My Sunday, July 1, started out with me being awake early - of course! I either can't sleep in and am annoyed....or conversely, I do sleep in and then I'm aggravated at losing out on perfectly good exploring time! In any event, I was awake, it was early and I needed to get out of the house so my temporary roommate could sleep in peace....so exploring I went.
My original intention was just to find the east side of the island - shouldn't be too difficult a task since it's not very far. I got a little sidetracked turning down roads that looked interesting though, and before I knew, I wasn't exactly sure where I was. I'm sure I've mentioned that my car does have a GPS navigation system....in Japanese...and it was of NO help. I was on a fairly narrow road somewhere in the middle of the jungle when the narrow road started getting even narrower because there were cars parked on one side. And a fence on the other side.........I turned a corner and discovered myself in the midst of a very local, very Japanese "park and swap"....and they take the term literally - the cars were simply parked on the side of the road and the folks set up tables with their goods on them. I got a lot of curious looks from the people there -apparently a slightly crazed looking redhead desperately gripping the steering wheel of her car isn't an everyday sight! I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures but my overwhelming thought was to get out of there before a car showed up headed in the opposite direction! Of course, it eventually happened and, when it did, one of us was forced to squueeeezzzee our cars into a minuscule spot in order for the other car to inch past - literally!! After I got through the mile long stretch of it, I was sorry I hadn't stopped and walked back for photos! Anyway, on to the next stop.....
I finally made to the east side of things and found a little bay and a very large park next to it - there was even a skate ramp in it.
Even in Okinawa, everyone wants an ocean view from the hillside!
After walking around a bit, I noticed that the park next door was filling up rapidly with lots of families and kids.....and the kids were all wearing some kind of colored vest. I ended up watching them for well over an hour.....waiting patiently for something to happen......
There were all sorts of speeches made, the kids stood at attention, then sat down, then stood back up....all of the "ceremonies" took well over an hour....and still nothing was happening!
The families were all supportive, each with a tent, refreshments, and drums! It was the drums that had originally caught my attention - I was wondering if it was some sort of a drumming competition?
After more than an hour in the sun....I gave up and made my way back to the parking lot. It was then I realized what was about to happen was a track meet - apparently each of the different colored vests represented a class or maybe a different school and they were there for an old-fashioned track meet - sort of like field day back when I was in school! I've seen track events now on three different occasions - it is evident the Japanese are VERY supportive of their kids and sporting events - between track events and baseball tournaments, there are kids and parents out every weekend at some type of event together.
Later in the day, I was ready for some beach time and decided to head to Zanpa Beach located on Cape Zanpa. The beach has a full beach club on it, complete with umbrellas and beach chairs that are cheerfully set up for you by an attendant. Since I was alone, I just spread my towel on the sand to the side and got in a little lounging time. The swim area was clearly marked and surrounded by netting to prevent dangerous creatures like jellyfish from ruining anyone's day. The beach attendants take the designated swim area very seriously, I was reprimanded for getting in the water on the wrong side of the net, LOL!
This is the tropical beach sand I had envisioned - it was powdery white sand....the kind that sticks EVERYWHERE!
Swimmers obeying the rules and staying inside the designated swimming area. Lots of kids and parents enjoying the day. The beach offers great amenities-a full snack bar, bathrooms, umbrellas, chairs....everything necessary for a day at the beach and all free of charge!
One of the best things about the beach facilities- an area for washing off your feet! The sand was definitely sticky and the foot washing area was quite popular. The facilities included a full bathroom and shower room as well - no reason to ride back home sandy, salty and uncomfortable after a day at the beach!
On my way back to Chatan-chi.....once again, I took the "scenic" route....Betty-speak for turning down a road that looked interesting and finding myself deep in the midst of some crazy neighborhood. The road eventually made its way to the fishing marina. It was interesting....until I realized I was the only one around, then it got a little bit creepy....
There are a lot of random things found on the sides of the roads here.....this is an example of one. I have no idea what these statues represent (other than maybe someone's idea of a practical joke?) but they turn up fairly frequently.
This one might have be the protector of chickens....he was seated right next to the chicken coop......
My final random sighting in Japan is the hardware store.....its called the Mikiman store (or monkey-man because the logo looks like a monkey dressed in a tool belt)....what struck me as funny is that orange is apparently the universal sign for hardware stores....just like Home Depot! It must be a guy thing.......
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