After wrapping up work on a Wednesday afternoon, it was time to get ready for my longest trip in Japan yet. I had combined some vacation with the upcoming Obon week for 10 days off. I had decided to spend most of that time in Okinawa, and ready or not, it was time to go. 

I had my flights and hotel all lined up, as well as some rough ideas of what I wanted to do with my 6 days in Okinawa. The night before I left, I was feeling a lot more nervousness than excitement. They’re certainly similar feelings, and easy enough to mix up, but I couldn’t help but imagine all the different things that could go wrong. 

After work, I tried to tidy up my apartment, pack my carry-on suitcase with enough essentials to last 10 days, and went to bed early. Just getting to the airport would entail 1 bus, 3 trains, and a monorail, I needed all the rest I could get. Thankfully, when I got up the next morning, while long, that leg of the journey went pretty smoothly. 

I arrived at the airport two hours early, nervous about my booking through a third-party app. After a failed attempt at the kiosk, I went through the line and checked in with a staff member, who quickly sorted everything out. With an exit row seat secured, I finally started to relax.

I could feel my shoulder drop, and the tension leave my body. Having an issue with my flight ticket had been one of my biggest concerns, and with that sorted, I finally felt myself get excited. The only remaining hurdle was airport security, and that I’d done plenty of times before. As it turns out, airport security in Japan seems to be a lot more laid back than Canada and the US. 

When I got in line, they checked my ticket, and directed me to a security line. I didn’t have to take off my shoes, or pull out any liquids. They did ask me about any drinks, but I had polished off my water before going through security, a habit from going through TSA back home. Maybe because it was only a domestic flight, but it felt a lot more relaxed than what I was used to. 

Flying back home, going through TSA almost felt militant at times. I would be standing in line, listening to the same directions being given over and over again, usually with a hint of annoyance in the person’s voice. “Pull out your liquids, shoes off, nothing in your pockets, large electronics separate”, would be said over and over ad nauseam. 

Once through security, I found my gate, went off in search of food and coffee, and just killed time before boarding. Boarding is done a million different ways, seeingly varying across each individual airline. In this case, it was just done by seat number, boarding from front to back, simple enough. Being in the exit row meant I was in the middle of the plane, so I waited a bit, then found my seat, and settled in. 

It was about 3 hours to Okinawa, so not too long, but a fair bit of time to kill. I brought my switch with me of course, so I played some games, before taking a nap. Just around the time I started to get antsy, we were already beginning to descend. If I remember right, we even managed to arrive earlier than expected. 

I was seated in the aisle, so I didn’t really get to see Okinawa from above, and it’s hard to tell much from the airport. It was certainly sunny, but if I wanted to know more than that I would just have to see for myself. Deplaning went smoothly, and soon enough I was ready to figure out how to get to my hotel. 

There was a bus from the airport that would take me nice and close to where I was staying. I had to try and speak with the staff to make sure I was at the right bus stop, but it was easy enough to find. When I was on the bus I tried to mentally mark any points of interest, and take in the city as I made my way to the hotel. 

When I got off the bus it was only a short walk to the hotel. I was able to check in smoothly, and headed up to my room. I had decided to stay at an APA hotel, since I’d stayed in these style hotels before and never had a bad experience. I had ended up booking a smoking room, not that I really needed to smoke in my room, but I think it was the cheapest option. 

My bed was a little squeaky, and rocked as I plopped down on it, but I was sure it would do just fine. I would be staying for 6 nights total, so I started spreading out my things a little, and got myself situated. I took a bit of a break as I figured out how I wanted to spend my evening. Kokusai was only around 15 minutes from my hotel, and it was supposed to be the main street of Naha, Okinawa’s capital city. 

It was certainly warm in Okinawa, being about 32 degrees, and feeling hotter with the humidity. Though, when I left Ibaraki, it had been around 38 degrees, and of course, worse with the humidity. Okinawa felt a little more tropical than the rest of Japan, and I could usually feel more of a breeze. Naha is also much smaller in both size and population than Tokyo or Osaka, so the city might feel like less of a heat sink. 

Kokusai street was certainly the busiest area I had seen so far, but compared to Tokyo it was far less overwhelming. There were plenty of restaurants, shops, and bars lining the street, with plenty more tucked away in the alleys or side streets. I strolled along the street trying to take it all in, and get a sense for the city. Eventually, my stomach couldn’t wait much longer, and I started looking for somewhere to eat. 

I found a steak restaurant that looked promising, and while it was a little early, I was ready to eat. I’m not a steak connoisseur, so I ordered a recommended cut off the menu, a side of rice, and found my seat. I was the only one in the restaurant, so I felt a bit awkward, but I was too hungry to really mind. 

Now, I’m not a huge steak person, but this might just be the best steak I’ve ever had. A big part of that was the way it was served. At this restaurant, they served it on a hot girddle that kept my steak warm the whole meal. They didn’t ask how I wanted my steak cooked, so as I cut into it I saw it was still fairly rare inside. 

As I cut off a few strips to let the meat cool, I realized the ingeniousness of serving steak on a hot griddle. The strips that I cut off continued to cook as they touched the griddle. If I wanted it more rare, I could eat it quickly after cutting off a piece, but if I wanted it more cooked, I could cut it off, and leave it on the griddle to cut further. I was also given a tray to add a variety of dipping sauces, so each piece could be its own flavor experience. 

I don’t really have the foodie vocabulary to properly articulate just how good this was, but it was probably my best meal in Okinawa. Satisfied and delighted, I left the restaurant, explored Kokusai some more, then returned to my hotel room. It was still early evening by this point, so I killed some time in my hotel room, before deciding to explore the nightlife. 

There was one bar that had a ton of positive reviews, so I decided to check it out. This bar would become my go to place while I stayed in Naha, and while not every night was incredible, I had some very good nights there, and my first night was certainly one of those. The bartenders were all friendly, and spoke some English, but I ended up being able to practice more of my Japanese. 

The time I would spend at this bar was probably the most Japanese I’ve spoken in a while, and actually went a long way in making me feel more confident in my speaking abilities. It happened more than once that I became the de facto translator, helping translate from the patrons to the bar staff, and the other way around. It was really a nice feeling. I’m sure I’ll be mentioning this bar more in future articles, so I won’t gush about it too much here. 

While my travel anxieties had made it hard to get excited about my trip, this first day made me realize I really had been worrying for nothing. None of my fearful what ifs came to pass, and if they had I’m sure I would have been able to deal with them. My first day in Okinawa was a delight, and it set a great tone for the rest of my trip. 

I really loved my time in Okinawa, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. While it may be recency bias, this might just be my favorite trip here in Japan, and might be the location I most want to revisit if I get the chance.