Another Adventure Comes to a Close

7:54 PM ispeakitboldly 0 Comments


I’m writing this as I sit in the Narita Airport waiting for my flight back to the States. It’s hard to believe two weeks have come and gone so quickly. It had been two years since I last saw my friends, but when they picked me up at the airport it’s like it was only yesterday when we were in Hawaii playing Phase 10 or sitting on the beach at Lanikai. I spent my last evening with them in Okinawa just sitting in a sushi restaurant talking about whatever came to mind. While I do love traveling in general I think being able to spend time with good friends builds memories that last well beyond the end of a trip. And it was even more special to be there to share the special moment of them finding out they are having a boy.
I also want to say how much I love Japan. There is just something about the culture and people that draws me to this country and makes it hard to leave. The people are courteous and it’s clean and safe unlike anywhere else I have ever been. I suppose learning to speak the language would make it even better as it would be nice to communicate with them a little more. Of course I can’t say enough about the food here and how I could easily eat out at the different cafes and restaurants every day. There is just so much more to see and learn and do. Unfortunately time is the ever dwindling resource that I never seem to have enough of.
I always encourage people to travel. There is so much to see. The world is such a big place. While it may be easier or safer to stay in our home and live from day to day we all need to get out and explore. I have never regretted an adventure to another country. I have learned and grown so much from my travels. I have met many people with such different stories from mine. In the words of Ellie from Up, “Adventure is out there…now go have a new one!”

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A Weekend in the Water

7:16 PM ispeakitboldly 0 Comments

I had a couple of low key days as John and Eunice both had to work and I am still too scared to venture out on foot or a bicycle due to the heat. I was able to spend some time with Amelia - one of my new friends here - and help her deliver a cake for her business. We also ended up having lunch at American Village with one of her friends. If I haven’t mentioned American Village yet it’s exactly what the name says. It’s a shopping district with restaurants that is meant to be like an American seaside tourist spot. I even helped her bake one of her cakes later that evening…although I mostly played with her pups and ate parts of the cake not being used. 
It was a special day for John and Eunice as they found out the sex of their baby. They're going to have a boy and I couldn’t be more excited for them. They are going to be awesome parents. There was supposed to be a special dinner reveal, but the secret wasn’t kept too long after they found out so they just told everyone. 
The weekend weather was perfect for a trip to the beach. We had a bit of a late start - that’s island living though - and then went to try and buy something for photos to reveal the baby’s sex. It was fun walking around “the bunny store” (not sure if that’s the real name…) looking for some kind of clothing or toy to identify the baby as a boy in a photo. 
Our beach for today was on one of the smaller islands - Ikei - off the main island of Okinawa. It’s a very pretty drive as we crossed over a couple of other islands to get there. There are mostly fields with the occasional home or cafe on these islands. We had to pay ¥500 (~$5) a piece to get to the beach. This is the first time I have ever paid to use a beach. I’m not sure I approve of it. Once again the sand was incredibly hot. We brought a small tent to provide some shade, but unfortunately we left the most important part…the canopy. So we retreated to the water, which was just perfect. 
One of the main missions of our trip to the beach was to get the perfect photo for John and Eunice to reveal the baby is going to be a boy. We took a bunch of photos with a lot of different poses. Fortunately I am a patient and professional iPhone photographer. The one they picked out for social media was good though and worth it. Plus it’s fun to do things like that with friends. Other than that it was a wonderful afternoon of just relaxing and talking and floating in the cool water. As the sun began to set off in the distance we headed back to find some food. The first place we went to had just closed up. Fortunately this was on another small island so even with this disappointment we were treated to new views of the ocean and little islands. 
Our next stop was King Taco. They are apparently famous for something called taco cheese rice. It’s basically taco meat on rice topped with shredded cheese. Definitely not my favorite meal of the trip but edible. It was a long day so after we got home we all had some well-deserved sleep. 

The next day I was finally able to go diving in the famous Okinawan waters. It was another perfect day for being outside. Our first dive spot was Onna Point - the Toilet Bowl. It took us a couple of tries to find the right road as the GPS sent us down this random trail in the wrong direction. The correct road was one of the junkies roads I have ever seen in Japan with massive potholes. The actual dive spot was a little sketchy getting in. And even worse getting out. You have to climb along this sharp rock formation right on the edge of the water. Getting out you have to climb back on this rock so gloves are required. The tide was a little low and it kept dropping while we climbed out and we were left dangling on the rock. At least a couple of us struggled getting out and got cut up. 
The dive though was amazing. Water warm enough to not need a wet suit. Deep blues. Schools of fish floating right by us. Some of the group saw sharks a little ways off. This was also my first time diving without a guide although one of the group is a diving medical officer in the Navy. I also went my deepest yet at close to 80 feet. 
Because of the low tide and the struggle to get out we decided to go to Cape Maeda for the next dive. This might not have been the best idea. There was a ridiculously long line to get parking. We spent almost an hour and a half trying to go maybe half a mile. We should have just parked and walked with out gear. Then the water itself was full of people snorkeling and diving.  It reminded me of Hanauma Bay on Oahu. However, it was another great spot to see some fish and just relax in the ocean. We were treated with more large fish and hung out in a little cave that had much colder water than what we had been swimming in. 
We finished up a perfect day with lunch at the seawall followed by ridiculously big and delicious shakes. I got a large because the medium looked too small. But since I don’t let good food go to waste I downed it and had no regrets. We finished up with more good food - this time at an Indian place. After that my bed was calling me and I answered. 

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Playing the Tourist

6:53 PM ispeakitboldly 0 Comments

This has been a beautiful week in Okinawa. No rain and plenty of sunshine. John took Monday off to take me around and cruise some of the tourist spots. We first went and grabbed lunch at a fried rice place. I have never just had fried rice for a meal and it was amazing. It comes with a raw egg on top and a little bowl of onion soup. It’s very flavorful and actually kind of filling. Our first tourist stop was at Shurijo Castle. It is in Naha and has been around since the 1300s although it has been rebuilt since it was destroyed in World War II. It’s definitely the biggest of all the castles I’ve been to and also the only complete one with a museum inside to see what it was like to live there as the king or queen. 
There is a big courtyard in front of the main palace that has rows of colored tiles where dignitaries sat on the stone based on their rank with a large pathway in the middle for the king and royal guests. It reminded me of the Jet Li movie Hero. Inside they had completely rebuilt the halls and rooms where it looked brand new. The ceilings were kind of low so there was a lot of crouching from me even though I'm not that tall. There was a peaceful little spot where you could sit on the outside pathway with your legs dangling and enjoy a little garden with a slight breeze. The one interesting thing was it was kind of dark in the throne rooms for both the queen and king. It seemed there were not windows and the walls and floors were all painted black or dark red. It’s always fun to imagine what it was like four or five hundred years ago in these buildings and how people actually lived and what their stories were. Especially since these are the types of buildings you see in video games. 
We then drove to the city center to drive down the main street (Kokusai) which reminded me of the strip in Waikiki. Just a lot of shops and restaurants and tons of people. Very touristy. Very crowded. Way too much traffic. We had dinner was at one of the new malls on island. It’s a big AEON shopping mall that’s very open and I’m sure is great for events like shows or dances. The food court was on two floors and there were way too many options. We ended up doing this sliced roast beef on rice dish. It came with a dollop of horseradish yoghurt. It was actually a lot better than I thought it was going to be. 
Eunice took the day off on Wednesday and we had a very busy day. We went to one of the prettiest spots I’ve ever been to. Cape Maeda is surrounded by rocky cliffs with crystal clear water perfect for diving. There are beaches off in the distance and lots of green covering the rocks. Unfortunately, there isn’t a place to rent gear so we just walked around. I still can’t believe how hot and sweaty you get in just a couple of minutes here. 
Ryukyu Mura was our next stop and it was very similar to the Polynesian Cultural Center and other similar places with a wide variety of ways to view traditional Okinawan life and even some opportunities to interact if you pay a little extra. You can see habu snakes, watch dances, build pottery, learn to play an instrument and feed fish. It might have been a little pricier than it needed to be at ¥1200. And it was extremely hot again so we tried to find shade as often as possible. This nice young lady was handing out towelettes dipped in ice which felt amazing. Then I had a shave ice which also was amazingly refreshing. I was confused how to purchase it at first and found out you pay into a vending machine type thing and then hand over a ticket to the people running the counter. Otherwise you’ll sit there for hours apparently. 
We found a nice beach to go to. Zanpa beach was not too big but had a swimming area and wasn’t very crowded. We were going to rent beach chairs and an umbrella to escape the heat. But after we found out it was ¥3500 we decided to just lay on our towels and suffer under the sun. The water was a perfect temperature though and it was amazing just floating in the water. The sand was a little more rocky than I like, but don’t want to complain after the relief it provided. I decided to not put on sunscreen because we were only going to be out there for an hour. That was a mistake as my poor white skin definitely got cooked. We had a nice chat about life while we just relaxed in the ocean and then grabbed lunch at a Hawaiian style place. 
Our final stop was at one more castle. Nakagusuku Castle is just some ruins with only the stone walls, open fields, and a prayer area left. It’s a large complex and it was nice walking bare foot through the grass. It was set up to be three squares in a row each as a different enclosure. The views of the surrounding countryside and ocean were quite spectacular. There was even a pretty red Buddhist temple off in the distance. Unfortunately the heat was really starting to get to us so we didn’t dawdle too long. We were sufficiently tired, hot, and definitely sunburned so we headed home. I didn’t realize how bad I was until I got home and saw I had turned completely red in the face. 

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The Weekend

5:00 PM ispeakitboldly 0 Comments


The rain hasn’t quite stopped - it still just comes and goes. I spent Saturday remembering how weak I am by going to the gym and then jiu jitsu with John. It’s always motivating to go to a Marine gym. Although I then begin to miss my time in the Marines. After blasting our legs with a thousand reps of front squats and deadlifts we went to John’s BJJ dojo. He’s been doing it for years and is a legit practitioner. I’ve been a couple of times and am always humbled after twenty or thirty minutes rolling with other students - mostly novices like myself. I successfully came away with sore ribs and hip, some missing skin, and a cramped quadricep. Being old and out of shape is no joke. I was fortunate enough to see John get another stripe added to his brown belt. I like being able to take part in these types of experiences and celebrate the achievements of friends. 

Side note: We had an interesting talk on the way home about the importance of consistency in achieving mastery and how BJJ teaches you to focus on technique instead of relying too heavily on strength alone. Too often we want to be the best after one or two days of practice. Mastery is a long journey that takes years of dedicated training putting in the time day in and day out even when you have no desire. Sometimes it may feel like no progress is being made, but looking back after five or ten years you will be amazed at how far you have come. It also takes humility to grow and accept the teaching of one who has already made the journey. There will be many who are willing to help you along the way. However, if pride gets in the way and you think your strength or current skill is enough then the journey ends. There was much more to this - perhaps I will write a full post on this in the future. 

For dinner we went out with a bunch of John and Eunice’s friends and ended up getting Thai food at the American Village. We tried to eat outside but the rains were coming sideways and some people don’t like to get wet while eating for some reason. Inside it was dry but kind of stuffy. We then ventured over to a karaoke studio and proceeded to spend a couple of hours badly singing our favorite tunes. There may have been drinking - from the others…not me - and we may have lived up to the stereotype of loud Americans. This brought back memories and felt like I was back in the Corps again hanging out with rowdy Marines. One of their friends may or may not have passed out trying to get into their house, but everyone survived so it was a successful evening.
Sunday brekky was at the American Village again. I had something that was neither Japanese nor American - Canadian Benedict with a side of an amazing ocean view. The sun was out so we could really see all the blues and greens in their various shades. 
Our first stop was at the Okinawa Peace Memorial. This is a fairly large park with green fields, a museum, and rows of names on black stone walls. Hundreds of thousands of names were on these walls and it was a stark reminder of the cost of even one battle in a prolonged war. It is a beautiful memorial that sits on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There weren’t many people there and it was quiet allowing me time to reflect on what had happened here only a few decades ago. The museum inside is very well done with life-sized sets and movies and testimonials of those who endured the horror of this battle. I would definitely recommend anyone on Okinawa to take the couple of hours to go. It is a reminder of how much death, how much destructions, how much loss, and how much rebuilding comes about because people choose to hate. We must never forget the suffering caused by war especially on those innocents we are meant to protect. 
There was also a peace hall with a prayer statue that looked very similar to a Buddha. There are beautiful paintings inside of Japanese nature and people in traditional garb and it all points to the message of preserving peace. Above the statue at the top of the tower are many small glass bulbs that appear as stars representing the infiniteness of space where the war dead can finally rest. 
We then made our way over to the Ryukyu glass blowing museum and shop. They have an open space where we could observe their work. It was extremely hot by the furnace on top of the hot of the day. I’m not sure how the workers do it hour after hour every day. But it is amazing to watch their craft as they quickly and smoothly take molten glass and mold it into whatever shape they desire. We walked around the store where there are probably thousands of pieces to purchase and noticed much of it was actually from Vietnam. We found a place to play various games including one similar to beer pong. We all won a couple of glasses and had some fun for only ¥300 per round. 
We finished up with dinner at a Japanese curry place with one of John’s work buddies. I thought it would be a good idea to order extra meat and get spice level 3 (out of 10). Both were bad ideas as it was way too much food and way too spicy for my weak tongue. But katsu always hits the spot and it was another good evening with great people. 

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Rain, Rain, and More Rain

4:23 PM ispeakitboldly 0 Comments


Rains are putting a bit of a damper on fun activities right now. Apparently there is a typhoon in the area that will keep it wet for the next few days - and if I’m lucky the entire time I’m here. John had to work all day so after his wife came home we just chilled. As a side note I seem to be sleeping a lot here. I’m not sure if it’s their couch - which in Hawaii also caused me to sleep a lot - or the warm, muggy weather. As a result I also end up waking up around 5 or 6 every morning. 
Friday Eunice and I ventured out to run some errands before John was out of work. Okinawa has the nicest ¥100 stores (dollar stores) I have ever seen. It was clean, seemed to have decent items to purchase, and you didn’t feel dirty after coming out. The Japanese people really don’t have dumpy places and is one of the things I love about this country and culture. On our way to get John we saw a few protesters outside the gate. There are always some of them as a few of the locals don’t like the military installations. I’ve heard it can get bad, but today they mostly just sat across the road with a couple of signs. 
We went to a burger place for lunch called Captain Kangaroo. Their a/c was not the best i.e. non-existent and it was kind of crowded. As a result we waited for a little over thirty minutes in the somewhat stuffy restaurant. The burgers were decent though. I liked the way they toasted the buns and the teriyaki sauce was tasty. I’m just not sure the wait was quite worth it. 
We went over the Okinawa Aquarium towards the northern part of the island, which for a time was the largest aquarium in the world. I believe it is still the second largest. There was quite an assortment of fish and other sea creatures. It was awesome seeing jellyfish up close and other fish that live in the dark with eyes that almost act like flashlights. The main attraction is a massive tank with whale sharks and manta rays and other larger fish. These are huge animals and I could just sit there for hours watching them gracefully soar through the water. We also happened to be there for feeding time and watched the whale sharks just open their mouths and suck in gallons of water to get a little bit of food. I love the ocean and the thought of exploring it. Aquariums provide a way to do that for those of us that for various reasons can’t get into the ocean depths. We finished up at the dolphin show. These are always fun - especially for the children. I am always amazed at the tricks and abilities of these animals.
Dinner was at a Japanese BBQ place. I kind of love Asian food and this was all you can eat. I may have eaten more than I should have but it was delicious and filling. 

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Okinawan Heat

5:11 PM ispeakitboldly 0 Comments



My first day in Okinawa was spent being lazy in bed, playing with Colbie, eating breakfast - honey nut cheerios and apple juice like the little child I am - and an attempt to go exploring. I thought it was hot and humid last night…I was wrong. I couldn’t believe how quickly I was pouring sweat. I probably made a mistake wearing shoes and jeans as well instead of slippers and shorts. I cut through a golf course right behind their house. It’s kind of a dumpy little course with short holes. I did see some people out using it though. Maybe I will give it a go as well if it cools down some. I saw a path that didn’t look exactly like one I should take, but I tried it out anyway. I immediately walked into two huge spider webs with monster spiders hanging out on them. I found out once I got home they are banana spiders and not poisonous. At the time though I was a little worried I was going to be that dumb tourist who dies on his first day in a foreign country. 
I walked through some neighborhoods with parks and schools and hospitals. It’s not as clean as mainland Japan. It’s also not as nice with regards to buildings. It kind of reminded me of the not-so-nice parts of Honolulu. But their buildings here are more for typhoon resistance than aesthetics. I came across a little 7/11 type store and got what I thought was water and pound cake. The water turned out to be some type of orange flavored water - which I drank anyways because I needed to hydrate - and the pound cake was a meat sandwich with some type of mystery condiment. I survived both though but will pay better attention next time to what I purchase. 
The beach was small and no one on it. I walked in the water with my jeans rolled up and enjoyed the relief from the heat. There were some large, white crabs scurrying sideways into the water. I saw a couple of locals with surfboards although I saw absolutely no waves anywhere in site. Not sure where they were planning on going. I was already warm and sweaty for the walk back and it definitely wasn’t any cooler. Some of the roads didn’t have footpaths on the side and I had to keep an eye out for all the large trucks driving to their various destinations. By the time I got back I was dripping wet like I had just jumped in the ocean with my clothes on. The a/c was a welcome relief as was the cold shower I took. 
After spending the afternoon relaxing I went to some local ruins with Eunice. We were already winded after climbing the stairs to the base of the castle only to find out there is a winding staircase that is meant to tire our attackers. All that is left of the castle are some low lying walls and some of the foundations of palaces. There is a nice view of the surrounding area at the top and it had cooled down significantly since I had been out. The ocean can be seen in all directions as well as some small islands a short distance off the coast. We came back and John was home so we all went out to dinner. Of course sushi is the perfect first meal out in Japan and we went to a restaurant with the conveyor belt and ate till we were full. In addition to good sushi they had excellent fries. We finished up the day eating Okinawan salt cookie ice cream. I was exhausted and passed out very quickly.

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Return to the Land of the Rising Sun

5:03 PM ispeakitboldly 0 Comments

If I sit around too long I get antsy. I need to be moving and seeing new things or I’m bored. I’m back in Japan now after spending the 4th of July on a plane. I’m not complaining though as I chose this day on purpose for easier standby traveling. I was rewarded with my great sacrifice by getting first class to Los Angeles and then business class to Tokyo. Wide seats - or even better the ones that lie down completely - make traveling much more enjoyable. I would strongly recommend it. I was hoping to take the train to downtown Tokyo while I wait for my flight to Okinawa, but they wouldn't let me check in until three hours before the flight and I didn’t feel like lugging my luggage with me all over the place. 
I bought some Asian airport food for dinner (some type of fish, rice, and seaweed box) and then got on my last flight to Naha. I slept again - so I was three for three on plane rides - and woke up right as we landed. I got off and even at 10 pm it was a sauna outside. Even in the airport it felt warm and muggy. My friends picked me up and we spent the hour long ride catching up and it really didn’t feel like it had been two years since I had seen them. I find that to be one of the interesting things about relationships. You can not see someone for quite a while and if you’re close to them continue as if it was just yesterday when you had last hung out. 

We had good old McDonald’s for a meal on the way home. It also amazes me whether you are in the middle of Okinawa or Paris or Peachtree City, Georgia the fries and burgers are exactly the same. Reuniting with Colbie - the Shins’ German Shepherd - was a lot of fun. She’s such an energetic dog and it seems she didn’t forget me either. I passed out on the couch with her amazingly still tired after sleeping all day yesterday. But then I woke up around 5 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. 

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Last Few Days in Paris (delayed post)

5:02 PM ispeakitboldly 0 Comments

Saturday
We’ve decided to spend a little bit more time doing our own thing in Paris instead of always sticking together. First thing in the morning I went to go get a shave. I found a place right down the road where the barber shaved my head for 8 EUR. That’s the cheapest I’ve ever seen it outside of Southeast Asia. He did an amazing job too with the straightedge. It was a little difficult to communicate with him as he is one of the few people who I have met who didn’t speak any English. We figured it out though. 
I haven’t been feeling super hot the whole time in Paris. It could be the change in weather or just the constant moving around of this trip. It could also be sleeping on a crummy couch/futon but I don’t want to complain as the bed was offered. I got some ibuprofen and spent most of the day just lazing around the flat. Brody - a friend from school who also happened to be in Paris this week - showed up and we went to another cafe, get more hot chocolate, and then watched Captain America (perfect moving for France I know) in a really cool old Theater. There are three levels of seats although the bottom two are for live performances. Of course these were the much more comfortable seats and I was close to taking a nap. We moved up to the top level for the movie and were rewarded with a ceiling of stars and moving clouds. 

Sunday 
We went to church in the city and it was a mixed French and English ward so talks and prayers varied depending on who was speaking. We immediately headed outside the city to Versailles. We probably had our least favorite food of the trip in a little crepe place before we entered. This place was packed - perhaps not too surprisingly on a Sunday afternoon. Outside in the gardens though this was a non-issue as the place is massive. It takes upwards of 20 minutes to walk from the palace to the German village where Marie Antoinette stayed most of the time. I loved the peace and quiet that was found just walking around the streams and lakes and across bridges. It was almost like an escape from modern life for a few moments. The fountains came on - they are usually off - and were accompanied by classical music which was just divine. I felt like everyone should be in powdered wigs and wearing fancy clothes. 
The line into the palace itself was super long even a couple of hours before closing. Even worse the inside was a packed mess with too many people even to see some of the displays and move around the rooms. I would definitely recommend not going on a weekend or during a busy day as it makes it quite unenjoyable. We had steak and frites for dinner - all you can eat - and it was another long wait as apparently they have dinner shifts that mean we couldn’t eat till 8 when earlier customers had left. Also - perhaps due to my illness - I was freeing cold waiting outside. But it was decent food for a low price. 

Monday
This was another do it yourself day. Everyone went to do their own thing. I went to the Pere Cemetery where many famous people are buried such as Chopin and Jim Morrison. It’s a large, beautiful cemetery with many old graves and tombs. There is a peacefulness found there that’s welcome after the bustle of the city. I also went to Saint Chappelle, which is another old church with incredible stained glass windows completely covering the walls telling various stories from the Bible. It wasn’t the biggest church we have visited but very unique and pretty. I went home and relaxed and then met up with my friends back in Montmartre. Janice got her silhouette done by a famous artist (or maybe not so famous). It looked like a floating head on fire for a while, but turned out very nice in the end. There was a cafe nearby where we stopped for dinner. This is definitely one of my favorite things about Paris. So many different little hole in the wall places with excellent dinners and just very quaint. We were really packed in too. The entire dining area was maybe the size of a small living room. 

Tuesday
Unfortunately I left early as I just wasn’t feeling great and was having back pains as well. It was still an amazing adventure with great friends. 

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