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May 10

Imbu Beach / Nago / Ohgimi Beach

Today was a day at the beach. Tak and I had sandwiches from stuff I had brought the day before: bread that comes with chocolate spread, peanut butter, tomatos, and olives. Yum! Later I used my therm-a-rest inflatable sleeping mat as a float, and using Tak's snorkling gear we created our own glass-bottom-boat. We even saw Uni (Sea Urchins), although these aren't the yummy kind you can eat, just the kind that sting like jellyfish. The beach also became crowded with high school kids later, since it was apparently some high school picnic day.

We later said our good-byes, and following Tak's advice, I snuck into the hotel nearby for some showering and hot-tubbing.

I have to say that this is the most oppulant hot tub and ofuro I have ever seen. I was the only one there at that hour in the afternoon, so I had the place to myself: bubbly tub, waterfall tub, dragon tub, and authentic sauna with the hot coals. Half of it was open to the outside world, and with a nice view of the beach, as well.

I later reached Nago, the next town, and seeing the Police headquarters, I decided to stop there. Okinawa police rock! They called all over to find a tourist map for me, and then one of the cops even led me in his van (while I biked behind) over to a place I could get the map.

Afterwards went to Kadoya Shokudou (Kadoya Dining House), and finally had my taste of Goya, the bitter vegetable. I ordered a Goya Champuru. You are supposed to eat it as is, but I added some "sousu" (a kind of Japanese sauce), and it became alot yummier.

Toward the evening I changed my plan of camping in Nago's 21st Century Park, and instead raced up the coast for an hour and half, finally stopping at a beach near the town (more like, village) of Ohgimi. I stopped at a store for candles, and spent a quiet night on the beach. The only scary thing was the playful dog that surprised me while I was peeing in the middle of the night.