Exploring Okinawa

After labeling my pregnancy as potentially high risk, my OB in Tokyo recommended that my care be transferred to a hospital on the island of Okinawa that has more resources than our smaller hospital at our home base. My next door neighbor (and good friend) offered to take care of our hamsters, K’s unit gave him permission to transfer down with me, and our airline tickets were all lined up within two weeks. The weekend before we left, my neighbor organized a surprise baby shower for me! How she managed to pull it all together with such short notice is beyond me (not to mention, she’s 9 months pregnant and is due any day now!) With K advising her on who I knew from our squadron, she pulled together an afternoon full of food, friends, games and gifts!

A few days later, our bags were packed and we were sitting on the shuttle bus to the airport in Tokyo. I actually got to see a lot of downtown Tokyo from the bus windows that I hadn’t had the chance to see before! First, we passed the Tokyo Tower, an iconic landmark that’s often used in popular culture to depict Tokyo (much as the Eiffel Tower is used to portray Paris).The Tokyo Tower has been the site of climactic battles in both Godzilla and King Kong movies, as well as countless anime movies.

We also crossed over the Rainbow Bridge, a 3 story suspension bridge that has eight lanes of traffic, a pedestrian walkway and two train lines.

Photo credit to anyonghua on Flickr

Below is the view of the city we caught while we crossed the bridge.

After our two hour shuttle bus ride, a three hour plane ride, and a nerve-wracking taxi ride as our driver careened down the Okinawan highway, we were finally settled in at our new home for the next month or two. Our lodging is designed for patients coming in from other bases and is conveniently positioned adjacent to the hospital where I’ll be seeing my new doctors. We ordered pizza and relaxed on the couch, glad to be all done with any serious traveling for awhile.

We didn’t stray too far from our hotel for the first few days, spending the first day taking care of intake paperwork and meeting my new care providers. We could see the ocean from the entrance of the hospital and a nurse reassured me that the ocean was only a few blocks from the gate of the base if we wanted to walk there. The weather here feels like Florida–warm and balmy. The air is fresh and crisp as cool breezes skim across the water and make their way to us. We could only resist for so long before putting on our tennis shoes and starting the trek down to the ocean.

Okinawa doesn’t even feel like we’re in the same country anymore–just a month ago we were trudging around our home base in a foot of snow!  To be fair, most Okinawans don’t consider themselves Japanese. Okinawa used to be its own independent country (the Ryukyu Kingdom), then belonged to another country (the United States) and today is part of Japan. Okinawa has a much different culture from the rest of Japan due to heavy influences from China, the United States, Southeast Asia and of course mainland Japan. The environment is much different than the rest of Japan, with many comparing Okinawa to being more like Hawaii than Japan. Tokyo can feel wired tight and neurotic, characterized by endless workdays and a constant hustle and bustle. Okinawa is significantly more laid-back. Full of surfers and charming beach towns, the vibes here are completely different.

I can’t talk about Okinawa without talking about the massive military presence here. This is a mixed blessing for the people of Okinawa. Of the 53,000 members of the United States military stationed in and around Japan, about half of them were based in Okinawa as of 2014, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. Of all American military facilities in Japan, about 25 percent are based on Okinawa (https://edition.cnn.com). For such a small group of islands, this is a disproportionate amount of bases compared to the ratio of bases on the mainland.

After a thirty minute downhill walk (it’d be a fun hike back up that hill), we were at the ocean! It felt like we were at a tropical resort.

Palm trees lined the sidewalk along the water and groups of people were scantly scattered across the white sand, sunbathing, playing soccer, and taking wedding pictures with the azure sky and ocean as the backdrop.

We immediately noticed a much heavier concentration of Americans than we’re used to seeing off-base back at Yokota. The influences of military occupation are clear here, with shopkeepers and taxi drivers speaking English, a variety of foods being available (looks like we’ll have something other than sushi and ramen today!), and signs along the water being in both Japanese and English.

The air felt so clear and the ambiance was so relaxing–maybe transferring down here for the remainder of my pregnancy is exactly what I needed!

We sat along the ocean for a few minutes before deciding to hunt down where our next meal would be.

We passed sushi, ramen, soba noodles, hamburgers, cafes, diners, BBQ and steak restaurants before finally deciding on a Jamaican restaurant right on the water.

We sat outside on the deck, enjoying the cool breeze, familiar reggae tunes, each others company and the blessings in disguise of this impromptu trip away from home.

After stuffing our faces to our hearts satisfaction, we decided to go lay on the beach and let our food digest before hiking back to base.

We had our sights set on even more exploring in the days to come but for today, that was enough. A day well spent on the beach, we began the long walk back to our lodging.

We walked back down towards the beach the following day, intent on eating lunch somewhere other than the chow hall (that got old quick). We had seen a mall in the distance the day before, and Google Maps said it was only an additional 30 minutes of walking. We set off in that direction, passing lots of interesting stores and shops on the way. There was this gem; I’m sure all the Gucci and Chanel bags being sold here are 100% authentic!

In Japan (and many other countries worldwide),  English words on clothing are used as a fashion statement. The translations are rarely accurate–we saw one hoodie that simply read “SAUSAGE.” Here are some other examples of clothing we saw around town.

Even companies use English as a marketing technique. We saw a sign outside of a business that read “We will innovate.” That’s all. There was absolutely no indication of how they would innovate or what kind of services their company offered, but their services aren’t for Americans anyways. It’s a marketing technique since it’s fashionable and innovative just to have English on your sign! Who are we to judge, anyways? Countless Americans have kanji writing tattooed down their back. For every American who wears a misspelled and nonsensical kanji shirt in New York City, there’s a fashionista in Japan who’s certain they’re capturing the heart and soul of the Western world. Phrases get lost in translation both ways.

We soon arrived at a large American themed outdoor mall, American Village. With many military installments close by, the mall seeks to provide a nostalgic diversion for Americans as well as an interesting tourist attraction for locals. The Americana theme was immediately apparent from the food options available–taco cantinas, hot dog stands, rib shacks, and a Red Lobster. Many of the stores carry American branded clothing and familiar pop songs blasted out from the shops.

We stopped for lunch at a taco bar. Besides cooking it myself, this was the first time I’d had Mexican food since leaving the States! Sure, the salsa might’ve been sweeter than it was spicy and one of my tacos had mayo on it, but who’s complaining? It was such a treat to stumble across! We also saw habu sake, which is sake made from venomous habu snakes, which are native to Okinawa. This sake is believed to have medicinal qualities and with Okinawans having the world’s highest life expectancy, who are we to argue?

We also stumbled across this sign and a young couple offered to take our picture in front of it. Although we had no clue what “White Day” was at the time, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to have a picture of the two of us that wasn’t a selfie! After a quick Google search, we learned that White Day occurs on March 14, exactly one month after Valentine’s Day. While Valentine’s Day in Japan is typically when the girls give their love interest a chocolate present, White Day is when the man reciprocates the gesture. Typically spending three times the amount that was spent on them on Valentine’s Day, traditional White Day gifts are white chocolate, flowers or white lingerie.

Below is another view of American Village we captured on our way out.

Headed towards home, our final stop for the day was at Blue Seal. Blue Seal is an ice cream shop that was established in 1948 by an American company who wanted to provide essential dairy products for military personnel who were stationed on the island. The popularity of Blue Seal has spread throughout Japan ever since; we even have one outside of our base in Tokyo.

In just two days of exploring Okinawa, we already have learned so much about the differences between this island and the mainland. The influence that the American military has had on Okinawan cuisine and culture was highlighted with every interaction we had. We’re looking forward to learning even more about this unique tropical island as we spend the next month here!