Japan Day 18: Okinawa
January 18.
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My flight to Okinawa is at 9:55am, so that means heading out from the hotel around 7am. Fukuoka airport is a very quick train ride from the hotel, as the airport itself is basically in downtown. Once again the airport experience was a breeze and I made it through checkout in a heartbeat. I grabbed a little katsu sandwich from an airport kiosk and waited patiently for my flight.
One thing I learned on arrival to Okinawa was that I don't have the option to drop my bag at the hotel, and I didn't learn this until I walked up to the hotel to find the door locked and a note that said the lobby is only open from 3pm-10pm. It would be a 15 minute walk to get back to the train station to drop my bag at a coin locker, or my next best option, make it up on the fly.
I found a bicycle shop that rents e-bikes, which is going to be my easiest way around the island today, and I asked the dude if he could hold my bags for me, and using his translation app, he said, "Yes, as long as I can sell your valuables." He was a funny dude. I didn't end up taking a lot of photos today, mostly because riding a bike and taking photos is hard, but this e-bike took me out to where I really wanted to go to today: Yume Wo Katare Okinawa.
Yume Wo Katare Okinawa is only 12.5km from the neighborhood my hotel and the bicycle shop are located, so it took me just over an hour to work my way over to the shop, and I should note that almost the entire ride was uphill, so having the e-bike feature made this ride very enjoyable instead of an insane struggle. Dan was working the shop, and he worked in Boston for almost two years while he was in school, so I was very happy to see him again. Dan has a secret surprise for me, which is an additional dipping bowl for the ramen, with pork fat, garlic, and spice. This adds texture, flavor, and heat to the ramen, and I think it just took the crown for best ramen in Japan.
The long ride back to downtown was thankfully even easier as the entire journey was downhill. It was kind of scary though, because the e-bike can keep pace with traffic, and 1) I didn't expect that, and 2) I don't think traffic did either. I would be positioned to the side of the road, but as soon as the E-assist kicked in, I would just merge in with traffic, because it was safer and I was fast enough for it, but I never intended to be riding a bicycle at like 25-30 miles an hour through the streets of Okinawa.
When dinner time rolled around, Dan had mentioned a very good pizza shop in downtown Naha fairly close to my hotel that's pretty identical to Yume in how they operate. Yume makes one bowl of ramen with two options for how much pork is on top, and this pizza place has two options for pizza: Mozzarella with basil, or oregano and garlic. Limiting a menu is a lovely thing, because it means you can do one thing really, really well, and it makes the service smoother and quality better. Place was called Bacar and I highly recommend this very good pizza.
A little more of a walk through the Naha area, and I would say I had myself a very good day. The whole plan for Okinawa in general was to be able to relax and not do too much, mission accomplished. Also, Okinawa loves melon soda, check out this haul:
My flight to Okinawa is at 9:55am, so that means heading out from the hotel around 7am. Fukuoka airport is a very quick train ride from the hotel, as the airport itself is basically in downtown. Once again the airport experience was a breeze and I made it through checkout in a heartbeat. I grabbed a little katsu sandwich from an airport kiosk and waited patiently for my flight.
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| Fukuoka Airport Art, Fukuoka. |
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| Katsu Sandwich, Fukuoka. |
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| First view of Okinawa from the plane. |
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| Preparing for landing at Naha Airport. |
One thing I learned on arrival to Okinawa was that I don't have the option to drop my bag at the hotel, and I didn't learn this until I walked up to the hotel to find the door locked and a note that said the lobby is only open from 3pm-10pm. It would be a 15 minute walk to get back to the train station to drop my bag at a coin locker, or my next best option, make it up on the fly.
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| Street Cat, Okinawa. |
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| Street Cat, Okinawa. |
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| Ryuchu statue, Okinawa |
I found a bicycle shop that rents e-bikes, which is going to be my easiest way around the island today, and I asked the dude if he could hold my bags for me, and using his translation app, he said, "Yes, as long as I can sell your valuables." He was a funny dude. I didn't end up taking a lot of photos today, mostly because riding a bike and taking photos is hard, but this e-bike took me out to where I really wanted to go to today: Yume Wo Katare Okinawa.
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| Me and Dan, Yume Wo Katare, Okinawa. |
Yume Wo Katare Okinawa is only 12.5km from the neighborhood my hotel and the bicycle shop are located, so it took me just over an hour to work my way over to the shop, and I should note that almost the entire ride was uphill, so having the e-bike feature made this ride very enjoyable instead of an insane struggle. Dan was working the shop, and he worked in Boston for almost two years while he was in school, so I was very happy to see him again. Dan has a secret surprise for me, which is an additional dipping bowl for the ramen, with pork fat, garlic, and spice. This adds texture, flavor, and heat to the ramen, and I think it just took the crown for best ramen in Japan.
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| Ramen, Yume Wo Katare, Okinawa. |
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| Spicy Dip for ramen, Yume Wo Katare, Okinawa. |
The long ride back to downtown was thankfully even easier as the entire journey was downhill. It was kind of scary though, because the e-bike can keep pace with traffic, and 1) I didn't expect that, and 2) I don't think traffic did either. I would be positioned to the side of the road, but as soon as the E-assist kicked in, I would just merge in with traffic, because it was safer and I was fast enough for it, but I never intended to be riding a bicycle at like 25-30 miles an hour through the streets of Okinawa.
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| View up to Shurijo Castle, Okinawa. |
When dinner time rolled around, Dan had mentioned a very good pizza shop in downtown Naha fairly close to my hotel that's pretty identical to Yume in how they operate. Yume makes one bowl of ramen with two options for how much pork is on top, and this pizza place has two options for pizza: Mozzarella with basil, or oregano and garlic. Limiting a menu is a lovely thing, because it means you can do one thing really, really well, and it makes the service smoother and quality better. Place was called Bacar and I highly recommend this very good pizza.
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| Bacar Pizza, Okinawa. |
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| Kokusai Dori Shopping Street, Okinawa. |
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| View of the monorail and canal at night, Okinawa. |
A little more of a walk through the Naha area, and I would say I had myself a very good day. The whole plan for Okinawa in general was to be able to relax and not do too much, mission accomplished. Also, Okinawa loves melon soda, check out this haul:
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| Various melon sodas, Okinawa. |
January 18 by numbers:
- Photos: 165
- Miles walked: 9.3
- Steps: 19392
- Total Calories Burned: 4443
- Bowls of Ramen: 1
-Joe
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