This morning our initial plan was to visit O-Jima which is known to have good beaches and is a port-way to smaller virgin islands that we might have visited if we had not been intercepted by a taxi driver near the bus terminal, where we were about to take the bus for O-Jima. We told him we wanted to go to O-Jima and he offered us to drive us there for only 20 cents more than the bus drive. So we decided it was worth it because of the time difference. I think this is the best decision we have made because the taxi driver was very friendly with us and improvised himself a tour guide, talking to us about the different kinds of crops that were being harvested in Okinawa as we crossed them and pointing out the Shiisa figurines on rooftops and house entrances. One moment I clearly remember was when we passed a sugarcane processing facility, the smell of fresh and sweet sugar cane filled the air. The tour was in Japanese and we were all interacting with the driver, practicing our Japanese, and if not everyone understood what was being said, there was always at least one person that understood. The taxi driver told us there was no much to see at O-Jima and we should rather go to a place where there are glass-boats where we can observe marine life from a boat with a glass floor. He took us to that place and the scenery was breath-taking. We all felt really good to be out there in such a beautiful place. The boat ride was quite ordinary and sadly, all the coral reef was dead and there was only marine life in small batches. We did meet a Japanese girl from our University on the boat and we later took photos with them. That was all a surprise. Then we started walking on the wild beach, climbing over rocks and sometimes in going around in shallow water to continue along the coast. Soon we felt we were alone on this beach as we didn't see anyone around and the walk became somewhat like an adventure. We found spots hiding behind giant rocks and when we went inside, and looked up we could only see tropical vegetation and when we peaked towards the sea we could see to the edge of the world. We swam a little bit in the water and it felt so good; we where not at the public beach with a bunch of tourists, we were just happening to be at a beautiful place and at this point we had no idea where we where, but we knew we wanted to swim in this clear, blue water.
There was a closed off, restricted Island right next to where we were swimming so my friend and I swam off the coast and climbed on the island that was only accessible by a bridge that was blocked off. There was an arch with steps going up so we went and the steps were covered by leaves and we really felt we were in a place where there had not been people for a while. The steps led to the center of the island and the highest point where there was a clearing and nothing else. It felt so mysterious being on this seemingly forbidden island.
We had walked along the coast for almost 3 hours and we could not go back the same way because of high-tide... We had to walk until we find the closest street that has a bus stop.
We walked for another hour and on our way we met some locals who seemed very friendly and greeted us with a smile-filled Konnichiwa. Okinawans are definitely warmer than the folks from the big cities. Once we hopped on the bus, 2 stops later we had to get off for a transer. At this point we experienced how rigid and to the letter Japanese people can be. We first got off the bus, the bus driver told us to wait at the bench at the other side of the street. Then the driver did a u turn and parked next to the bench and changed the bus number sign and opened the door and let us in. We could not believe it. Besides us, there was a city Japanese girl dreaming of Okinawa and she was looking for a place to stay.
Our evening kicked off with some more drinking... a mix of liquor, beer and sake... On our way to a local bar we met an artist that makes caricatures of political figures or beautiful portraits, all in lead pencil. We were really interested in his work and some of us bought some of his best sellers: Kim Jong Il and famous Japanese baseball players. He was extremely friendly and even more so one of his customers. This lady was with her daughter and husband and we conversed with them for a good half hour about Okinawa, where we come from, our business in Japan and they even gave us tips on where to go to see beautiful islands and beaches. The artist was kind to write us down details of the place and how to get there. It was pleasant to speak with locals and feel like we were old friends although we are foreigners and have never met before.
After that, two of us, including me, called it a night and two others went to a gaijin bar.
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