Sun, sea and rain

Shuri Castle, Naha City, Okinawa
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I'm writing this in my room in the place I'm staying in at Ishigaki Island. It's a single room, smaller than a jail cell (not that I've stayed in one before, but those on TV). There's only room for a bed and a chair.

The wind outside is strong, and the rain is pouring down, literally. This is the work of Typhoon 14. Because of it, my second objective for coming to Okinawa could not be accomplished.

My first was to get my Advanced Open Water license, which I got in Okinawa honto. My second objective was to swim with manta rays. In Ishigaki Island, you can actually get as close as a few metres from these creatures.

Manta Ray at Manta Ray Park
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Unfortunately, the bad weather (understatement) made any trip to the manta point impossible. But at least I still managed 1 dive near Taketomi Island yesterday, before the typhoon hit the islands.

Okay, gotta backtrack a little and talk about my time in Okinawa main island (沖縄本島）. Just as they say in the different guidebooks, Okinawa seems like a whole different country from mainland Japan. The most obvious difference is the food. It's like Japanese, but yet different. Like the soba here is thicker. In fact food here is like back home.

Rustic houses at Taketomi Island, part of Yaeyama Islands, Okinawa
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Okinawaused to be part of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Even the castle is different from castles in mainland Japan, very Chinese. I felt sad that the Ryukyu Kingdom has been"eaten" up by the Japanese, that their culture and traditions, so rich and wonderful, has subsumed by the Japanese culture.

But all over the island, there seemed to be a defiance, a desire to recover their own identity. I think in a way it's pay-back time - the mainland tourists pay extorbitant prices here for souvenirs etc.

Traditional Ryukyu dance, Ryukyu Village
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I spent most of my time underwater - getting my Advanced Open Water certification. The aquatic life is abundant, colourful corals and plenty of fish. But the visibility wasn't as good as I had expected. In fact, I would say my dives in Malaysian waters are almost as good, if not better in some cases. But it could be because of expectations and poor memory.

So, after I finished the dive requirements for my certification, I headed to Ishigaki Island (石垣島) because I was hoping to swim with manta rays.

Maeda Point, a popular place for divers.
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After 1 dive, I headed to Taketomi Island (竹富島) before the typhoon made doing anything impossible.

Taketomi Island is really rustic and all buildings are single storey (I think). In the guidebook, they said that residents sweep the road outside their houses. It has been a tradition since ages ago.

This is the only manta ray I met on my trip. I travelled by train, bus and plane all the way from the north to the south, and in the end, I only got to meet this guy on the left.

Manza Cape, Okinawa
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Well, I guess there's always next time. That will be my "manta revenge" (as the dive-master puts it). Hopefully, the old-sky-grandpa (老天爷) will be kind to me and not send any typhoons over.