Okinawa ( special edition)

After posting the last blog the day before Philip, Teresa and I were heading off to Japan .Philip had the final interview for the job he had applied for. Much to everyones delight he was told he had the job.

I met him after the interview at Beitou MRT station

from there we went to Churchills for a very English experience here in Taiwan;

The owner is a man called Lee, Has a very London / cockney accent. His place is covered in Union Jacks and pictures of Churchill. Although he does not live in UK and has not since 1986, (he went back once in 1998,) he says he is very loyal to the King but essentially is not a fan of UK or the people.

He provides a big fry up and all things British; he makes sausages which are sold through out Taiwan and has a frozen counter with cottage pies and the likes.

Lee is very loud I think I would need to prepare myself to go back; I need energy to cope with such a big personality' and the loud music. Philip managed to eat the giant breakfast which meant he got his picture on the wall. I had poached eggs on toast and a cup of Yorkshire tea, the first I have seen for six weeks.

While waiting for the shuttle bus on my way home; I met a woman called Joy she is a museum curator. She has visited museums all over the world; she put me on her " line" Taiwanese " whatsapp" and sent me some recommendations of places to visit around here before I leave the area. I love these people.

Tomorrow Okinawa.

Beitou

Mountain House; After Japan.

It is quite stunning for me to believe that I spent four amazing days in Okinawa and now I am back sitting at my laptop enjoying this view once again.

I got an Uber over to meet P&T on the morning of our flight. We then got another Uber out to Taoyuan International Airport Airport .

I had a small case as we were only going for four days; I was amazed at the size of Philip and Teressa's huge cases.

We travelled on Peach Airline . The crew wore pink outfits and the seats were purple yet somehow it was soothing rather than jarring.

"Peach Aviation Limited, operating as Peach, is a Japanese low-cost airline. Its head office is at Kansai International Airport and in Tajiri, Osaka Prefecture."

I noticed the last time I was here how well organised and efficient the airport was yet peaceful and relaxing too. Each gate area has a play place for the children, snacks and drinks, loos and one gift shop.

They play very quiet peaceful Chinese music which is very calming. They play this music at many MRT stations too. The place is spotlessly clean no rubbish anywhere and plenty staff around, taking care of the passengers as well as keeping the place shipshape.

These two airports put Heathrow and Manchester to shame.( in my humble opinion)

Up to the monorail

We arrived at Naha Airport international airport which is equally clean and peaceful.

It takes a while to get through customs, like in Taiwan at arrivals, there are many checks and it is quite serious and strict; they take pictures and fingerprints.

Paper work

First sight

We took the monorail to the hotel; once again clean efficient no waiting around. Out little hotel was cheap and cheerful. my room had a double and singe bed, a cooker sink washing machine, shower and great loo.

We went out for dinner to a " famous" place which was in a back street I would never have found if Trs had not taken me ,she is a great researcher and a foodie.

It looked like the kind of place you would not choose to visit . People were smoking inside ,we sat out side on the street by the Pizza Oven.It was a very hot night but somehow it was all Ok because I had a cold glass of wine Trs and I has Japanese fish and seaweed pearls; Philip had a pizza.

It was all very new and different and exciting.We went back to the hotel had another glass of wine. We had to be up early as we had another big day the following day . Teressa had organised a coach tour for us.

We joined the coach at 8.30 AM and it was already melting hot; we stopped off at Lawsons for coffee; Lawsons is Japan's Seven Eleven / Family Mart.

We saw many wonderful things that day; some centuries old living quarters which had been brought here and rebuilt as they once were; my impression was peace and tranquility. We saw some old traditions being kept up, like weaving and cloth dying and making paper.

We saw a show which started with a beautifully traditionally dressed woman singing and playing a stringed instrument; and a man playing a drum. I was very moved by those two people. The show continued with more young people coming on dancing and playing the big drum at the same time.Very athletic , powerful and moving.

We had some Okinawa sweet potato ice cream ,which is purple. And we saw people making sweet potato biscuits.

We went on the see a big tourist attraction there the Aquarium which you had to see to believe its size. I have no idea how many amazing fish we saw; the sharks were the most impressive. Although my favourite is the clown fish because I swam with them in the Coral Sea in North Queensland.

We went on to see Elephant Rock and ended the day in a cafe with a gorgeous view of the ocean.

We were also give a lot of information about the island; the sheer amount of American Military is a shock to me. The Okinawa people hope in a few generations they will leave conversely they bring so much wealth. We saw many barracks whole areas with homes shops clinics doctors dentists all for the American military. The funniest thing for me was the tins of SPAM everywhere . They were brought over in the war ;as it was in Glasgow we ate a lot of spam when I was a child. Some Japanese dishes have incorporated spam in to them.

Trs had booked for her and I us to go to a fine dining restaurant that evening; there were many courses very small very delicate we sat at the bar and watched the chef cook our food ( some fish of course is not cooked)

My first fine dining in Japan.

The following day we were going to see the Okinawa Caves.

There were many and varied hight lights for me during this trip to Okinawa .I think this was a hight light for me. I have visited many caves in many places over the years ; these were the biggest longest and most beautiful for me

The atmosphere was beautiful the sounds of dripping water , the waterfalls the quiet rivers were captivating. They inspired my imagination; I once wrote a children's book called Murray's Waterfall Home after seeing a magnificent waterfall in Canada.

I was inspired again here. I looked up Japanese girls names. I imagined a Japanese girl who transitions between being a girl and a mermaid. She is friends with all the cave life that scared me ( I only saw pictures of them) and helped save lives when there was an earthquake that blocked the entrance to the caves.I settled on Akari which means brightness because Helen means light.

After the delights of the caves; we went back to Naha and had a completely different experience; P&T love shopping for themselves and for gifts.

We went into one shop that sold potato crisps that were half coated in chocolate and all kind of nibbles with strange and wonderful taste combinations all potato based.

I bought some for the Murder Mystery Evening on the Saturday after we came home.

I then understood T&P s big suitcases.They bought lots of clothes and food and all sorts of things in the mall / market.I bought a dress and a top as nothing I had with me was cool enough for the heat in Okinawa, Taiwan too some days.Everything was very cheap; much cheaper than Taiwan and I thought that was cheap.It really was fun few hours , fun to just be in those places.

We then went to our last restaurant .In honour of Philip Teressa found a fine dining Italian Restaurant , many courses three of which were Pizza the most unusual to me was one with white cheese with honey on it.

We again sat at the bar where we could chat to the waiters and the chef , he stood by a huge pizza oven looking remarkable cool in the hot climate and a hot oven.

After the delights of the Italian Restaurant we went to a cocktail bar. Japan has many many bars .From what I could see they are all small and intimate; no idea how they make their living.

I had Japanese rice whiskey so not worth photographing; It come in a tall glass with lots of ice , you could just taste the whiskey; It was the end of another amazing fascinating day.

Lawsons to collect our morning coffee after posting some postcards at the post office; I always like to see the post offices , postboxes and the stamps when I am travelling.