Fellow UCI-er Evelyn and I set out on our six-day journey as a duo, but we met solo traveler Jason from Korea and he quickly became a part of our posse. It's fun meeting people when you travel.
We spent our latter three days on Okinawa's main island, and our first three days on a smaller, more rural island called Miyakojima. While Miyako didn't have much to offer besides beaches, sugarcane-field-laden country drives, and beautiful plant and insect life, in the end that's all I was looking for. I loved experiencing the world-famous Churaumi Aquarium and the hustle-bustle of Naha City on the main island, but if I could come back, I would choose the smaller islands all the way.
Regretfully, it was cloudy almost our whole trip, so we didn't get to experience the world-famous Okinawa sunsets, but at least the cloud cover kept the air temperature and humidity from rising to whine-inducing levels. In fact, the weather felt perfect the entire time--warm enough for shorts and T-shirts, but with a cool breeze and no sticky humidity to speak of. Yay for going in the off-season!
It's true what they say: Okinawa almost doesn't feel like Japan. Japan has such strong cultural associations with its four distinct seasons, which Okinawa doesn't experience. The Japanese are famous for their never-ending work ethic, while Okinawans seemed to be more relaxed at all times. The Okinawan expression なんくるないさ "nankurunaisa"-- comparable to "que sera sera"--embodies this. But what else would you expect from an island culture.
In Okinawan style, I'll spare you the lecture and let the pictures do the talking.
