Okinawa

Amy... I am thrilled that you are going to Okinawa.... Remember how much I used to want to go? Can you believe that I now live so close to Okinawa and haven't taken the opportunity to visit again

When living in Yokohama , I wanted to go SO much... but tickets were so expensive (more than travelling to Korea or even South East Asia). I loved the island music: The Boom, Nene's, Shang Shang Typhoon, The Diamantes... Where else can you hear Japanese pop mixed with Latin rythms, traditional Japanese drumming, Jamisen and punctuated with those wierd vocals which sound like women declaring war, "Ah-yee, ah-yee, ah-yee, ah-yee-yah!" I admit, I also wanted to lie on the beach, visit K-mart, and drag home some ceramic lions.

When I finally made it to Okinawa, I was living in Korea. I went with a Korean-American woman who really wanted to visit Japan... She was less than thrilled with Okinawa as she had imagined a more Shibuya-type experience: karaoke, Japanese street food, ultra-modern flatscreen TV signboards, weird stuff being sold in vending machines and all.... (Lucky we had to fly via Osaka, so she could have at least a little taste of all that).

Anyway, Okinawa is a lot closer to me than Pasadena. My travel agent has gotten back to me with the following possibility. Let me know if you think this is worth my coming: