural areas of Japan to the northeast, China to the northwest, and even the cultures of Taiwan’s high mountains. All these people rely on the ocean for their subsistence, love singing and drinking, and women generally have higher spiritual status.
As we stepped out onto the street, a parade of people dressed in crazy costumes laughing, blowing horns, playing accordions and carrying on passed by. We noticed one man dressed as a pack of cigarettes, labeled “Natural Okinawan Spirit.” We greeted him and he pulled out a huge cigarette and handed it to Chris, then motioned to blow through the straw at the tip of the cigarette. Upon blowing through the straw, a red heart emerged out of the other end and inflated with air. We followed the troupe through the streets to a bar and carried on with the party into the night and met some very happy and friendly local people and travelers.
Okinawa is a wonderful place with good people, beautiful beaches, and bountiful underwater life. It’s a great place for a budget vacation from Taiwan. We will be returning there again, hopefully to the southern islands. For now, Okinawa has found a place in our hearts. We hope you get the chance to visit someday.
Okinawa Photos:
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