MP3 track of the day:
The Sun has got his hat on - Ambrose & his orchestra
Weather: Cloudy in
Ishigaki; sunny in Naha.
I woke up
at 6am and was ready to leave by 6:45am. As I had mentioned
yesterday, I booked a taxi and, within a flash, a man who was way too
happy for 6:50am beckoned me into his cab. He asked where I wanted to
go and I told him. Within seconds we were off into the night.
Though out
the trip this 'happy' taxi driver kept chatting to me about all
sorts. My attention was split evenly between him, and the meter (plus
road signs indicating how far the airport was). Doing some
reasonable mathematics, I worked out that the trip shouldn't cost
more than 3,000 Yen and, given the 'short cuts' we seem to be taking
(at one point, I thought we were going to drive through a sugar
cane field), I felt as though we
should be at the airport in no time. At one point during the trip, I
saw the airport from an elevated position; due to still being dark,
the runway was lit up like a Christmas tree. The driver stopped and
asked, no told me to take a photo. I agreed that the airport did
indeed look beautiful however, with this level of light, I knew the
photo wouldn't come out well. Still I took a photo so that the taxi
driver could hear my camera's shutter close and, with that, he seemed
content to drive on.
We
arrived at the airport shortly after 7am where I gave the driver
2,800 Yen (£20) and
thanked him. In return he smiled and wished me a safe trip.
Now
you know when you've arrived a 'tad' too early to an airport when
you, and the cleaner, are the only ones there. I sat down looking at
my flights check-in desk which, unbeknown to me at the time, wouldn't
open for another hour (just in time for the bus to arrive).
I therefore sat down, ate chocolate and watched the cleaning lady go
over the same area over, and over again. Either she was a
perfectionist, or her 'area of cleaning' was the smallest area known
to man. Either way she cleaned it with an array of cleaning tools.
Once
the check-in desk opened, I checked-in and proceeded to the waiting
lounge. I didn't have to wait long and soon I boarded my flight. On-board was a beautiful flight attendant and, luckily for me, she was
the 'designated English speaker'. I therefore made more inquiries
than anyone has ever made in the history of passenger aviation travel
(I really need to learn the Japanese for: 'doing anything
tonight?').
I
had a window seat and, though the flight was empty, both seats next
to me were occupied by a man and his wife. My lovely cabin attendant
came past and said that some of us could move to the plethora of
empty rows in front of us. The man told his wife to move and then he
remained to chat to me … until he fell asleep. As the plane pulled
out of it's 'lot', I looked out of the window to see the ground crew
lined up and standing to attention. As we rolled past they all bowed,
and then waved us off. I waved back, having never witnessed this
'act' before, wondering if it was a good sign.
Once
we had taken off I started to read my book keeping one eye on where
the cabin attendant was. She soon came around with drinks and I had
whatever she was offering (I have no idea what it was, but
it was nice). I then continued
to read my book, with my tray down, until an announcement came over
the speaker saying that the plane expected some shaking. I, of
course, did not understand the announcement but my friendly cabin
attendant translated for me and put my tray away. I said her English
was excellent, which is always a winner over here.
I
soon peered out of my window and noticed that we were very low
indeed. I hoped that there wasn't a problem because, it was way too
early for my flight to land. Maybe the flight was calling into
Miyako-jima. In fact we were just about land at Naha but I couldn't
work it out; it had taken forty minutes to get to Miyako-jima, and
another forty to get to Ishigaki-jima and, here we were, forty-five
minutes into the flight and we were landing. I checked my flight
ticket and yes, forty-five minutes was the flight time. I therefore
found myself back on the main Okinawan island at 9:45am.
I
don't think I'll ever get used to just how fast 'domestic arrival' procedures are but, once I'd said thank you to my cabin attendant, I
picked up my holdall luggage and walked straight out of the door and
onto the monorail heading towards the hostel I'd stayed in a week
ago.
I
arrived at around 10:30am, put my bags within my dorm and checked the
internet. Within half an hour I was back on the streets armed with my
camera and a coat. I intended to spend the day walking around and
getting lost however, my first 'port-of-call' was Naha's market. On
the way I went into the largest bookstore on the island to discover
that they only had one 'Okinawa photo book' (which was the
same one I'd bought yesterday).
Once
at the entrance to Naha's market I wasted no time at all and dived
straight into a hive of activity. The market was made up of a labyrinth of individual streets all enclosed with a large plastic
roof. Within the centre was a food market which I will get to later.
First though, I walked around the outer-streets peering into the many
tourist shops which lined each side of each street. Sure there were
other shops (restaurants, supermarkets and such) but
tourist shops outnumbered the others 4:1. It was here that I bought a
few more gifts as I walked this way and that, viewing many different
kinds of garments and 'tack'. After thirty minutes I was sure that,
if you wanted something that didn't have a useful purpose, it would
be sold here.
After
looking around every side street, I forced my way through the crowds
and into the food market. There was the usual Japanese fish market
however, I'd come to see the pork market. Okinawan's love pork (when
the American's arrived to occupy Okinawa after WW2, spam became an
instant hit with the locals) and
here you can buy every part of the pig; the organs, the trotters …
even the head. It was all being sold and quickly by the look of it. I
watched as the stall workers cut meat to the purchasers requirements
before putting it in a bag. I took a few photos when I could however,
the place was so crowded I didn't stay long. With all that pork on
sale, I then headed to McDonalds for lunch where I ate beef and
chicken.
After
lunch I went back through the market and out the other side. The
reason for this was because, on the other side of the market, was an
area of town where old kilns and workshops are still in operation
making the pottery I'd seen dotted around the Okinawan prefecture.
When I arrived within the area however, you couldn't really tell that
the buildings were kilns or workshops; to me, they looked like old
Okinawan houses. They were made of wood and had sliding doors; the
roof was tiled and inside were home-made goods for sale. I didn't
spend long within this area as, frankly, it consisted of a street.
Once
at the end of said street I found myself on a main road. I headed
south along said main road which would eventually lead me to Naha's
bus station and the southern part of town. Along the way I took
photos of this, that and the other enjoying the sun that had now made
an appearance (though I wasn't enjoying holding my coat).
The walk to the bus station had been uneventful, but fun. Lost within
my music and photography, I'd stopped every-so-often to take a snap
or two. Once at the bus station I headed back north though this time,
I followed the river which split the city in two and had the monorail
line running above it.
I soon found myself back at the monorail stop for my hostel. My plan
was to keep going north, following the river, until I came to the
main street. I would then walk down the main road towards the market
to complete my walk around Naha however, first I went into my hostel
to drop my coat off. Once I resumed walking I found the north of the
city to be the same as the south though, maybe the 'high rising'
buildings weren't quite as grand. Once back on the main street I was
bombarded with more tourist shops, restaurants and bright illuminated
signs pointing to eventing possible. I walked down said street trying
to improve my tan before stopping for an ice cream at Mcdonalds. Once
eaten I realised that I'd seen all that I wanted to see. Overall Naha
is a mess of high rise hotels, government offices and apartments
mixed in with a horde of tourist shops selling 'tack' and biscuits
with 'Okinawa' written on them. To say that Naha isn't my most
favourite place in the world would be an understatement. It's not
that I don't like it; it's just that it hasn't got that 'family feel'
the smaller islands are absorbed by. I therefore bought a mountain of
'omiyagi' (biscuits / cakes for work colleagues to you and me) for my work
colleagues at school, before heading back to my hostel at 4pm.
Once at the hostel I wrote this blog, uploaded my photos and put my
expensive 'omiyagi' within a locker, which I had to give a 1,000 Yen
deposit to use. Annoying the staff here don't start work until 9am; I
have to leave tomorrow at 8am and so I have to hand back the locker
key tonight and pray my biscuits don't get stolen during the night.
After that I headed out for something to eat before getting an early
night.
So tomorrow I leave Okinawa for Tokyo. I wonder if I'll notice the
temperature difference.
Toodle Pip!
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