７月２４日（金：to Okinawa)

Today Nick, Kitty and I ate breakfast downstairs at the ryokan, and got in a quick trip to the onsen before we checked out with Lane. Most of the day was spent traveling on two separate Peach flight with 那覇市 (naha-shi, Naha City), Okinawa as the final destination. It was one of the boys' last days in Japan, so they felt a little frustration at so much time being spent traveling. I think it was a fun trip regardless since we got to see many different places, but it is definitely worth keeping in mind when planning that travel time can be significant, even domestically.

Saw this liquid checking machine at security. Apparently it checks the contents of bottles for safety. Can we get some of these in the USA?

Fortunately, we registered the luggage we would check ahead of time online, so our luggage was less expensive than on the flight to Hokkaido. Peach doesn't connect your luggage to your final destination since it's a budget airline, so unfortunately we did have to check our luggage for each flight separately.

Yum! Not quite sure what it is supposed to resemble but it was good.

Once we got to 那覇空港 (naha kuukou, Naha Airport) we took the monorail station connected right to the airport to the stop closest to our hostel and engaged in a brisk 12-or-so minute walk with our luggage.

Lights to show which stop you've arrived at on Yui Monorail!

We found some fun things in the street, too.

dragon head... just chilling

shisa (Okinawan lion-dog)

Mini tree pouch plants? What are these?

Shisa are usually found in pairs. Males are depicted with their mouths closed and females with their mouths open. I found a brief description of shisa I'd like to share.

We checked in to our four-person private room and it turned out we weren't allowed to use the AC except for 8pm to 8am. It was mid-afternoon, and Okinawa is very hot and humid, so we headed out to dinner early. We had great pizza at Nippori Pizza, and Lane said it even rivaled his favorite pizza place. It was unanimous that we thought it was really great pizza.

our hostel's sign

and the hostel itself

三毛猫 (mike neko, calico cat) we found on the way to dinner

it is definitely チョコドリンク (choko dorinku, chocolate drink)

The reason the hostel probably chose to only allow AC 8pm to 8am is that Japanese people tend to be concerned with being エコ (eko, ecologically friendly). Most don't leave their AC on all night but just set the time for an hour or two as they go to sleep so they go to sleep comfortably. Foreigners, though, want to use the AC all the time, generally, when it's hot. So as a compromise, the hosetel decided to expect travelers to leave during the day, but to allow AC at night when people would be in the hostel.


Hostels are really great for meeting people. If you ever travel alone try staying in a hostel. Foreign travelers tend to me friendly and like to rally together for group discounts and to go on day trips with others. It's a great way to hear about more places you might want to see in the area and take on a travel buddy or 3.

At night Nick, Kitty and I sat in the common space of the hostel, and chatted with a couple Australian men and a young Swedish brother and sister. They told us there was a typhoon coming in tomorrow (what is with us and typhoons?) and we just enjoyed socializing. They hadn't known each other before the hostel, but they had spent the day traveling together. I highly recommend hostel experiences.

Travel tips:
22. Stay in a hostel! You will meet new people, they will probably be adventurous, well-traveled, and open-minded.