This past week, I took advantage of two consecutive long weekends and some daikyu (make-up holidays) and took a week-long trip to Okinawa! I was supposed to go to Zamami (a small island west of the main island of Okinawa) for 5 days, but a big typhoon hit the week of the trip, and although the weather was nice by the time I got there, the ferries weren't running until Wednesday due to some leftover wind. So, I ended up spending 2 days in Naha, and then 3 days in Zamami.
First stop- A&W in the Naha airport for some much needed root beer and chili cheese fries.
Next, we went to Kokusai Dori, an international street with lots of shops and restaurants, where we found lots of fun souvenirs, and even got to try Okinawa's famous Habushu (Snake Sake).
mmmmm... habushu. Made from venomous snakes.
Since the ferries weren't running, we were stuck in Naha the next day and decided to do some sightseeing at Shuri Castle and also visited a beautiful Chinese garden.
And for lunch there were tacos!
Famous Shisa at the entrance to Shuri Castle.
Shuri Castle from the outside. We were too cheap to pay the 800 yen to go inside...
At the gardens....
Yay for 30 second timers on cameras :)
Columns on a building inside the gardens.
One night, we decided we wanted a buffet, so we went across town and got one. Best decision ever. The next day, the ferries were running again, and we were finally able to get to our destination: the island of Zamami.
First view of Zamami from the ferry.
View from the walk to....
...Furuzamami Beach!
Amazing shells I found!
Solid blocks of coral, shells, and sand were washed up all over the beach.
If you can see him, these little crabs were everywhere, and they were lightning fast!
The beach was made up of bits of coral, although there was smooth sand as well.
James skipping rocks in the ocean.
As part of the trip, I had booked a full day of kayaking around the islands, which I didn't realize included snorkeling. Being afraid of fish, I was a little nervous about the snorkeling, but since we were given wetsuits and therefore the fish would be unable to touch me, I decided to give it a try. I'm so happy I did, because I had the absolute best day ever of swimming and kayaking in the clearest, bluest water I have ever seen.
This is called "Suijigai" in Japanese ("sui" means water; "ji" means letter; "gai" means shell), so named because it looks like the Chinese character for water (水). These shells are hung in entryways in Okinawa for good luck.
These guys would hang out near their little coral house, and whenever a person or bigger fish would swim near them, they'd all, as a group, swim back inside the coral.
This little guy was trouble. I suppose we were swimming in a more people populated area, so the fish were used to us, and some of them, this one included, started following us around.
James made me do all the work... :D
These little hermit crabs were everywhere. I actually got a little annoyed because they were inhabiting all the best shells.
I found Nemo! (and Dori as well, although I didn't get a picture of her...)
James had a little trouble with the flippers.
The trip to Zamami was way too short. Stupid Typhoon. Before I knew it, I was spending my last day on the island at Ama Beach, and then boarding a ferry back to Naha.
Bye-bye, seeee youuuuu, Zamami!
