Day 6

We got up early and proceeded to finish packing and did a last minute recheck before breakfast.  We went back down to the lobby lounge and checked to see if they had breakfast like they had the day before.  We were happy that they did.

After breakfast I figured I had enough time to see if I could find the Tea House of the August Moon.  We walked by the "Love Motels" and the wife was getting nervous again.  We went up the steps to the Buddhist shrine, but found out that it was under remodeling.  We then walked around the gardens for a while then left to find the Tea House, which was only a block away.

It only took us 20 minutes to walk back to our hotel. We had just enough time to do some last minute shopping, at the hotel gift shop and Lawson's, before leaving.  We checked out and caught a cab, in front of the hotel, and proceeded to Naha International Airport.

After checking in, we went to the Observation Platform, to watch the planes. All along the airport there were, what seemed to be, thousands of orchids.  They were just beautiful.  We were on schedule/on time. It was such a clear and beautiful day.  You could see the Kerama Islands in the distance. 

We checked out the restaurant and saw all sorts of neat dishes in the display case .  Too bad we already had breakfast.  We then started hearing some drumming and music.  We went downstairs to see a "Welcome Okinawa" performance. I thought this was pretty neat and stayed to watch it.  It was different from the other dances we saw during the week, but pretty well much the same music.  Near the end of the show a costumed performer came out among the crowd.  It put on a pretty good show and I had a pretty good laugh.  The other entertainers tried to get people up on the stage to dance with them. 

After the performance we were able to get our picture taken (with our camera) with some of the performers. A lot of people were queuing-up for the same thing.  A good end to a wonderful trip.

I made a final call, back to the states, to our friends in Austin. This is where I was finding out what happened in Naha on Sunday (the WWII bombs).  Gee, those "calling cards" are useful.   We then made our way for some last minute shopping at the gift shop.  I picked up a "3-pack" of Orion and some candy.  Afterwards, I got into a conversation with a  "Zen Buddhist" monk.  He spoke pretty good English and he wished us a safe return.

We went to our gate and boarded the plane to Tokyo (Haneda).  We were on a JAL 747 and got to watch our take-off on the TV monitor.  I was surprised that the people, sitting behind us, were the same ones we arrived with on the trip to Okinawa. 

Upon arrival, in Haneda, we caught the Limousine bus to Narita (1 hour 5 minutes) .  Getting around Narita Airport was not as bad as I thought it would be.  It was pretty well organized.  We checked our bags and proceeded to the gate.

By this time I was getting pretty hungry, so I stopped in a noodle shop and got a Tempura Noodle Soup and Joyce got a Chinese Noodle Soup with a Coke. Both came to 1300¥ ($10).  The airport took both yen or dollars.

Again, we did some more shopping, as we had 2 hours before departure to DFW.  We were, again, on time.  After departure, we settled in.  I got two Jack Daniels with coke and began to sit back and relax.  After lunch, I went to sleep (the JD did it)  and woke up somewhere over Washington State.  We landed in DFW ahead of schedule and drove back home.

Final Thoughts

This trip was too fantastic to believe.  Everything just came together, once I made my mind to go.  The yen to dollar was at its lowest in 5 years, airfares were low, the weather was great the whole trip, and what was really astonishing, the planes were ON TIME!.  Actually, for the weeks before the trip I would monitor the flights and find out they were being delayed almost daily for one reason or another.

Transportation:
I decided not to rent a car since I was not comfortable about driving, on the wrong side of the road, the congestion, and being jet-lagged, but to make use of the bus and taxi system.  After much research, on the net, I found some sights about bus fares, schedules, and estimated taxi fares from Naha.  This became very useful as I could figure out an approximate cost to get from point A to point B.
 http://www.city.naha.okinawa.jp/kanko/nahatabi/english/shiryou/index.htm

Hotel location:
I chose my hotel location by trying to be close to not only the airport, but also, the bus station (only a couple of blocks away). The hotel was also a block away from the harbor terminal.  Some tours went out from here, but almost everything we saw was in Japanese, Chinese, or Korean (tourism mainly designed for the Oriental tourists).

If I had it to do over I would spend a few day in a hotel (resort if need be) up near the center of the island (Sun Marina would be a good choice).  That way I could spend more time, up in the northern area of the island, without having to spend a lot of time getting around.   The other half would be back where I was in Naha. 

I spent too much time doing bus/taxi rides.  Doing  it all over, I would feel more comfortable renting a car (in the north) and relying on the bus/taxi system in the south.  However the #20 bus is always going up/down island every 10-15 minutes.

There is so much to see, and do, there, that it is hard to take it all in in the short time I was there. I was, actually, planning on using the "tours" from either the airport or harbor terminal, but that didn't work as planned. This trip was more of a quick whirlwind tour.  Next time, I go,  I know where to concentrate my time and effort

If you ever hear any voices telling you to go somewhere (still can't believe that), then follow it.  Okinawa seems to be a magical island and maybe some spirits were just guiding me ( really don't believe it, but who knows).

It may be expensive, but it's not as bad as you think.  Meals are pretty reasonable (if you don't do teppan-yaki every night).  Sure you can spend $25-30 per person or more for a meal, but you can also spend $5-8 per person like anywhere else in the states. Entry fees to the different parks are reasonable.

The people were just wonderful.  Everyone was courteous and helpful regardless of the language difficulty.  You can get by without the language skills, but it would be helpful to learn key phrases before going.  It's, also, the polite thing to do. Don't be an "Ugly American".

I never thought I'd go back to Okinawa, and after a few more years, I plan on returning. There have been lots of changes over the years, yet... a lot is still familiar.

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Day 6