Jet lag is the one aspect of international travel that, at least initially, erodes the pleasure of the visit. At this moment it is 4 am in Naha, and I am sitting here, bright eyed, pecking at the keyboard. We have a full day ahead of us, and I will probably fade by early afternoon. With luck I will begin to adjust later today or tomorrow.
We departed Tokyo yesterday morning after an all-too-brief respite. As we crossed Tokyo Bay on our way to Haneda (Tokyo’s domestic airport) we noticed dozens of helicopters hovering over the entrance to one of the ports. A small ship with “Research” emblazoned on its side seemed to be the focus of attention. There were numerous military and police boats accompanying the “research” vessel.
By the time we arrived at Haneda, and checked in to our gate, the story had already made the television news. Here is a quote from an Australian newspaper this morning:
The arrest and charging of activist Peter Bethune for boarding a Japanese whaling vessel would “strengthen our cause tremendously”, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society leader Paul Watson said yesterday.
The New Zealander’s arrival in Tokyo yesterday aboard Shonan Maru 2 attracted remarkable live coverage from news groups that usually downplay foreign hostility to so-called scientific whaling.
Mr Bethune, who boarded Shonan Maru 2 from a jetski in the Southern Ocean on February 15, was brought into Tokyo port yesterday morning and immediately arrested and charged with trespass. He was taken for questioning to Coast Guard headquarters, where he can be held until Monday before being handed over to prosecutors.
Without offending my Japanese hosts, I will always side with the whales and their protectors.
After the morning’s excitement the flight to Okinawa can only be described as uneventful. We did enjoy a wonderful aerial view of Fuji early in our flight, and I shot a few lousy photos through the plane’s window. Tokyo had snow as recently as last week, and Fuji-san gleamed in all its glory.
After checking in to our hotel here in Naha, and enjoying an afternoon nap, we met a friend of Cassady’s family, Mr. Iwama, downtown for dinner. The main drag in Naha is an endless maze of bars, restaurants, schlock shops, and local vendors. If you are willing to sort through most of the schlock there are local vendors with an impressive variety of local foods and crafts. We had no time for shopping, but we return to Naha in a couple of days and will have a chance to leave a few yen here.
We met Mr. Iwama, and snaked through the shops and tourists to the restaurant – Tedakotei We were greeted first by a bright “No War, Stop War” plea plastered on the front door (good sign), and then by our hostess – Midori Iizuka. The restaurant holds no more than five tables, with a few tatami mats in one corner. Midora is both cook and waitress, and the cuisine is Okinawan-Italian. Midora has lived all over the world, and fell in love with cooking in Italy. She brought her passion and her skill back to Okinawa, and we enjoyed the results. By the way, we relished the array of cheeses for desert. These included one from Hokkaido, as well as a local goat cheese.
After dinner we left our host and wandered over to the obligatory Starbucks. This is cherry blossom season (or at least the beginning), and every shop has some reference to “sakura”. Our granddaughter’s Japanese name is Sakura, or cherry blosson, so this is a fortuitous time of year for her. We sat outside by the main drag and watched the local Okinawan young men race their motorcycles through what seemed to me to be an impassable jam of traffic, admired by the stylish young women who strutted by.
We leave this morning for the north of the island, and (finally) a day outside. At last I will have the opportunity to use my camera (rather than my IPhone). More posts and photos will follow.
Ted