Okinawa Trip Part 2

The next day was Sunday but we skipped church and went to a different Base for brunch at the Officer's Club then took a drive around the immediate area. "On Base" is laid out like any other U.S. military base. We could have been on Malstrom for that matter. Only much larger, of course......and with a Chili's, Macaroni Grill, Starbuck Coffee......and a Base International Gift Shop, which I found out was a great shopping experience. Each Base has one and each brings in different shipments from different countries and it changes each month! During the time we were there we went to 3 Bases/3 Gift Shops (there is a different name for these....I'll have to ask Pam again)and I don't remember exactly which countries were represented. dang! (help Pam!) oh, guess it doesn't matter......Thailand? Hong Kong? Philippines? China? or Africa? Russia? It is like going into an Import Depot.......only more reasonable.

Drive out 'the gates' to get "Off Base" you are in a different world...... crowded busy streets running every which way, 'New York City' feel of buildings meaning close-to-the-street storefronts that have metal garage door closures for nighttime security. But COLORFUL......everything is so colorful! and BUSY! busy meaning not only with people but the streets and buildings are 'busy' with billboards, flags, banners, tinsel-town with pom-poms and Las Vegas style blinking lights! Well, guess it is like Chinatown, right? Maybe that's the way to describe it. and CLEAN. no litter to speak of. people out on the streets and sidewalks with little brooms and dust pans.

I didn't get a feeling of people being in a great hurry. Tons of traffic and people but no honking, shoving, pushing or grabbing. Lots of nodding, greeting and smiling. hmmmmmm interesting what vision passed through with that memory. an Epiphany!

Okinawa Trip Part 1

My parents just got back from a trip to see my sister, Pam, in Okinawa. Upon her return she started writing a 3 part story to document their trip. When I asked if I could post her story on my blog she said "no." Being the good daughter I am, I was planning on doing it anyway. She beat me to the punch by giving me permission in her last e-mail. Most of the time, I sit by myself giggling as I read my mom's e-mails. Sometimes I forward the really funny ones to Ronda. I think she is a great writer and am happy to share some of her story. This is just a part of her part 1. I will probably post the rest, just so I can read it over and over again.

OK......Okinawa. (whenever we came home from a trip, as a kid, I had to write a report. Still 'a kid' so here goes)

The flight to and from was smooth and comfortable, all connections made except the return trip from Denver where we missed our flight from San Francisco. Going through check in and Customs was a snap, no problems. (thanks to good advice on how to pack) We traveled light, one suitcase (40 pounds going/45 pounds returning.....must have been the dirty clothes because we didn't come home with all that much. ha) and one carry-on each.

Our impression of the Tokyo airport the first time through was Sterile. After getting off the plane we were moved through corridor after corridor of nothing but windows and walls, into the Custom area where there were 20 'stalls', each having two young Japanese women to greet the travelers and one young man to ask the questions and stamp the Passports. The line went through quickly then we were herded through more corridors into the Departure area where there was one small shop and one refreshment stand. People were quiet, moved quickly, stuck to their own business which mostly was their computers or cell phones. Come to think of it....they were all young! and all dressed in black! no young children or families. I know at the time I thought it was like in a Sci-Fi movie: corridors, 'uniforms', and the quiet! hmmmmm funny.

Now I'm going to switch to the Return Trip.......which was totally opposite. After getting off the plane from Okinawa the line moved into the Main Terminal which was light, bright and bustling with activity. We had 5 hours until our flight to the U.S. so were able to go through the whole area, which now seems like a city larger than Gt. Falls itself! Miles and miles of check in counters, rental counters and hotel reservation counters in one area then it went into the Shopping Mall with shops and restaurants, bars and activity centers. Heck, I wouldn't have been surprised at all if we would have seen a swimming pool or ice rink it was that equipped. Again, everybody was friendly but quiet and 'busy'.

It was in this Tokyo airport that we had our first experience with the modern technology of Japanese toilets! (This took up about a half hour the first time I 'experienced' it!) Well, first I had a choise.....use the 'squat' style latrine (which I didn't but should have just to say I did!) or the Sci-Fi toilet. The 'squat' style was a trough sunk into the floor......use your imagination on this one! (You'd have to have good knees!) The 'sci-fi' was like a dashboard in a vehicle with 'options'. Warm seat? push the button to the level of heat you want. Don't want to have your 'sounds' be heard? push a button to have a fake 'flushing sound' go off. Want to be 'washed' from behind? push a button to the degree of 'force' you want and a spray hits you from behind! or 'under'? push another button! What it didn't have was a 'air blower' to dry you off! Everything around the sink was automatic, even the door to let you out. I really liked their wall hand dryers...... rather than holding your hands under the force you move it through a thing with air blowing from both sides. Worked really well without having to wipe your hands on your pants on the way out. ha!