It’s been too long since
my last entry. I’ve traveled rest of
Japan, came back to US, lived in Canada for a month, returned to
Connecticut, and now back in Japan…… all since my last entry back in February. Why did I stop writing?
Somewhere along the way,
I lost my inspiration. Don’t get me
wrong, I still loved the road; Japan still made my head spin; I still smiled
whenever I met strangers and still held my breath whenever I saw something
beautiful. But I was no longer traveling
alone. I was blessed with road
companions who are among my closest friends.
Traveling with them made the roads shorter and the nights full of
laughter. However, traveling with others
took away the time of self-reflection which was essential to my writing. Traveling with my friends took away the
loneliness, which was my inspiration in the first place. Before, I could sit anywhere: park, train
station, host’s house, restaurant or street bench and write; but with friends,
the time of self-refection shortened to a few minutes at night right before
falling asleep.
Nevertheless, I would
like to share with you the rest of my original journey.
I left you hanging back
in February with the last story of Thailand.
January 21st I flew back to Tokyo, where after spending the
night at a domestic airport and sleeping on the benches, I took a flight to
Ryukyu Islands aka Okinawa.
The Ryukyu Islands were once
an independent state called the Ryukyu Kingdom.
It was populated by indigenous people who spoke their own distinct
language and followed their own customs and traditions. At one point, China claimed the islands for
their own. Then came Japan with an equal
claim. Finally, less than 150 years ago,
The United States allowed Japan to “plant its stake” and declared the islands
Japanese.
The Ryukyuan people suffered
a great loss during WWII when the Americans overtook the main island in order
to use it as a base to get to the main island of Japan. After the end of WWII, the United States took
over the island to maintain its presence at the Pacific.
Finally they returned it
to Japan 40 years ago.
Although, there are
still many American bases on Okinawa Island, the locals have long gotten used
to them. Okinawa and its many
surrounding smaller islands are popular vacation destinations for main-island
Japanese. The locals do not consider
themselves Japanese and many still speak the original language.
The largest population
of centennials live on Okinawa. They say
it is the combination of lifestyle and diet that keeps them going for so
long. They eat fish, rice, seaweed and
goya. They live in close communities
where families take care of each other.
There are many grandmas to one child, and many grandchildren to one
grandparent. Everyone is a family. Sustaining close relationships keeps them
going way past 100 years old.
The island is stunningly
beautiful. It’s long south to north and
very narrow west to east. The drive
north along the shore is magnificent.
The color of the water is purest greenish-blue. The small towns feel quaint and cozy. The people are smily are friendly. No one is in a rush. Busses are late (which is unheard of on the
main island). It’s an island life.
I stayed in Naha, the
capital of Okinawa for two weeks before finally setting out around the
island. Through my sister, I found an
American girl who was teaching English in a town nearby, and quickly we became
friends. I stayed with her for almost a
week while touring the island. We went out with her students at
night, explored the gardens of Naha in the south, cooked home food for each
other and spend lots of time talking.
NiQui was very happy on Okinawa.
She found a job she cherished, she acquired close friends with whom she
felt happy, and there was a prospect of a relationship in the works. Her smile was unobtrusive, contagious and
sincere. When she laughed, people around
her burst in fits of giggles. She had a
feel of a person who knew what happiness was.
And that was immensely attractive.
When the day to say good
bye came, I was sad to part but having these new memories felt good and I was
happy to have met her.
I was going back to Naha
to meet a friend. He was flying from New
York to spend a week in Japan. To
check-up on me and to learn about a new culture.
The first couple of
days, we spent exploring the southern part of the island. We found ourselves strolling through the
streets of Naha talking about our lives and fulfillment. We explored the famous Gyokusendo Cave, which
is one of the longest natural caves in Japan.
And eventually, our feet led us to a pier where we took a boat to a remote
Tokashiki Island.
Tokashiki Island is very
small. There are only four towns, two on each coast and they are separated by
mountains. Strolling through empty
streets, hiking up in the mountains, swimming in crystal blue waters, we were
always alone. There was not a soul in
sight. Every once in a while, we’d run
into a local, they’d share a big smile with us and we parted ways. We came to Tokashiki off-season and that was
our luck. Complete serenity, peace and
silence were in abundance.
On the way to our town
 |
Our beach
After exploring most of
the island’s hiking paths and swimming in the ocean to our content, we finally
left. My friend was going back to US and
I was bound for Kyushu. The plan was to
visit my friend Sumire, whom I met during my last days in Japan back in
November and then move forward to the main island.
