Where are we today? Ishigaki, Okinawa

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 Happy Emperor’s Birthday Weekend! 

We were welcomed by a group doing a lower energy form of the 
Yosakoi dance.

Emperor Naruhito was born February 23, 1960.  He turns a year older today, and Japan is celebrating with a three day national holiday.  Two things I didn't know about Japan, but probably should have, are that 1) The Japanese drive on the left hand side, a la the Brits.  2) Okinawa, itself, consists of 160 islands! 

We boarded a cheerful red bus for a 45 minute drive across Igishaki Island. This was after the long immigration process for Japan, which included checking our fingerprints.  Apparently, neither Dave nor I are wanted by Interpol or anything like that. 😆

Our destination was Kabira Bay. 

Kabira Bay is known for its black pearl production.  Despite its gorgeous golden white sand and beautiful water, you are not allowed to swim there for fear that you would interfere with the pearl production. Also, there are strong currents.  

Oddly to this American girl, the people of Igishaki do not generally go into the ocean. They seldom use any of the island’s many beaches in the sunny hours.  Instead, they come in the late afternoon/early evenings for barbecues and cookouts. They just enjoy looking at the natural beauty and hanging with friends without getting wet. Few learn how to swim.  I heard in Guam that a surprising amount of people there do not learn how to swim, either. 

The bay has a lovely park off to one side, and we strolled the walkway there. 






I took a side jaunt to take pictures of the cherry blossoms! It was only a small tree, but it made my heart sing to know they are already in bloom. 
This shop has a topiary of a stingray.  Since I don’t read Japanese, I am not sure if the connection. 






Of course, I had to duck into the black pearl store by the bay to look for duty free gifts.  Then, we went to our second stop — an observatory on one of Ishigaki’s mountains.







We then went to downtown by and strolled to a three story market.  Dave and I wandered into a Japanese version of a good court with people cooking in many small stalls.  Few people spoke English, but the place we chose to order from had a few pictures with limited English words on them, With pointing, we managed to order Soba noodles in soup with pork strips.  Honestly, the pork was more like fatback than I was expecting.  The soup was yummy!!!



Love to all. 

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