Apparently “A faraway place to catch fish” is the literal translation of “Okinawa”, the Japanese island that is home for us right now. So sweet. I remember when Justin suggested Okinawa. I had no idea what he was talking about. In general I find people have never heard of it or they are borderline obsessed with it. There seems to be no middle ground. We even met a guy in India who had never been and was obsessed. For some reason I think there is intrigue from the combination of Japan + Surf + Blue Zone + Faraway.
I keep meaning to write some first-timer impressions of Japan so I don’t forget them. Here I go. RESPECT. There is so much respect and order and tidiness in the culture that nothing ever feels chaotic. Even in Tokyo, a city of 41 million people. It is so easy to be peaceful and find peace in Japan. People bow a lot. It’s very sweet. How can you be a dick when you regularly bow to others? I’m sure dicks per capita is very low here. These are kind people. DIRTY SHOES. Shoes are dirty and the Japanese know it. You often take them off, e.g. at some restaurants, in changing rooms, and you definitely don’t put your stuff (bags, backpacks, purses) down on the floor where dirty shoes are roaming!! The Japanese have little baskets everywhere to hold your bags while you eat, or whatever. I have zero mental wiring to do anything but plop my stuff down basket-free. Inevitably a sweet person appears out of nowhere to swoop in with a basket to save me. TINY. Everything is tiny but appropriately so, from drinking vessels to trucks and everything in between. Alternatively it could be said everything in North America is supersized and oversized. Tiny cars are cool. Tiny trucks are even cooler. In Japan, Prius’ look big. PLAYMOBIL VIBES. Police, construction workers and mail delivery people all look like Playmobil figures. Something about the bowl cut helmets and simple uniforms with a sash. Straight up Playmobil. REAL DEAL, NO EGOS. It feels like the Japanese aren’t trying hard to be anything other than who they are. This one is really hard to explain. I’m left feeling there is so much effort in North America to be something and somebody. This Japanese effortlessness applies to people and things. On Okinawa we stumble across all these amazing little cafes that are the most cool places you can imagine, but that don’t appear to be trying hard. They are just genuinely cool. Born that way. SPAM. Spam (the meat product) never left Japan. It’s everywhere. On Okinawa I had Spam, egg and rice wrapped in seaweed. More detail on Spam below. INNOVATIVE. Sometimes it seems the Japanese are a more evolved sub-species. They seem to have solved problems the rest of us haven’t noticed, e.g. heated toilet seats, portable drip coffee, recessed shoe nooks in home entrances, giant food catchers in kitchen sinks (only not tiny thing), auto-defogging bathroom mirrors. BEAUTY. There are a lot of beautiful things here. The aesthetic seems to be really connected to nature, which I love. And things are simple here, the Japanese do not overcomplicate things. It’s brilliant.
“The Japanese, particularly in Okinawa, have a strong fondness for Spam due to its widespread availability during the post-World War II occupation by American forces, where it became a staple food source, leading to its integration into local cuisine and the creation of unique dishes like Spam Musubi; essentially, it became a symbol of American influence and was readily adopted by the local population, especially in areas with a high concentration of US military bases.”
Cool cafes on Okinawa:
We have barely seen any White people here. In fact, I’ve barely seen White people since mid November which is a surprise. Somehow we continue to forge a path that seems to be simultaneously non-touristy and off-season. It’s a bit of a marvel to be honest. Of course the absolutely most annoying person we have seen in Japan was White. She was a YouTuber from Los Angeles. She rolled into a tiny Ramen place in Tokyo (seats for less than 10) while live streaming. She sat next to me, giving shout outs to people watching her, as though I literally didn’t exist. This would have been OK if she was zen quiet like the rest of us slurping ramen. She clearly hadn’t read “how to be a respectful tourist in Japan” or even “how to be a respectful human on planet earth”. Moments like that make me feel super GenX and probably how our parents felt when we did stupid shit in our 20’s. Just another moment in the cycle of life.
We went on a dope coffe farm tour. We harvested coffee cherries and did the whole peel, soak, roast, grind all the way to drinking!! Hazel was the best roaster. Will was off being a teenager somewhere.
The coffee farm had cool plants and flowers. Coffee cherries are red!!
There are a lot of concrete structures on Okinawa. Apparently they help stay cool in the hot summers and withstand typhoons but they are kind of ugly and get splotchy dark spots, from humidity? It’s sort of like Snowbird and Cold War concrete vibes. It’s worth noting that Snowbird is my fav ski resort. I can handle a little concrete.
We had some exceptional dinners. One was a wagyu 18 course sensation for Will’s birthday. It was in a local family home. They were simply the sweetest people and the food was divine. The father had been a beef butcher for 65 years. While he lended deep street cred, his daughter (the chef) was the star of the show. We found them on Google maps, we don’t try too hard. The glowing reviews caught our attention. At the end, we hugged goodbye and they all came into the street to wave us goodbye as we drove away. The kids said they were still out there waving when we were blocks away. Japan rolls different.
Will is 15 now. I joke that Will is practicing to be a broke 20 year old. It’s impressive honestly. Happy Birthday to the one and only amazing Will!!! Such a joy and honor to be your Mum.
Another fab dinner was at a shabu-shabu pork restaurant. Everything honored the pig. There were tiny pigs everywhere. The bathroom was full of pig figures. FULL. I think Justin took his first bathroom video of the trip? Our peanut sauce had a pigs head drizzled into it. Chef wore a knitted pig hat. To call our waiter we squeezed a big black squishy pig, Oink, oink!!
Justin was reading up on the local blue zone. At this point, we all know the blue zone basics: good food, good relationships, community, body movement and so on. Apparently on Okinawa another blue zone factor is the importance of having an Ikigai, a passion that takes effort and brings value to your life. Said another way, it’s the source for your zest of life. Love that. Love they have a word for it. Apparently the word went viral from the book ‘Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life’ which I completely missed. Masa was our surf coach. That dude was a waterman through and through. Truck was full of boards, paddles, wings and wetsuits. No doubt about his Ikigai. Zesty!!
So Okinawa is a bit of a mystery and a marvel. Justin and I really like the peace and chill of the place, mostly in the north where we’re spending our time. It’s a sub-tropical gorgeous island with loads of coral. It’s also really ugly in bits. Though when places seem too perfect, it seems manufactured to me or too fancy. I like a little grit. Nowhere is busy, except a wee rush hour. So there is a lot of peace and calm on Okinawa. We even went to a few empty surf breaks. Wonders of offseason. But some destinations don’t even have off seasons anymore. Feeling lucky on many levels lately. More scenes of Okinawa:
Smiles of lucky, happy people:
More airport orchids as we head further south to Ishigaki. Arigato Okinawa!!!!
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