Okina-washed away

Okinawa was going to be our tropical island relaxation at the end of our Japan tour. Plenty of pool, beach and hopefully some SCUBA dives!

Well, there was plenty of water but that unfortunately rained out some of our plans for Okinawa. We managed to have plenty relaxation though and the hotel was fantastic.

Day 1

Early on in our Japan tour, we had joked that we had so many different travel types already done and we were only missing a monorail on our fictional travel-type bingo card. So, imagine our delight at finding that the airport connected to the city by monorail! Bingo.

After the trek from the station to the hotel (we should have got a taxi!), we checked in and got up to the room. Our first activity was getting up to the infinity pool for a swim! It had a glass wall that looked out onto the street below and was decent enough to be able to have a good bit of a swim. The top floor of the hotel also had a bar and area to sit and chill.

After drying off, we went out in search of dinner. we came across an American-style diner which had a great mix of stuff and decided to get some take-out then head back to the hotel for a movie night chillout before exploring a new city.

Day 2

Throughout Japan there were always a number of shrines and temples dotted around almost any street that we walked down. During a morning walk around the area, we saw a number of shrines, but in a very different style. These were small dugouts into a wall or side of a hill, and had a rounded ’entrance’ or place to place the offering. They ranged from simple to ornate (similar to shrines elsewhere in Japan) and seemed to be clustered together, almost like tombs or grave markers.

Fortunately the rain held off, but only long enough to get back to the hotel. After that the rain came on and stayed on for most of the day. We decided to take a chill day and to sort out some travel plans (and the website!) but decided that, regardless of weather, we’d venture out the next day.

So, we took advantage of the ENORMOUS buffet breakfast that the hotel offered. Enormous in terms of scale AND selection: hand-made pizza, smoked duck or other meat portions, huge salad selections (including some interesting seaweed option!), heaps of stuff!

We made the most of the rest of the day, getting some downtime and catching up on some life-admin type work before rushing through the rain to grab some bento box dinners from Hotto Motto. The hotel beers and a few games of cards for entertainment was a great way to spend a rainy day!

Day 3

Iias Okinaway Toyosaki Mall

Taking advantage of a short break in the rain, we went out for another walk in the morning before getting a taxi out to the Iias Okinawa Toyosaki mall as one of the recommended destinations was the DMM Kariyushi Aquarium there. The mall had a massive food court but after seeing a bakery dedicated to doughnuts, we had to stop there! They had an awesome mix of sweet and savoury filled doughnuts, yum!

DMM Kariyushi Aquarium

Feeling rather full, we waddled over to the aquarium for a look around. The entrance fee was higher than we expected but it was well worth it. There were so many different sorts of fish, turtles, sharks, penguins, etc. It was really good. And that was before we went into the room with the non-marine life! They had toucans, owls and SLOTHS! There were two sloths chilling on separate wooden tree-like structured. It was great seeing them up close.

After that we went for a walk along the beach area (had to take advantage of the rare dry spells!). It was still overcast so didn’t exactly have the tropical island vibe but it was a nice area and you could sit and watch all the airplanes take off and fly almost directly overhead.

Once we had finished in the area, we headed back to the hotel for free beers (the hotel put on a keg or two every afternoon!) and to play some cards again before dinner.

Kushikado Izumizaki Rotary

The rain had let up again so we ventured a little further that previously and headed to a street with many restaurants. On the way though we came across one of the all-you-can-eat AND drink places that we’d seen a lot, but had never tried out: Kushikado Izumizaki Rotary. In Japanese, Izumizaki is similar to tapas (lots of small dishes) which we love, so we decided to give it a try and delighted that we did! It’s speciality was skewers and the bulk of these were served for us to cook in a big pot of broth, similar to some of the shabu shabu places we’d seen/been to in Tokyo. Here though, unlike the previous place, they served two different types of broth: one ‘plain’, one spicy. Despite not knowing what some of the skewers were, we got our money’s worth with both the food and the drinks. It was excellent and, to make things even easier, you could order everything from the little screen in front of you. Magic!

Day 4

Yamada Coffee House

Day four saw us with a bit of a slower start after such a big dinner the night but we got up and went for a wander to find a coffee house. The one we were aiming for was closed but we came across ChapteR Yamada Coffee. What a find! The place was incredibly well setup inside and the owner was great, talking about the coffee place and he showed us their signature cold brew coffee which was delicious, if a little too strong for me!

Akamaru Ramen

Following this, since it was a Sunday, we took a bit of a chill morning, including a swim. Looking for a late lunch we went to a ramen joint called Akamaru. It looked every part of a good ramen place: friendly chef, couple of locals, no flashy signs or decoration inside or out. I ordered spicy noodles and, boy, they were spicy! Delicious, well presented, but incredibly spicy. Perfect! We washed these down with some of the Okinawa Orion draft (fast becoming one of my favourite beers!).

Re-tired

Retiring to the hotel full, refreshed and internally melting, we spent the afternoon using up some hotel vouchers on cocktails whilst having some more chill time.

Great day and a great final day in Okinawa. Despite getting no diving as we originally wanted, the chilled out area we were staying in was exactly what we needed. The Orion’s helped too.