Dreaming of Okinawa

On Wednesday at 5:45 am, I boarded the first of four planes to Okinawa, Japan. It was going to be a long day…

I met up with my cousins and fellow travelers in Chicago and we hopped on a huge 747 jet bound for Tokyo. While the jet itself was huge, the seat space was not, and there was no individual entertainment, so for 13 hours we slept, ate, and goofed off to pass the time. 

When we arrived in Tokyo, we had to take a little bus over to our next plane. I immediately noticed that the Japanese were very health-conscious. Many of them wore face masks and they even had the buses backed into exhaust fans that went underground. We got on our 4th plane of the trip and 3 hours later (for a total of 19 hours flying time), we arrived in Okinawa, Japan! We were so excited to see Kevin and little Chloe at the airport. It was different to fly into an airport and see soldiers waiting on their families, it's usually the other way around back home. 

We hopped into the van and realized everything was opposite! That can really confuse you the first few times- thankfully the three weary travelers were not attempting to drive! 

We noticed a lot of odd looking little cars on the roads, many which we had never heard of. This one is actually a taxi...

And, even though most of Okinawa seems to take either dollars or yen, we decided it was best to have a little of both...

We were very jet-lagged and anxious to get showers and sleep, so the first night, we just went by the grocery store on Kadena Air Base and picked up some essentials...although we had a cultural experience in store for us! (Warning...not for the faint of heart…)

Seriously, I warned you…………...

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Yep. That's a snake. In a jar of sake (beer). And it costs about $300. Not yen, dollars. That snake is the Habu- the most poisonous snake on earth and an inhabitant of the Okinawan island. We hope we do not meet any of these outside of jars. 

We spent Thursday relaxing and recovering from the trip. It is amazing here on the air base- like a little America- they even have a Chilli's and Macaroni Grill! We can see the ocean from the back yard and can watch the Air Force planes take off and land. We are so glad to be here with Kevin, Cody and little Chloe!!