Bus stopping & city hoppin

This past weekend was exactly what I needed. I got to reunite with my friends on Camp Foster after a long first week of Camp for all of us. The goal of the weekend was to spend as much time off base in areas with the least English as possible, and we were pretty successful with it! We have been using the green line, which is a bus that runs from Camp Kinser through Camp Futenma to Camp Foster, which has been extremely useful in getting us at least half way to places (for free). Friday night we took the green line to Camp Foster and walked to American Village. The village is adorable and filled with great Japanese restaurants, little shops including a great 100 yen store and the infamous ferris wheel. We had dinner at a very authentic Japanese restaurant where we got to sit on the floor, and we had to take our shoes off (which you pretty much have to do at any restaurant here). We got to barbeque our own food and finally try some traditional udon noodles, it was all delicious, despite the fact that everything has egg in it!

The next morning my friends from Camp Foster came over to Kinser and we all took cabs to Shuri Castle, located in the main town of Naha. The castle is nestled in a village, which has all been restored since 1992 after World War II. We got to take a tour of the inside and it was so nice to finally have exposure to some Japanese history. The gardens surrounding the castle and the views from them were incredible. After the castle we managed to maneuver our way onto the Japanese bus system, with help from some local Japanese students that we met. They offered us their bento box and in return we gave them a nutri-grain bar and a PB&J, they replied with “delicious!” The buses in Okinawa are affordable and pretty nice for public transportation. We went to Kokusai street, which is known for it’s massive amounts of traditional Asian stores and some strange shopping. It was so much fun looking into the different stores and seeing what each one had to offer. There are not many American tourists around, and the few that are have some sort of affiliation with the American military on the island, therefore Okinawans don’t know much English. We had dinner at a restaurant named Ohana, overlooking part of Kokusai street and ordered traditional Okinawan food, which meant pointing to a picture that we decided looked good, since there was absolutely no English on the menu. We were served meals from pig ears, to pig stomach to tomato baked over cheese.

Shuri Castle

View of Naha from the Chinese Gardens at Shuri Castle

Japanese bus stop!

Our new Japanese friends

Sunday we were lucky to once again have a nice and sunny day, with 97% humidity of course. We went to the pool on Kinser for a bit, and then took the green line back to Camp Foster and took a cab to the Sunset beach on American village. It was a great and lively beach, the water was nothing compared to the resort we had gone to last weekend, but it was nice to be out and experience something new. We found the best sushi boat place that night, and finally got to taste the Okinawan sushi. My mind was blown and sushi cravings fulfilled. Definitely planning on becoming a regular there!

Kokusai street!

Sunset Beach 

Delicious sushi boat restaurant!

Now we are back to another week of camp, Earth Friendly Extravaganza it is! Hoping to check out a local Japanese grocery store during the week and start planning another weekend of continuing exploring all that this amazing island has to offer! Until then, OKI ALL DAY

The daily sunset from my window