Okinawa! Home to Mr Miyagi!

23rd – 28th August

Well I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Okinawa and I finally got to go!!!

I was so excited that Tina and Marie wanted to as well! We were able to spend 5 nights and 6 days on different islands in Okinawa. Okinawa is the “Hawaii” of Japan! It is a group of islands south of Japan and is a 2 hour flight from Osaka.

Our first stop was Naha – the capital of Okinawa which is located on the main island. Naha is a very big town with a lot of industry and a huge port. We walked to the local beach which is a man made beach. The water and sand were amazingly clean considering the view from the beach!



The view from our hotel room.


Okinawa is the place for steak and seafood – especially lobster! We went out to dinner on the main street and Tina and I shared a steak and lobster set! It was delicious! Awamori is the alcohol of Okinawa and of course we had to try it! I had it mixed with mango which was delicious! Awamori is famous because on Okinawa one of the two deadly snakes is found, the Habu snake and you can buy Awamori with Habu snakes in it! (Similar idea to the worm in tequila but slightly worse!) We saw them for sale and they are in huge jars with sometimes 2 snakes in them! And they are really, really expensive – from $400 to $600!

Steak and Lobster


Marie, Tina and I enjoying our Awamori (without Habu snakes!)


Habu snakes in Awamori


We had the biggest and best breakfast at our hotel before going shopping in Naha. We then flew to Ishigaki-jima which took 50mins and it has some of the best beaches in Okinawa. We went to a steak house for dinner and went for a swim in the pool – this was the first hotel we have stayed in that has a pool!

The view from the plane of the reefs near Ishigaki-jima.


The next day we caught a ferry to Iriomote-jima which is 50 minutes from Ishigaki-jima. We had booked a tour of the island as it is a little hard to get around on Iriomote. It is one of the few places left in Japan with an untouched jungle. We caught a boat along the river and then walked through the jungle to see the waterfalls. It was recommended that we wear “trekking” shoes but we only had thongs! So I was covered in mud by the end of the walk!

The river cruise


Me and one of the waterfalls in the jungle.


My "trekking" shoes!


Really cool tree in the jungle.


We went to a “star sand” beach. A few beaches in Okinawa have “star sand” – the sand on the beach is made up of tiny skeletons of sea creatures which are in a star shape! When you look closely you can see them.

We walked out into knee-deep water and you could see coral and beautiful tropical fish!


We then went to an outdoor onsen. This is Tina’s and my type of onsen as you can wear your bathers! In Japan it is very common for people to go to onsens (public baths) and there are separate male and female ones and first you must wash yourself in the shower before getting into the huge bath – this is all done without any bathers! I have not been brave enough yet to do it but I must before I leave Japan! Marie is an expert at it so we left her to enjoy the inside one while Tina and I went to the outside mixed one in our bathers! The water was about 30 degrees but it was raining a little and there was thunder! The backdrop of the jungle made it an amazing experience!

Me in the onsen!


We went back to Ishigaki-jima by ferry but it was a terribly rough ride due to the weather!

The next day we went to Taketomi Island which is a really small island only 10 minutes by ferry from Ishigaki-jima. Our main aim was to find beautiful beaches and go swimming – and we did! We hired bikes and went to Kondoi beach which was really beautiful and then we went to another “star sand” beach.

Riding around Taketomi Island.


The "star sand" beach

Marie took this photo through a magnifying glass so you can see the star sand!


At one of the beaches this guy was playing beautiful Okinawian music on the jetty.


Shisa lions are everywhere in Okinawa - one has it's mouth open for happiness to come in and the other has it's mouth closed to keep the happiness in!


Tina, Marie and I on Taketomi Island!


At the beaches on Taketomi Island there are these odd sea creatures everywhere which look like huge black slugs!


We had really wanted to go snorkelling while on Ishigaki-jima as it is meant to be amazing and luckily the weather was just right! We booked a tour which was for 2 and a half hours and they provided us with all the equipment. Our tour guides were really helpful and kind. They showed us where the clown fish were hiding and one showed me a jellyfish! It was so much fun and really amazing as some of the coral is bright blue and purple. This was my favourite thing that we did in Okinawa!

Us and our snorkelling tour guides!


Getting ready to go snorkelling!


Where we went snorkelling


Marie and I - safety first!


Lucky I bought an underwater camera as the view was amazing!




Tina, Marie and I had been looking at the jewellery on Ishigaki-jima as there is a stone they use which can only be bought on this island. It is the colour of the ocean – a beautiful blue colour with flecks of green. We all liked the same necklace which was silver in the shape of a leaf with this amazing stone so luckily the shop had 3! So now we all have a beautiful necklace which reminds us of beautiful Okinawa!


The next day we had to leave Ishigaki-jima but first we headed to the local beach and had a quick swim.


We then flew to Naha and relaxed in the hotel pool for a bit before heading into Naha. We did the last of our shopping and enjoyed eating steak, again! This time I had it with taco rice – like a burrito on rice.

Our huge hotel in Naha.


Relaxing in the pool.


Enjoying our welcome drinks!


For our last day in Okinawa what better place to spend it than a beach called Tropical beach!






Sadly our tropical holiday had come to an end but I had the best time ever and if I get the chance I would love to go back and explore some of the other islands!