Second semester + Okinawa Trip

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June 9th 2006

Published: June 19th 2006

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Birdie

View from the plane

Whoo hoo! Okinawa Islands!

Sashibuti! Long time no see!
Well, second semester has been going well in Japan so far. I feel much more immersed in life here... it really feels like a second home in a way. I am living in the same dormitory as last semester (in north eastern Tokyo) and I'm still going to Kanda Gaigo Daigaku (Kanda Foreign Language University). The new kids this semester are great... at first it was hard to adjust to not having my old friends (oh, how I miss the Ayase Ladies of last semeseter), but everyone this time around is also really fun.
Re-entry to the States (last winter) was difficult and being home felt somewhat unfamiliar, but I didn't go through the post-study-abroad depression that a lot of people experienced. I think it was due to the fact that I knew I would be returning to Japan, so I didn't have to be sad about the whole Japan-experience being over. I suppose returning to Ithaca later this summer will be more difficult...
Anyway, we've been doing lots of fun things, and I've come to realize that even though this year hasn't been as academically challenging, I am learning perhaps more than I would have

View from the plane II

Beautiful, huh!

at Cornell. I've also taken a few trips in these past few months... lots to write about!
Maybe the coolest, or at least most different, thing that we've done this semester is taken a trip with all of the IES students to Okinawa. If you google Okinawa and look at the photographs that come up, you will see tons of tropical beaches. The Okinawa Islands are the southern most islands in Japan, located about three hours from Tokyo by airplane. The program paid for the trip (airfare, meals, hotel, cultural activity tickets, etc.), but Shin-san (one of the IES staff members) said that the flights to Okinawa were more expensive than flights to Hawaii!
We all met at the Haneda Airport (a domestic airport in Tokyo bay built entirely on reclaimed land), and two IES staff members (Shin-san and Ishikawa-san) handed out our tickets. I seem to have a metal crotch or butt, because everytime I go through security here in Japan (I also flew to Kobe in March), I set off the buzzer and the security guard has to check me and my below-the-belt area beeps. Oh well. Embarrassing, but c'est la vie. Flying domestically in Japan is really

Teppanyaki

The chef doing some salt-shaker tricks.

fun. There is so much to see from up in the air. The view is quite different from flying in the US... we weren't supposed to use cameras on the plane, so I only have a few photographs that I snuck. The flight-attendants are also kind of different from the ones on American airlines. Being a stewardess is one of the most prestigious jobs here in Japan and the competition to enter the industry is very high. All flight-attendants must be bilingual (English and Japanese), specially trained, and very good-looking. There are actually several girls in my dorm who are going to flight-attendant school and from what they have said, it seems very stressful. I tried using my Japanese to ask for things "Orangi jusu onegaishimasu" (orange juice please), but the flight attendants must have thought I was horrible at the language because they kept speaking to me in English only.
When we touched-down in Okinawa, everyone was very excited. Shin-san advertised the trip as "educational" and "cultural," but there is no denying the fact that we were in tropical paradise. The weather forcast for our four days there was thunderstorms and rain, but fortunately we had only short bursts

Habushu

snake wine! abunai!

of rainy weather, followed by long afternoons of sunshine! We had a private charter-bus for the trip and on the bus was our "Busu-gaido-san" (Mrs. Bus Guide) who provided us with lots of interesting information and culture. Whenever we were on the bus, she was talking or singing or dancing. There were several other Busu-gaido-san's on the islands, all of whom were wearing the same uniform.
First stop was Sam's Anchor Inn, a fancy restaurant in the city of Naha (capital city of Okinawa prefecture). The restaurant was tennpanyaki style, which meant there was a chef at each table who cooked the food right in front of us. They did all kinds of tricks, like juggling the salt and pepper shakers. Our chef said that he had trained for his job for one year! The food was amazing... the best beef that I've had in Japan.
After lunch we walked around Kokusai Dori (International Street) for a little while, looking at the omiyage (souvenier) and snack shops. There was one sake store with these giant jars of awamori with huge (dead) snakes floating in them. Apparently the venom in the snakes makes this kind of Japanese wine extra strong and

Shopping

Some girls shopping for omiyage (oh yeah, my hair is blonde).

Okinawa bars are known for getting customers super yopparai (drunk). There were also all kinds of snacks with the Shikwasa fruit (a kind of citrus fruit grown only in Okinawa) flavor. Yum.
We then left Naha and went to the Shuri Castle, built during the 1400's. My camera ran out of batteries, so I don't have any photographs of this place. But it was really cool. The architecture was amazing... large, open rooms with sliding doors leading to verandas, nearly vertical stair cases, etc. etc. As is usual in Japan, we had to take our shoes off before entering the castle. The king's throne was on display and it strangely resembled the modernist chairs of Bauhaus and other 20th century architects.
We arrived at the hotel in the late afternoon. The hotel was incredible. Well, the hotel itself was a bit dated in the decoration (Chris, one of my full-year friends, said it reminded him of the resort in the Shining... long red-carpeted cooridors, big chandeliers, etc.), but the facilities and the location were unbeatable. Each of the rooms was traditional Japanese Inn style (futons on the tatami mats, low tables, etc.) and each room had a balcony that over-looked

Swimming

My friend Dane had a cast on, so he didn't get to go all the way in the water. :(

the ocean. Absolutely incredible view. We were all on the top floor of the resort, so we would all go out onto our respective balconies and watch the ocean and the beach. The hotel had a private swimming beach and everyone was super excited to go for a swim, but we realized that the water closed at 6pm. Everyone was a bit annoyed that the ocean had hours of operation, but we just hung out went for walks around the area instead. I haven't been to many beaches (just the Jersey Shore and Ft. Lauderdale), but I can't imagine there being any place as clear and beautiful as Okinawa. It goes on my list of honey-moon destinations.
For dinner we all ate in one of the hotel's restaurants. During the meal there was a special Okinawa-style musical performance. The people of these islands speak an entirely different language and have an entirely different culture than the rest of Japan, so it was cool to see another set of traditions. A few of the students and Shin-san got up on the stage and learned the Okinawa songs. There was also another drunk vacationer dressed only in his yukata (evening robe) up

Dolphin show

these dolphins must understand japanese.

on the stage... he made my friends sound good.
After dinner we all went onto the beach and watched the sun-set - amazing to see as it looked like the sun set into the ocean. Good good fun. The evening was also a lot of fun... everyone sat around telling stories, drinking tropical drinks, and playing games in this pavillion on the ocean.
The next morning we all woke up early and made our way to the Okinawa Commemorative National Government Park. Basically Okinawa's economy survives on tourism, so much of the islands' industry is in the entertainment sector. AT the park was a great beach... we all were dying to go swimming, so even though it was slightly overcast, we all went into the water as soon as we hopped off the bus. We played chicken-fight (sorry mom) and I lost most of the time. We also realized there were sea cucumbers in the water, and if you accidentily stepped on them, they squirted this white stringy stuff all over you. Lots of falic jokes emerged from this phenomena. When we had had enough of the water, we all ate at a little cafeteria (only in Japan will you

fishies

Stephen, Dawn, and I. When in the aquarium, do as the fishes do.

see soba noodles and hot dogs at the same fast-food vendor) and then went to see a dolphin show. There was also a huge aquarium at the park which was fun to see. There was this great coffee shop in the building that was lit only by the bluish tint of one of the huge tanks.
Later that afternoon we went to the Nago Pineapple Park, another tourist scheme... there was a (very) brief tour of a kind of pineapple orchard and an exotic flower greenhouse, and then we were shuffled into a pineapple-wine tasting room where we sampled #1) sweet pineapple wine, #2) dry pineapple wine, and #3) "kiss" pineapple wine. After this room we were hearded into a pineapple food sampling room where we had our fill of pineapple cookies, pineapple cakes, pineapple chocolates, pineapple candies, pineapple pies, etc. etc. And fianlly, after they had wined and dined us, we were set loose in a gigantic gift-shop. Everyone was so happy from the sweets and wine that we probably, on average, each spent about $15 on somewhat useless pineapple souveniers. These Okinawans sure know how to work the tourism business.
After the pineapple park we returned to the

whale shark

The big aquarium. and the big whale shark.

hotel where we ate dinner together again. This time, one of the Ayase Ladies, Ashley, sang for us while we ate. She has an incredible voice and surprised everyone with her ability. She once tried out for American Idol and they said her voice was amazing, but that she should sing Mariah Carrey songs instead. Later that evening we played a game of "truth and lies." Basically each person at the table has to tell one true story and one fake story and the rest of the people have to guess which is the truth. It was a hilarious game and we found out lots of strange and interesting stories about everyones' childhoods.
The next day we went to Manzamou which is a famous viewing point. It reminded me of Stonehenge in England, in that the attraction is basically a path around which visitors walk and take photographs. The view was indeed quite spectacular, but since the weather was perfect, most people wanted to just go back to the hotel and take advantage of the private beach. Manzamou is a giant cliff of coral reef and most tourist agencies use photographs of the view to advertize Okinawa.
We then headed

wormy fish

some weirdo wormy things

to Murasaki Mura village, which was a traditional Japanese village replica. The village was built in the early 1990's and is basically a big huge Okinawa culture-center. We split into small groups and went to do arts and crafts. My activity was painting shi-sa, which are these little lion statues that ward off evil spirits. There are two statues, one with its mouth open, the other with its mouth closed, and they are seen EVERYWHERE in Okinawa - on the entrances to temples, restaurants, the hotel, etc. etc. At first I wanted to paint my little shi-sa a pretty shade of purple, but when I mixed the blue and the red it turned into brown. So I decided to paint it in the style of Jackson Pollack (splattered paint) and the end product looks a bit elementary. Oh well. After our activities we all ate together at the Murasaki Mura restaurant. Everyone got a bento box wtih all kinds of little Japanese treats in it. Then Dawn (another Ayase Lady and close friend) bought sweet-potatoe flavored ice cream.
We were supposed to hang around the village for awhile longer, but everyone was so intent on returning to the hotel that

crab walk

friends doing the crab walk at the okinawa government park

Shin-san agreed and we all went back and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach. The people working on the beach (lifeguards, banana-boat drivers, etc.) were SO tan! I think that if college doesn't work out for me, I'll move to Okinawa and be a restort lifeguard for the rest of my life. When the beach closed at 6pm, we all went back into the hotel and learned how to play the shashin, a traditional Okinawa instrument. I have to admit that all of those years of playing the violin came in handy. The note system is very different - instead of little black dots of the musical staff, there is a different kanji (written character) for each of the notes. At first it was hard to get used to, but after about an hour, most of us could play a few simple songs.
Dinner was at the hotel again... but in a different restaurant. We shared the dining room with a group of middle school students and several of them wanted to take photographs with the blonde-haired IES girls. We each got a huge platter of raw meat and vegetables and then we grilled our own food

phillipino friend

alberto and i at the pineapple park

on a grill in the middle of the table. This is one of my favorite styles of food in Japan, I think it is actually a Korean style meal. There is a really good restaurant in Makuhari (near the University) that we go to sometimes for lunch.
The last night was a lot of fun, but kind of sad since we had to fly back to Tokyo the next morning. On the last day, before our fight, we went to Okinawa World, yet another theme parked devoted to Okinawa culture. We went through the Gyokusendo Cave, a cave that was over 800 meters long. I thought of Johanna and all of geological research that she is doing now in Tibet. We saw Ikimono (living creatures) in the depths of the cave which was kind of scary. After the cave we saw a drum performance which was quite lively and festive. Some of the IES students got to dance on the stage with the performers.
So. It was a good time. I am quite amazed, thinking back on the experience, that I was able to travel to this destination... I know a few people at Cornell who served in the Marines

sampling pineapple wine

shannon, marissa, and i at the pineapple wine-tasting room

(or Navy? ah, I forget which) and they were stationed in Okinawa. I think we got a very genuine experience, though, rather than being isolated on an American base. Well, I'll upload some pictures now for you to drool over.

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