Naha: Days 1 to 3

September 07, 2023

Naha: Days 1 to 3

I arrived in Naha, Okinawa, on the night of September 5, having taken the flight from Fukuoka. After I checked in at the hostel, I looked at their bicycles for rent. My plan was to rent a bicycle and cycle around the island of Okinawa for five days. However, the bicycles at the hostel are not set up to be touring bikes and didn't have a basket to fit my backpack.

The next morning, I was planning to go to a real bike shop and rent a bicycle, but after breakfast I was so tired that I took a two hour nap. I decided against renting a bicycle after waking up since I was so tired. I ended up changing to a different hostel that had a better rating and cost the same. When I checked in, I immediately crashed on the bed and slept for about 16 hours. I woke up the next day at 8 AM. I knew the prospect of cycling Okinawa was gone.

I spent yesterday walking on Kokusai Street, where there were a lot of shops. Then I went to the Tsuboya Pottery Museum. I had to use an English audio guide since all the signs were in Japanese. It was a good way to learn about the local pottery. Okinawa has a long history of pottery that I didn't know about. The Tsuboya Pottery Street had a lot of pottery stores. I wasn't going to buy any pottery on my trip so I didn't even bother to go into any stores.

I finally had McDonald's in Japan. For 750 JPY, or around $5.25, I had a Big Mac meal. After I came back to the hostel, I met another traveler. His name is Xavier and he's from Phoenixville, PA, a town not far from King of Prussia. Small world, indeed. I ended up having a very subpar Chinese meal for dinner from the restaurant across from the hostel. I would not recommend.

I have four more days to spend in Naha and I'm not sure what to do with my time since my original cycling plan fell through.