There and back again

Tuesday 11/6/2007

We started the day by checking out of our hotel in Shuri. We drove up the east side of Okinawa using the back roads. We stopped briefly at the Nakagusku castle ruins where one can see the Pacific Ocean on the right and the China Sea on the left. Our trip up the island took us from sandy coastal beaches through tiny mountain passes and back again. We eventually arrived at point Hedo. This tip-top northern most point of the island has amazing cliffs and gorgeous, violent surf. Even though we were hundreds of feet above the water, we could feel the icey, salty spray as the waves dashed into the bottom of the cliffs. We enjoyed a lunch of Okinawan soba with a little rack of ribs on top.

We then drove down the west side of Okinawa until we reached our hotels in Onna village. I was really impressed with the gorgeous ocean view from our hotel room. Amber was less impressed with the tiny roach n the bathroom. The room ended up being o.k. and we didn't see any more of Mr. Roaches freinds. The room was part western and part japanese. Amber and I even tried on the kimono like yugata (sleeping robes).

We concluded the evening with a great Chinese meal of fried rice, peppers and beef, spring rolls, pot stickers, and stir fried vegetables with shrimp and noodles. It was a fun day, but we spent too much time in the car. The Okinawans always say driving that much (2 hours each way) requires several breaks for rest and snacks. I guess they could never drive 10 hours to Gillette.