Just Beachy

After two days of clouds and storms, the sun decided to return to Okinawa on Sunday. To celebrate, Katherine and I headed to nearby Sunset Beach in Chatan. I slathered myself in SPF 45, donned a bikini, tank top and shorts and packed a beach bag full of the requisites: towel, straw mat, chapstick, bottled water, snacks, girly magazines and more sunscreen. We found the perfect place on the light beige sand to spread our towels and spent the afternoon chatting and enjoying the sun. There was a great breeze that kept spraying us with sand because the granules are so fine. We were practically covered from head to toe – it was even in our ears!

After we had soaked up the sun for a couple hours, we walked along the end of the colorfully graffitied Sunabe Seawall which runs from Chatan to Sunabe. The wall, which serves as a barrier to the East China Sea, is a popular hang out for an interesting cross section of the Okinawan population. We passed both teenagers in trendy clothing and elderly fishermen in traditional Japanese hats and robes as we walked along admiring the sun glistening on the water. We hoped to see the sunset and possibly the enigmatic green flash on the water, but cloud cover interrupted our plan. Instead, we headed for Yoshi Hachi’s a famous sushi restaurant located just blocks from our apartment. While we savored our rolls and nigiri (a ball of rice topped by raw fish), we looked around at all the autographed pictures of famous Americans and Japanese (some including our chef, Yoshi Hachi). It was a tasty ending to a fun and sunny day!