Another Side of Japan

I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore!

We decide it's time to explore more of Japan!  I do some research, and the beaches of Miyakojima are some of the best in the country, if not the world.  So I make all the arrangements for the flight (3 1/2 hours from Tokyo - over 1000 miles away!), B&B, hotel, tours, etc.  We're all set - or so I think until a couple of days before our flight.  I've been checking the temperatures on weather.com, and I finally pay attention to the map they put up. I've been looking at the weather for Miyako, the city, (located in northern Japan) not Miyako, the island (located in southern Japan). No worries, I search Miyakojima (jima means island) and see the correct weather. A couple of hours later it pops into my head - where did I book the plane tickets?!?  After a few minutes, I'm able to verify we're going to the correct place. Whew!

Plane flying to the right location!  Sigh of relief!

Since we're on a domestic flight, we can carry liquids.  By habit I wait to buy my bottle of water until after security. The price is a nice surprise- only $1.10 after tax. I hate that a lot of US airports charge more than $3 when you are a captive audience.  (It's not quite as good a deal at the Miyako airport - bottled water is $1.60.)

You would never know from our flight that there's a low birth rate problem in Japan. It seems like half our plane is age six or younger.  I can't figure out why. 

Even from the plane you can see the bright colors!

As soon as we get off the place, we can tell we're not in Tokyo anymore.  The colors!!  There's so much blue & green, and bright pink, red and yellow flowers (lots of hibiscus) are everywhere!  Just what my eyes need!  I told Steve just the week before that I was missing color - I had ordered new cases for my electronics and chose shades of red for all of them. It definitely feels like a tropical island here.  It's just as hot as Tokyo (and humid) but there's a brisk breeze, which helps. People are also much more relaxed in their dress.  It's all t-shirts, Hawaiian shirts, and shorts - exactly what you see in casual parts of Southern California and Hawaii. Everyone is more laid back, but it's not quite "island time" - everything is still on time and in good shape. It's a nice change from Tokyo - and you still get all the benefits of an efficient society!

Welcoming Committee at the Miyakojima airport.

Our first few nights we're staying at a B&B, The Amarta.  Our hostess is wonderful, doing everything she can to make sure we're comfortable.  She speaks English, but as a second language.  She also helps us out by arranging our car rental and dinner reservations before we arrive.  There are some other nice benefits, too - there's a pool we share with just one other room, we have access to a full, complimentary bar and they provide towels, snorkeling gear, and tarps for the beach.  There's even a washing machine.  I only needed to pack my swimsuit!

Very common in Japan - twin beds pushed together to make a king.

I'm excited to see a ceiling fan in our room - it's been almost a year since I've gotten to sleep under one!

Our B&B hostess asks if we plan to have drinks with dinner.  Steve says he'll probably have one, and she offers to drive us there (and we can take a taxi to return).  I'm happy to accept her offer.  The drunk driving laws are very strict in Japan.  All summer long there have been headlines about US servicemen & civilians being arrested after causing accidents while driving under the influence.  I have no desire to participate in something that could cause international headlines!

All our restaurants focus on Okinawan food (we're in Okinawa prefecture, but not Okinawa island). It's similar, but different from Tokyo - more fruit as flavoring, the eggs are not as sweet, and the tofu has a harder surface. It's fun trying more types of Japanese food!  Though to be honest, if you put two dishes side by side I probably couldn't tell you which plate came from which region.  Japanese people would probably have the same problem with barbecue in the US!

One course of our meal - yummy!

On two different nights we have a set course meal and both times the chef speaks enough English to tell us what we're eating. Miyako beef is just as tender, melt-in-your-mouth as wagyu, but doesn't have the obvious marbling. It's very tasty!  The restaurant we go to our second night doesn't get a lot of foreigners though - when we first arrive you can tell the other (six) people there are watching to see if we can eat with chopsticks. Once we show we're proficient they stop staring as much. We also find out there is a place in Japan that actually serves spicy food!  Normally, food has very little "heat" to it. If they call it hot here, it's more like medium or mild in the US. But we have one item to dip in a sauce, and the chef tells us the sauce is spicy. Steve, assuming it's like everything else we've eaten in Japan, dunks his food in and pops it in his mouth - then coughs and reaches for his drink. It's very good, just in small quantities!  

Our private beach - okay, there are actually about 20 people there.  They nicely stayed out of my shot!

Gorgeous water!

Our first full day we go check out Sunayama Beach, a couple of minutes from our B&B. It's beautiful, but the waves are very strong. No one is in the water, and we're also told if you go in, don't go out far. There's a little "shack" selling food and drinks. I wish we did go in, just to cool off - it's a hike uphill both ways at this beach.

Then we're off to snorkel and scuba dive at Kyafa Beach on Irabu Island (attached to Miyako by the longest free standing bridge in Japan...in case you're wondering).  We're supposed to go to an area called the Blue Grotto, but the winds from a passing typhoon are too strong on that side of the island, so we switch to the other side. It's also very beautiful - clear, incredibly clean water.  I've never seen baby blue, lemon yellow, and lavendar coral before (in addition to eggshell white). While snorkeling we see lots of fish, too - I love the zebra stripe (scissortail sergeant major?) and cobalt blue ones (damselfish).  And we find Nemo, too (but not Dory)!  Unfortunately, we don't have an underwater camera, so no pictures!

Our snorkel/scuba cove

Caves make good picture frames!

We then get to scuba dive. We aren't certified, but we dive in tandem with an instructor. We're wearing all the gear, but he has the extra regulator on the tank and guides you on where to go for the best views. It's only 20 feet deep at the most, so no worries about being stuck under the water. Best of all - I don't have any ear problems!  When I scuba dived before I ended up with an ear infection after water was stuck in my ear. I'm concerned it will happen again, but I don't want it to hold me back from doing it. Steve loves it, and would probably become certified, but I think he decides he has enough expensive hobbies.