Off on our holidays!

The Japanese do not take their holiday entitlement. So the government create public holidays in order to force people to have a rest. In May there is a three day public holiday called Golden week. (mmm yeh I know 3 days does not a week make!) So Dominic and I took the whole week off and the week before it!

So wearing my Snoopy chocks away t-shirt we headed off to the south west islands of Japan, Ishigaki, Myakojima and Okinawa. 

Ishigaki - a direct flight from Tokyo. Met at the airport by a very laid-back Korean hostel owner after we'd seen various posters displaying the poisonous wildlife in the area.  We rented the owners car- no paperwork to fill-in, no surveying the car beforehand and I don't even think he checked whether we had a driving license! 

Jimmy the jockey!

 



He had drawn a map of the local area on which he marked the various local beaches, bakeries, cafes and restaurants and where to watch sunsets.  

We went down to a beach from which you're not allowed to swim because they don't want people interfering with the pearl cultivation beds. The water was a fabulous turquoise. 

We spent the next 5 days driving around going swimming, snorkeling and venturing to 2 nearby islands.  The furthest one is known as the jungle of Japan. We weren't sure whether to go or not but eventually did and went to do the trip down the mangrove river and then walk to a few waterfalls. Down at the river at the ticket "office"  the woman selling the tickets asks "where are you from?" Dominic says Ireland and her immediate response is "cold". The bloke in the ticket booth with her who we assume is her husband pipes up that he lived in Ireland for two years. He's a jockey he says the name of the stable he used to work at,  Dominic is able to tell the guy that his mum and dad know the owner! Bonkers!

I feel that the lonely planet guide loves telling its readers to go to way out places and then suggest going somewhere even further away that is absolutely brilliant. They said the best beach in Japan is Moon beach on this jungle island, so we decided to head for it. At the bus stop we can't work out what the schedule is. Thankfully someone tells us we have a two hour wait. We asked them if they know our favourite beach on Ishigaki. They do so we asked them how Moon beach compares. Without hesitation they say our beach is better. So we head straight back to the ferry. Ha! Lonely planet we have beaten you! 

View from our bedroom

However at the beach I realise I haven't got my snorkel gear. Dominic has and is telling me that he can't describe how fabulous the fish are. (His snorkel mask is fitted with prescription lenses so borrowing them would not be the best!)    But then the sea goes absolutely flat, I am just standing in the water up to my waist and I can see perfectly the fish swimming around me.

We tried out the various local restaurants; the only issue being that you would typically bump into somebody from the hostel and then there would be the awkward question of whether you should eat together....

Best snorkeling

 

Sat here and enjoyed a pizza!

Next Myakojima, my favourite island. It's actually one island linked to 4 others by very impressive bridges. One of which I think is the longest bridge in Japan. How on earth such a small community can afford or justify the expense I have no idea but it was very handy for us.

There are many beautiful beaches. We stayed at a weird Moroccan place that was expensive and had shared toilets and bathrooms. The owner was great at knowing what the weather was doing and which direction the wind was blowing and based on this was able to tell us the best                                                              beaches to go to.

We went to what was labelled the best snorkeling beach.  We just walked in from the beach and within a few yards it was just like swimming in an aquarium. The guy renting out the umbrellas and chairs played an Okinawan instrument that sounded very plinky-plonky. It was most surreal to be snorkeling and hearing this music.

 


The Japanese apparently love getting kitted out for any activities. So they went into the water with a full wet suit, booties, gloves!, and often a flotation vest.  We just had our swimming gear but it made me wonder if they knew something we didn't.

Our last island was Okinawa. It's bigger and it's famous for having about 20,000 American troops living there. Someone commented that the best areas are fenced off for their training activities.

We flew into the capital Naha which does not look attractive and headed out for an hour to get to the Marriot hotel. Our friendly relocation agent in Tokyo, Louise, had moved in December to work there. She had arranged a great hotel rate and somehow managed to get us upgraded twice. From our massive luxurious room we could see the huge pool below. We had fun with Louise going to a tourist village recreation thing which normally I would not like but it had lots of crafts you could do.  So between us we made a candle!

trendy coffee van

Fabulous Japanese meal at the Marriot!

Also visited the massive aquarium. Beaches looked great but you could only swim in the netted area. So even if you walked out to the deepest bit you were still not up to your armpits. So we were glad that we had maxed out on swimming and snorkeling at the previous islands. 

We headed home.  And I joined a four week intensive Japanese course the next day.