Posted by Okinawa Reflections
these poetic reflections of Okinawa were written during my first trip Okinawa in December 2019. I don’t know why it took me 64 years to get there but we had a great time.
we stayed in Naha City in two different AIRBNB’s near the international street. We paid less than I had imagined we would have and we found that the prices in Okinawa were a bit higher than in Korea but not as outrageously high as I had imagined or fear it would be.
Okinawa is proud of its unique history as an independent kingdom prior to being taken over by the Japanese in 1878. that history remains both hidden and overt as the people in Okinawa celebrate their unique culture.
Okinawa was also of course the last battle fields of world war 11 and there are memorials all over the island to that war. and then Okinawa was a US territory until 1972 and Okinawa remains the most “Americanized Japanese prefecture”.
We found that the level of English was quite high higher than we had encountered in other trips to Japan. We also found that Korean is widely spoken because up until last year Koreans were the number one foreign tour group in Okinawa. there were still a lot of Korean tourists about and local Koreans living in Okinawa. Every street sign is in Chinese/Japanese/English and Korean so it was pretty easy to get around.
the tourism office was conveniently located in the Naha Bus terminal and the people were very friendly, spoke English and were very helpful. the maps and brochures were useful as well. However, there are very few English language materials available except for some things on line. We could not find the Lonely Planet guide for sale anywhere.
On the third day we were there, the Okinawa travel office staff went out of their way to help us when my wife, Angela, left her phone on the bus coming back from the beach resort. They called the airport bus company and tracked down our phone. we went to the airport on the new monorail which is pretty convenient – only four stops to get to the airport from the central bus terminal.
the food was great. Most mornings we ate fruit and left over sashimi from the market purchased the night before and coffee. Okinawans seem to like their coffee as much as they like tea. And I was surprised to find out how difficult it was to buy loose tea leaves.
My favorite coffee was the oddly named “Boss” coffee which seems to be everywhere. the can has a picture of a Okinawan“boss” smoking a pipe. It is the most popular coffee in Japan I believe. Part of the Suntory food and beverage empire. Suntory also of course makes Japanese Whiskey which we did not sample on this trip.
we did drink Okinawan beer and sake almost every night in a Yakitori restaurant. If you have not been to Japan yet, you must try going to a Yakitori when you get to Japan. Yakitori’s are the working man’s beer and sake neighborhood bar, and they are everywhere. They have red paper lanterns outside their door denoting the establishment as a Yakitori.
On a prior trip to Japan, I had learned that the Yakitori’s date back to the Meiji period and were founded as pubs for the working class. and they remain the cheapest place to eat and drink in Japan. They serve fried chicken, sushi and other pub food. we had fun drinking in them and meeting locals.
the best meal we had was at the Emerald Bay Resort on the west coast. The west coast remained me of Hawaii or Barbados – the road winds along the sea coast and is lined with resorts and restaurants as befit being located in Japan’s Hawaii.
they had a great Okinawa style buffet lunch for 60$ per person, all you can eat. mostly Okinawa style food but they had great dim sum as well. and great ice cream to finish the meal off.
the Emerald Bay Resort is next door to the Okinawa Aquarium which is one of the best aquariums in the world in my opinion. Reminded me of the Monterey Bay aquarium. We saw a good dolphin show, lots of sea turtles, manatees, and of course the aquarium which features a re-created coral reef. and lots of sharks swimming around.
we also had a great steak lunch one lunch time featuring local Okinawa beef.
we saw the Shurti castle which was badly damaged in a huge fire a year ago. But the grounds were open and impressive. this was the castle of the Okinawa Ryukyu kingdom for almost five hundred years.
during world war 11 the Okinawa military command hid out underneath the castle so the US bombed the castle.
The castle was rebuilt and restored and re-opened in 2000 or so. Very impressive still.
the US military bases are all located some distance from Naha city where there is an American village “theme park” next to the bases. The military people mostly stay near their bases – we did not see many Americans wandering about Naha city.
all in all one of my more memorable trips and I want to go back because there was so much left unseen.
Here are my poetic reflections
Okinawa War thoughts
these dark moods
follow me
as I tour Okinawa
where the last battles
of world war 11 were fought
thousands died
in the first
and last outpost
of the American East Asian Empire
Okinawa Beckons me
Okinawa Japan
kept calling to me
in a dream
notifying me
always in the background
where my memories
always waiting for me
Beckons me
everywhere I go
cosmic reflections
of past lives
never seen before
seems lost in time
maybe just the spirits of the dead
everywhere I see ghosts
Okinawa Street Scene
Walking the streets
of Fabled Naha Okinawa
a life time dream
someday I would visit
I am surrounded
by ghosts of the past
and Japanese beauties
all around me
tempting me
with their sweet smiles
as they smile at me
and I smile at them
No wonder
so many Soldiers
brought back
Japanese wives
Japanese Coffee Barista
watching the Japanese
coffee barista
preparing my snarling cup
of hot boss coffee
how I wanted to express
what was on my mind
right then
to the Japanese
coffee barista
Ghosts of Okinawa
Touring the battlefields
of Okinawa
where so many young men
gave up their life
so many years ago
I see the ghosts
all around me
feel their spirits
floating through the air
Kilroy was here
there and everywhere
whoever that was
and John Dean wannabes
and Elvis wannabes
and so many other wannabes
and I see the ghosts of the fallen heroes
all around me
Signs
everywhere in Asia
you see strange variations
of English
Japlish, Konglish, Singlish
the street signs in Okinawa
are all in Chinese, Japanese, English and Koreans
the bus and train announcements as well
Hard to get lost
even when you want to
but the random encounters
with English words
puts a smile on my face
as I drink my “boss coffee”
wondering who is the “boss”
and why is smoking a pipe?
and many years ago
I saw on a menu
at the old Kimpo Airport
Baked Rick
and in Korean grocery stores
one can find
corn flights
I look forward
to many more years
of linguistic confusion
as I travel about Asia
Visit to Okinawa Aquarium
Whenever I visit an aquarium,
zoo or wild life park
I am reminded of a prison
the prison is filled with animals
who amuse us for their food
I am sure that the animals
hate us humans
who are watching them
do their animal thing
but looking into their eyes
the eyes of the sea turtles
swimming back and forth
in their prison cell
in the Okinawa aquarium
filled with hatred
for the humans
who had imprison them
and hunt their kind
and don’t get me started
on the dolphins and killer whales
who preform acrobatic feats
for their daily meals
and the sharks
the king of the ocean killers
they too
if they could
they surely would
escape
their prison cell
screaming
Death to all humans
as they flee
back into the ocean’s depths
Okinawa West Coast Road
Riding down the west coast road
of Okinawa
echoes of other beach roads
fill my head with memories
I am reminded of Hawaii
and driving along the Oregon coast
east coast beach towns as well
and Barbados
and the Caribbean islands
all the roads
are lined with tourist resorts
beach views and restaurants
all very similar
yet different
and as the beach towns
fade away
behind us on the bus
my memories
of all the other beach towns
I have visited
fade away
into my memory hole
Okinawa Haiku
in Okinawa
the warm trade winds blow away
the coming winter
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