Ah, the sweet smell of the sea...

Well, we touch down in Okinawa with no problem and I take a taxi to my hotel. The cab driver seems to know which hotel I'm talking about, but then he asks me again about half way there and pulls out the map. Since I've never been to Okinawa, I'm a little concerned but figure it doesn't matter. It's Saturday afternoon, the weather is fantastic, so what do I have to worry about?

Luckily enough he drives me right to the hotel. I pay the tab and a girl about half my size, literally, humps my bags onto a cart. She has to go up a ramp so I offer to push the cart but her pride gets in the way. I actually think the cart weighed more than her. I get to the check-in counter and so far the place looks pretty nice. I check-in and they inform me that there are no rooms for later in my stay and that I'll have to check-out. Fine...not what I want but I can make the move to another hotel. What's one more hotel on this trip?

I get to my room on the third floor and as I walk in the room I'm facing the East China Sea. Very nice. Overlooking the beach. Pretty sweet. So, I unload, relax a little, and go take a walk around. Having not eaten yet today, I wander around looking for something appealing. I find a Hawaiian joint and away I go. Too many choices on the menu, so I start with an appetizer of fried shrimp and french fries while I look over the menu. I decide to order the Hawaiian Pocomoco (I think) which is rice, topped with a hamburger, topped with an egg, sunny-side up. Here comes the appetizer. Perfect. Well, not so fast. Looks fantastic so I dig in. One problem, these tiny little shrimp haven't been peeled and, unfortunately for many parties involved, there is more exoskeleton on these bad boys than there is meat. So, I skip the shrimp and eat the fries. The fries were good.

The main dish shows up and I dig in. It sucks. Not terrible, but not good. So, I eat the burger and rice and call it quits.

I walk around the "village" area...I think it's called "Mihama American Village"...to see what's around. Oh, great, the whole area must be for Westerners. Well, much to my delight, it turns out that the American Village is not FOR Americans. It is supposed to present America, apparently, to the tourists from mainland Japan and other Asian countries. The first souveneir store I hit was full of Coke, Disney, and American sports memorabilia. Sweet.

I call it a day and head for the hotel. I'm able to watch the sunset off my balcony...pretty sweet...

A small misunderstanding...

Well, it's off to Misawa. I check out of the hotel about 75 minutes before my flight and head for the shuttle to terminal 1. I arrive at terminal 1 and get in line to check my baggage. After waiting in that line, I realize what I should have known all along...the Japanese are specialists. You can't check your bags, obviously, until you check-in at the ticketing counter. And, the ticketing counter cannot handle baggage. Nice. So, I'm into the other line. Luckily, it goes pretty quickly and, as an added bonus, the agent behind the counter offers to repair my road worn luggage with some JAL tape. Sweet.

I head for my gate. I find it interesting that the gate here is actually a doorway out to a bus that drives you out to the tarmac. No jetway for most of the planes at Haneda. No big deal, just a little different. Also different is the fact that, as has become a theme, the Japanese don't screw around when it comes to the rules. Not only can you not have your MP3 player turned on during takeoff and landing, but you also can't have it turned on when you board the plane. After 3 or 4 different agents give me "the business" which, of course, I can't understand, I decide to go ahead and take off the headphones and put the player away. Just turning it off wasn't enough to avoid further conflict.

Well, we're off. Uneventful flight, the way I like them, and the plane touches down at Misawa airport. On one side, American F16s. On the other, Japanese planes. I found out later that those are F4s (I think), the same planes used by the US in Vietnam some 35 years ago. Pretty cool, I think.

Well, somehow, after gathering my luggage I immediately identify the lady there to pick me up. We introduce ourselves, her name is Maki, I thank her for picking me up, and we head out. Of course, she has me wait on the curb while she goes to retrieve the car. No reason for me to WHEEL my luggage across the street, I guess. The parking lot is literally across the street from where I'm standing and can't hold more than 100 cars. But, I appreciate her effort.

We get to the office and I start into my work. I ask her a few questions and she, very self-consciously, explains that her English is very bad and she is sorry. I should let her know, she says, if I don't understand her because she's only been with the company for a year. Well, I'm not sure what that has to do with anything but I just smile and tell her that her English is great and I'm back off to my work.

After a few minutes, I need to use the bathroom. I say, "Can you tell me where the restroom is?" Of course, she insists on leading me there. I follow. She takes me into the break room and says, "This is the lunch room. You can rest in here." Obviously, I tell her that I'm really looking for a toilet...not a nap...and we both have small laugh. This is easily the funniest thing that has happened since I left Denver.

Well, I finish my work and she takes me to my hotel. I watch a little TV and decide to go out for dinner. I walk for well over an hour, just checking out the stuff outside the gate. Nothing. Dead. Weird little place. I finally stumble across what I can identify as a sushi place and get some dinner. Luckily for me, on the way back to the hotel, it starts pouring rain. I mean, typhoon type rain. By the time I get back to my room I am 100% soaked inside and out. My passport, which was in my back pocket, it virtually destroyed. Very nice.

So, I get to bed and then take a taxi to the airport the next morning. This is when I get the shock of my life. My JAL flight is DELAYED!!! Delayed? What is going on? I'm in Japan...everything has a schedule and everything sticks to its schedule. Well, such is life. I'm used to it from my time in the States.

I still make my connection at Tokyo-Haneda and I'm on my way to Okinawa...