NO SWIMMING!?

At this very moment the Japanese society is quite excited socially and politically about this new Prime Minister (after a rather long reign of five years by Koizumi) Abe and his Cabinet. Every news program and gossip shows try to predict how they’re going to function and are trying to poke at every downside it has or trying to come up with ridiculous nicknames, but I don’t care. What will be, will be. I am going on with my own Okinawa story.

As we drove straight north from Naha on the highway, the surroundings change from houses to thick forest. This is the so-called “Yambaru” forest unique to Okinawa (and of course, Yambaru is Okinawa language). Once you come out of the Yambaru, you drive along the coastline seeing the water on your left. By the time we got by to the coastline the rain has stopped, but I could see thick dark layers of typhoon clouds and I must say I felt the threat of typhoon attack.

One thing I couldn’t help but notice as we drove along the coast was the number of road constructions going on. Constructions here, constructions there... everywhere. I’m not 100% sure if it was because of these constructions or of typhoon, or of both, the beaches didn’t have its original clarity and some worse parts I could see construction sand and dirt flowing into the sea. I felt sad.

Because it was a one-lane road and there was a car coming behind us, we couldn’t stop the car to closely examine the situation, but I did feel something that wasn’t good. A lot of dilemmas in a place like this, I suppose.

People come for clear blue water and tropical resort, but comparing to the big cities the facilities aren’t “modern” enough so they complain. Those complaints urge Okinawa to commercialize and undertake constructions and so on, but then the beauty of the nature people come for is more and more ruined. I dear hope it won’t be too late when people realize that this vicious cycle would come to a point where no one can return or put things back. It’s likely that if the current situation goes on, all they’re going to have is nothing different from what we have in giant cities.

Going back to my trip: Sesoko Beach on this sort of an isolated island connected with Okinawa Main Island with a bridge. Technically, it means that we’ve gone to an isolated island. Anyway.

When we crossed the bridge, beautiful water spread on both sides of us and, just, who cannot be hyper!? All we had to do was to follow the road leading us through sugar cane fields, and what we’ll see would have been a load of cars parked at the parking lot with people people and people...

WHERE ARE THEY!!!!???

And what!? “NO SWIMMING ALLOWED” ???
But we came all this way!

To be continued.