For the last few days of the spring break week, I went with my friend Rebecca down to Okinawa!
This time around, we didn’t stick near the airport in Naha. We traveled further north to Onna-son – the countryside of Okinawa.
It was the end of spring break, so we were both already a little worn out, and the country atmosphere was just what we wanted. It was overcast almost the whole weekend, but at least we didn’t get sunburned…too much.
we spent a lot of the first day traveling – we got to the guesthouse long after dark. But, the next morning, we set out to look around the little town and search for something to eat. There were a lot of greenhouses interspersing the houses and shops of the town, and it gave the scene a really nice feeling.
There was also a cape nearby, but it was mostly for divers. We might have rented snorkel equipment, but we were so far out that there weren’t any ATMs, so we opted for looking at the ocean from the beach or from afar.
I think the best part of the stay was the owner of the guesthouse – the family are musicians, and they performed traditional Okinawan music in their cafe during dinner. It was so pretty – it was very different from traditional music on Honshu. Most traditions differ between Honshu and Okinawa – most traditions differ between even just the different regions of Japan. I think all the traditional music of Japan is great – one of the best parts of Japan, for me.
The next day, we went to a zip-line course called Forest Adventure. We weren’t really sure what it was when we went – just that it looked really fun. And it was! I left my phone behind so it didn’t get wrecked, so I couldn’t take any photos, but it was amazing – zip-lines that brushed the top of trees growing on the edges of deep ravines. It was the sort of place my dad would have loved. After that, we walked over to the Ryukyu-mura historical theme park. It was already late in the afternoon, and raining, so we were glad to reach the buildings. We walked around the huge gift shop area before realizing that there was more than that – there was so much to see just in the gift shops! By the time we realized there was more park there, it was too late to be worth paying the admission fee. But I enjoyed myself anyway.
The next day, we only had time to grab a bite to eat before we were on our way back to the Airport and back to Hirakata, but I was glad to come back and prepare myself for school again. I much preferred Onna-son to Naha – if I ever go back to Okinawa, I know where I’ll be staying!