What Does It Matter?

Dearest Rachel –

I suppose it’s appropriate to be dealing with this conundrum on April Fools’ Day. After researching about the city of Okinawa (because our latest port couldn’t be just about the prefecture by that name, since we were already here in the form of the island and city of Ishigaki), the Cruise Compass shows up on my door, indicating Naha in parentheses on the page. It’s the first time I’ve seen any published reference to anywhere other than ‘Okinawa’ in terms of a destination for today. I guess I should have focused on the island, rather than the city, since that’s apparently what was meant all along by using the name.

It’s the sort of harmless prank that might elicit a chuckle from answering “yes,” and thereby not actually answering the question at all. But that assumes this was a prank to begin with, and that suggests a lower level of professionalism from the cruise line than they’re known for. I think it’s more likely that I’ve simply pranked myself, for all intents and purposes.

Then again, as long as we’re here, what does it matter?

I’m pleased to be greeted at the bus by our guide; as he takes my ticket, he acknowledges me with, “ah, Amerika-jin!  I like your T-shirt.”  He asks where I got it, and while I probably should have mentioned the little corner of the online store I’ve set up, I simply told him I created it myself.  Which is equally true (like the question of whether we’re in the prefecture or the island of Okinawa), but precludes him from looking for it, if he wanted to buy it.  Then again – at the risk of gatekeeping – it wouldn’t suit him, now, would it?

As we begin our drive, he points out our good fortune; apparently, yesterday they had a torrential downpour that pretty much washed out the island.  He was actually afraid the tour might be canceled (and we have dealt with a little of that already, back at the Great Barrier Reef), but right now, the sun is shining, it’s warm and comfortable… we lucked out. Now that I think about it, though, our guide in Ishigaki told us much the same thing; it seems that we’re running just behind the bad weather, waiting for it to sweep through before we land (not that we have a lot of control over any of that).  On the bright side, he also observes that the rain helps with the island’s water shortage, as they do run dry from time to time.  The real rainy season isn’t for another couple of months (although when it does come, it will be with a vengeance – the Pacific gets six or seven typhoons a year, and Okinawans can only hope they don’t get hit by them – it’s part of why many of their buildings are made of concrete, as opposed to wood, despite the fact that they aren’t as prone to earthquakes as the ‘mainland’).

Compared to Ishigaki, Okinawa is crowded and built up; that’s what a population of 1.3 million people will do weighed against a mere fifty thousand.

We get to the park, and are directed to the exhibit of the poisonous snakes that populate the islands – and how mankind has managed to deal with them, both in terms of countering their venom and bringing the creatures to a manageable level (but not eradication)

From there, our guide shows us to the cave that is the featured attraction; indeed, the park has literally been built upon it.  The Okinawa islands have hundreds of such caves, given their origins as coral islands, but this is one of the largest throughout the Ryukyus.  As such what they don’t have here that’s common in mainland Japan are volcanoes, or earthquakes.

Wandering through it takes all of about half an hour, and probably covers half a mile, although I really have difficulty in figuring out distances, especially when I can’t see where I’m going.  But we eventually emerge on the opposite side of the park, and have to make our way back across in half an hour to catch the bus. Honestly, at this point, it feels like that one nature/amusement park in Cozumel that we were at with the Sea Bronies, in the mad dash

Toshiyuki claims the open mouthed/closed mouth shiisa represent scaring away the evil and holding onto the good, respectively.  I suppose that’s a more palatable interpretation than claiming a female/male dichotomy that Daniel and I were told about in Hiroshima.

The Shuri Castle itself burned down in 2019, due to an electrical fire (the exact cause is apparently unknown, but given that it occurred after midnight, it’s been concluded that it wasn’t arson.  Amazing for the police to be able to so confidently rule that out; that would not necessarily have been the likely first suspected cause back in the States), so the remains are encased in a warehouse-like structure while it’s being rebuilt; they’re expecting to be able to reopen it by 2026.  For what it’s worth, this isn’t the first time this has happened; the castle has burned down five times since its original construction in 1429, most recently during WWII.  For now, though, the grounds, including the walls and various smaller buildings within the compound, are still accessible for us to walk through.

Our final stop, as with so many of these excursions, takes us to the shopping district of Kokusai street. Unlike some of the more fancy malls we’ve been to in Lombok(!) and Hong Kong, this is just a main street type area, starting with a tiny public park on the corner… and, as I move on a few blocks, I encounter my first shopping arcade of the trip, and decide to wander down it.

This is the sort of thing I could do for hours, as long as my feet could hold out. And I’ll be honest, I considered going back into town after we returned from the excursion, as it was barely three in the afternoon and, unlike in Ishigaki, all-aboard wouldn’t be until seven. But without a ship-sponsored shuttle, it would cost money to go back out there, and without a specific goal in mind (I’d already found a few things, as I state several times over in the last video, so I’d accomplished whatever purpose I’d set for myself and then some), I wasn’t sure that it would be worth the effort. It’s a bit of a shame, as there are probably a few things I could have done, but there is only so much that can be done – and, in fairness, only so much energy to do them. I think this as close as I’ve gotten to regret about calling it quits – it’s Japan, after all (well… sort of) – but it was probably the right thing. If nothing else, I’ve finally found the time and energy to catch up with you and YouTube on these last few stops.

But only just; I’m posting this on the first, as far as you and those reading over your shoulder are concerned, but it’s well into the second from my perspective, and I probably need to start an essay to cover that (although what can I say about Busan that I haven’t already? This is going to be an odd thing, talking about a place I was at less than a year ago).

Be that as it may, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.