Settling in on Day 2

After getting my first nights sleep, I was ready to explore......well, first I had to unpack!  For having traveled with two extremely large suitcases, unpacking went pretty quickly and, since I'm here alone I have plenty of room to store my stuff. 
As I was pondering what my next move should be, I heard the doorbell ring - my first visitors!  Calling on me were the inpatient coder, Dewitt, who arrived in Okinawa a few weeks earlier than me and his hospital "manager".  They wanted to make sure I was getting settled and wondered if I wanted to have lunch with them.  They first took me to a nearby grocery store where I was able to exchange some American $$ for Japanese Yen - the exchange rate on that day was $1 for 77 yen - I thought that was pretty good until they told me at one point the dollar was worth somewhere around 130 yen!  The store was quite interesting - think Walmart blended with Target, throw in a bit Walgreens and then scramble it all together with Frys!  The grocery stores here all include a lot of prepared foods - both hot and cold and this one had its own bakery.  I have to say - Japanese baked goods, especially the bread, are AMAZING!  

After shopping and money changing, we set off driving, I had no idea where, for what was to be my first "authentic" Japanese lunch.  After a scenic tour through some of the neighborhoods, we finally arrived at a beachfront diner.  The place specialized in whatever the fisherman had caught during their morning fishing expeditions.  Dewitt ordered the lobster - a bargain for a huge half lobster for less than $20 American.  Art ordered a fresh fried fish (the whole thing) and I settled on something more familiar - sushi and some tempura fish.  Everything was delicious and I managed not to embarrass myself while eating with chopsticks!


The picture is blurry but this was my  lunch!



After I got back to my place, I decided to take a walk - just to see what was around.  I can see the ocean from my front porch so I headed in that direction to take a look.  Turns out the ocean is about a 3 block walk from my place and I was quite happy to see scuba divers and snorkelers in the water!  There is no "beach" - at least nothing like the lovely sandy beaches I had envisioned - instead there are rocks, and a seawall built of concrete blocks.  The seawall if lovely, it's raised high above the water and had a wide path and plenty of benches, covered resting spots and is immaculately clean.

The tide was out and the rocks exposed when I was on the seawall

Scuba divers learing the basics.  The wall is completely stepped blocks on concrete which makes for VERY easy entry and exit from the water.