Taco rice and old bicycles in OKINAWA

I have been to Japan many times and Okinawa was on my list of places to see for a long time

I went to Okinawa after a trip to Taiwan and I too a direct flight from Taipei. I spent in total 5 days on the main Okinawa island.

Okinawa, as the whole japan, can be quite expensive. I stayed in a backpacker hostel near the ferry terminal so it was convenient for reaching the  islands early each morning. The hostel is called MY PLACE, I have paid ¥10,000  for 4 nights. It can be found at this address:

 

The hostel is not too far from Hokusai Dori, one of the main streets in Naha. Here you can find many eateries and MANY...MANY...TOO MANY tourists!
Moving around Naha is pretty easy by foot and monorail.
To explore the main Okinawa island I took public buses. When I went, all the bus stops were only announced in Japanese so I pointed the name of my stop to the bus driver and asked to let me know when I had to get off the bus…Luckily I never stopped and the wrong stop!
One thing I have decided NOT to visit is the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, this is one of the big attraction on the island but I am totally against animals kept in captivity.

I spent a full day on Tokashiki island and it is super easy to reach from Naha. I went in April so it wasn’t too crowded as it was still low season. I bought the ticket ( around ¥5,000) from the ferry terminal and It took around 40 minutes with the fast ferry; there is also a slower and cheaper ( around ¥3,000) ferry option  that will take around 70 minutes.

On the island there are no ATM so bringing enough cash is highly recommended. Once there you can move around with taxis, rented bicycles or on foot ( there are some shuttle buses apparently but didn't want to waste time trying to understand how to use them). I have opted to walk around as the only bike shop I found near the ferry terminalhad very old bikes that looked like there were going to break after the first steep hill.

Luckily I had downloaded a map on my mobile phone and I managed to get around easily.

Walking around the island was in the end a great idea as it gave me the opportunity to meet locals and to see the island at a slower pace.

There are 2 main beaches on the island: Tokashiku beach and Aharen beach. There are also some observatories that can be easily reached on a short hike. From the Tokashiki village to Aharen beach it took me nearly one and a half hour. There is a road that connects the 2 beaches together and walking from Aharen to Tokashiku took me about 30 minutes.

Plenty of opportunities for snorkeling in the crystal clear water and plenty of opportunities to relax by the beach while eating the famous Okinawa Taco Rice ( a taco flavored minced beef with rice and cheese).

Info on ferry timetables, prices and online reservation can be found here