Okinawa, Japan

Well, I lived up to my promise! If you remember, I traveled to Japan during my winter break (in February) for ten days. I had an amazing trip, met some awesome people, and knew that I had to go back one day.

That time came sooner than I expected. I had a two-week "spring break" because of my school's midterm examinations and class field trip, which I did not attend. I decided to make a short trip back to Japan, this time visiting Okinawa and Tokyo Disney Resort. I stayed in Okinawa for three days, and Tokyo Disney for four days.

The beach

Okinawa is a southern island of Japan, and it was extremely humid and a bit rainy during my trip. Another solo trip, I was looking forward to meeting new people and enjoying some alone time (as if I don't get enough of that already... lol!). On the first day, I didn't get to Okinawa until late afternoon, so I checked in and just did what I usually do - walk around the city and get lost a little bit while exploring. While exploring, I came across a beach and stopped to relax for a bit. I made it back to the hostel and hung out in the lounge. While there, I met a Canadian and an American, and we spent the evening chatting awhile. I crashed early because the next day was prepped with my Japanese friend, Mai!

Donkatsu (pork cutlet) and miso soup

I had a restless sleep due to the humidity and woke up with even more BRUTAL weather - sunny, humid, disgusting. I put on my lightest set of clothes and headed to meet Mai. Unfortunately, after she picked me up, her car stalled and the battery died. So we were stuck for awhile and our initial plans fell through for the day. We decided to walk and get lunch while the repairman came and took a look at the car. We ate pork cutlet (donkatsu), which was absolutely amazing. One of my favorite Japanese dishes. While at lunch, Mai and I met up with her friend/co-worker, and they decided to take me to their dessert restaurant by the beach! Mai is the manager at a souflet pancake shop. OH. MY. GOD. I have never tasted pancakes so delicious in my life. They melted in my mouth, so fluffy, so sugary, so buttery, so good. I have GOT to get that recipe. After we felt sufficiently full from lunch and dessert, we walked around the beach and rested for awhile. Mai's friend had to leave to take care of her baby, so Mai and I decided to take a drive around Okinawa for awhile. After that, we enjoyed an insane amount of Japanese appetizers as our dinner whilst consuming Okinawa's finest beer, Orion. It was SO GOOD, but I soon found out that they don't export it ANYWHERE. Not even on mainland Japan. Ugh. So I used that as an excuse to drink as much as I wanted. YOLO. Vacation. Mai and I departed ways after an extremely fun day spent together. I wish we had more time!

Hanging out inside a seashell

The most delicious pancakes EVER

Reunited with Mai and her friend!

The next day, I made plans with the two friends I met at the hostel, and we headed to a famous ramen shop. We had to get there an hour before opening just to guarantee ourselves a spot. So we waited from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. for some delicious ramen. And it was spectacular! After that, we headed to Shuri Castle, a popular tourist site of Okinawa. The weather was SO RAINY and cool, the complete opposite of the day before. Island life, man. I couldn't get used to it. While at the castle, I was trying to take a picture when suddenly, a cute, older, Japanese woman completely photobombed the picture. I decided that the picture looked better with her in it. She came up to us and started talking to us in a friendly manner, and then her husband dragged her away, LOL.


Amazing ramen

The cute lady who photobombed my picture

Okinawa scenery

We headed back to the hostel as the rain kept pouring down. I didn't feel like doing much else after that, so I rested awhile. Eventually the rain let up and I went to the market to buy some souvenirs. The next day I was headed to Tokyo for my expected trip to Disney Land! Stay tuned!

Orion beer at 10:00 a.m. while waiting for the plane