Notes

Samsung J5

Like I mentioned yesterday, I think the way to get the most out of Okinawa is to get off the main island. It's really big, naja the capital city sucks, and it's touristy. If you wanna do any mainland stuff, 100% rent a car. Transportation is super expensive...the cost of taxis is insane. Even buses are expensive. There's definitely some cool stuff to do on the mainland. Danielle said the aquarium was amazing, but it's a far drive I think (maybe 1 hour from the airport?) and relatively expensive. There's a castle that's supposed to be a big deal too (Ryuki maybe?), but I don't know much about that. Danielle went to a beach on the mainland and showed me some pictures...it looked nice, but didn't compare to the ones I saw.

If you're staying near the airport, the monorail is pretty decent for transportation, depending on where you're going. I never took a bus and I didn't have a car to rent, so I was really limited in where I could go in Naha. I landed real late and stayed in a random place one night, before waking up early the next morning and going to Tomari port (maybe 1-2 km from the airport) to get a ferry to an island called Tokashiki. The ferry takes maybe an hour and a half and leaves at 10 AM and costs maybe $25? Not sure on that, but it was more expensive than I thought. I bought a ticket on the day of, but I think you might be able to book them online ahead of time.

Tokashiki is a tiny island with 2 little (REALLY little) villages, a few 'restaurants,' and some inns and a hostel/guesthouse. The inns, I think, are fairly expensive, but I'm not too sure...I met a couple who said they were staying at one and it cost $90 a night. The guesthouse (I think it's called Kerami guesthouse) cost something like $24 a night and the staff was super friendly. If you and Willie are looking for more private accommodation than that standard big dorm set up, I THINK they have a private room, but I'm not entirely sure. Otherwise, there's a bunch of information online about other places to stay. They have an English speaking staff and everyone I met was really friendly. They can help you with anything you need, whether that's diving, finding somewhere to eat.

As for the island itself, there are two beaches. When you get to the island, you can take a bus from the little port where you get off to the main beach (can't remember the name of it). It's pretty long, most of the tourists pack themselves into the small, designated 'swimming areas,' but I found if I just walked down far away enough from them, I had a huge swath of my own beach and could still go swimming without any problems. You can explore a little bit and find some pretty awesome spots nearby..there's a little path that takes you up to a gazebo thing that gives you a sweet view of the beach. If Willie has an IDL, you can rent a scooter and go explore and see some cool shit, too.

If you wanna snorkel, I'd recommend buying/bringing your own stuff if possible...renting was fairly expensive. The nightlife is basically nonexistent. There's a restaurant near the hostel that's open late that seems to be where people congregate. The locals drink there and in front of the town center. If you buy beers from the marts, they cost $1.50. If you buy them from restaurants, they're about $5. Aside from beach/snorkeling, a bunch of places rent kayaks/do kayak tours, diving and I think you can arrange for a boat to drop you off and pick you up later at an uninhabited island if you two wanna do your own thing away from people.

There's another beach in front of a small hotel on another part of the island that's the best place to watch the sunset. The island is small, everything is like 2-3 km apart, or less. I walked everything, or was lucky and someone gave me a ride.

Kerami Guesthouse booked me a boat the next day to take me to another island, called Zumami, which was the same kind of thing. Small island, a couple beaches, a couple restaurants, very similar in my mind, just a different island. I stayed a night there at another guesthouse called Zumamia Guest House. Same deal as the last place, $20 a night, English speaking staff, super friendly. I spent a day/night there. There's a ferry from Zumami back to Naja. I think you can go other places, too, if you wanna keep exploring.

The wifi sucked balls basically everywhere I went. If I could do it again, I'd get a SIM card from wherever so I could get some damn service. The restaurants almost everywhere I went were fairly expensive (at least by Asian standards...$5-8), especially for the portion size (small). I think the most important advice I have to offer is to get off of Naha and get on some islands. I only saw two, but there's shitloads of em. I did like zero research and just kind of figured it all out as I went, which maybe wasn't the best idea. Like anything else, I'm sure some preparation goes a long way.

To summarize:
1. Get off the mainland.
2. If you want to stay on the mainland, rent a car.
3. Go to tomari port. Take a ferry to an island. Tokashiki, or wherevs.
4. The hostels were cheap. The inns might be expensive.
5. Buy beers at marts (duh.)
6. Get a sim card.

That's all I have for now. LMK if you have any questions! Hope this was helpful! Danielle was there for longer than me, she knows a bunch of stuff, too!