Zipelines and glass cows annihilate the allowance
Trip Start
Sep 21, 2010
1
32
44
Trip End
Ongoing
Naha, Kyushu-Okinawa, Japan
Saturday, November 6, 2010
off the train to find the back way in. walked through a surrounding park (so green and quiet). funny thing about Naha..i never see any garbage on the streets but no garbage cans either. in the tourist spots i see cans but tons of garbage. looks like the laws of garbage are the same everywhere. anyway, stopped to eat some brunch that i had picked up earlier at a supermarket. piece of fried chicken, small packet of cheese and a lovely soft and fresh milk bun (think sub). opening the bun i was disappointed to see it was loaded with butter. originally intending to wipe off with a napkin, i tasted it first..it wasn't butter. some type of creamy sweet stuff...so good! the stupid bun is now an obsession. drink of the day topped it all off..coco in a can. i dunno if its chocolate milk imitating tea or tea imitating chocolate milk but it was decent and cheap so i finished it.
eventually i wandered to the front of the park which was loaded with Japanese school children running around. hit the visitor center first to see where i could buy a ticket as i didn't feel right enjoying the awesome park without paying. later, i learned the park is free...its only the castle you have to plunk down cash for. asked the info booth where to buy tickets (ok, all i said was the Japanese word for ticket)..she smiled and gave me directions in english.
on the way to the ticket booth (previously walked past) i found a pay phone and decided to try calling Air Canada's Japan office about changing my flight home to a slightly earlier date (i missed my couch!). so easy it was stupid. lesson learned..next time you book through expedia and want to change just call the airline. it takes two minutes and they only charge you once (long story). and i got my yen back for the phone call (toll free). double score!
back to the castle. paid the entry fee and walked through the gate. of course it was under construction/parts closed. price you pay for coming during the off season. walk in and they give you a small bag as your required to take off your shoes. no photos at first either. not sure why as a few minutes later your allowed to snap to your hearts content. too soon at the end with the ever present gift shop. saw some cool stuff but mindful of the budget i skipped. the most interesting part was the little kid walking around with her parents and the taps in the bathroom. the park however was fantastic. despite being almost attacked by an asian duck it was defiantly the highlight.
more of the park was had before heading back to the train station. cheap me kicked in and said.."you know..it would probably only take an hour (at the most) to walk back". lazy me disagreed and complained that the feet were overextended. cheap won out. it was a nice walk..a lot of downhill which was fine with me as it was hot. found the market but as it was late and i had to meet up with a friend soon i only looked around a little before heading back .
back in 2008, i met some awesome Japanese girls while on a tour in Australia. since one lives near Naha it was only natural to meet up. she took me to a Japanese buffet where i got my authentic Okinawa noodles worth. a quick hit up at a 100 yen store (stuffed with all kinds of crap) and a drive around the coast topped the night off. driving back, meeting up the next day was discussed in which she offered to take me anywhere i wanted. score! transport problem gone! "would you like to see the beach?" nope. "aquarium?" nope. "castles?". nope. i want to go to forest adventure park! i've seen it featured in a few blogs and it looked super fun. ziplines, rope swings, precarious bridges...
when i got back to the hostel most of the staff were around the dorms giving out heavier blankets. why? b/c it was now 22 degrees and raining. upon refusing i was told i was "tough". hahaha, if they only knew.
i blew the budget today..big time. but it was oh so worth it!
i blew the budget today..big time. but it was oh so worth it!
10am. friend had called the night before to get us a reservation. we drove along one of the highways which she usually avoids as they charge to use it. apparently it was free until March but you still had to get a ticket and give it to an attendant when you exited. i can't imagine having to pay to use a road (unless a national park) on a regular basis. at the office i had to fill in the standard whatever happens is not our fault form and pay 3500 yen. yes, i know... but its adventure! next we moved the car to a parking lot where we were whisked away through a pineapple plantation/graveyard. off the bus and a short but steep walk later found us at "base camp" where they put the dreaded harness on. while the dude was tightening it up (so tight i had to walk on my tiptoes), i tried not to think about what was spilling out where. i bet he did it for a laugh. while trying to dig my shirt out of my ass all i could think of was thank God i had lost weight. next we got taught a quick instruction course on safety. i had to pay attention on this one as he tested us after...good thing friend was there as i used her as a pawn to go first.
surprisingly i passed and it was time to start. after the safety test, they check that you hook on to zipline #1 safely and then leave you alone for the rest of the course. let the zipping begin! started with four different ones all whizzing precariously close to tree tops. landing was an issue as i kept getting turned around so my ass was usually what hit the ground first. at one point i was going so fast that when i hit the stopper the force lifted me onto my feet.
the rest was a blur of climbing up ropes and ladders, straddling poles, swinging on roped in bridges, net climbs and more ziplines. unfortunately i skipped the tarzan swing and by the time i realized we had passed it, had just finished a difficult bridge. should have gone back and done it. next time. a few more zips and climbs and we were done. since hardly anybody else was around, we were able to take our time and tons of photos. upon reviewing i've decided i'm going to have to be super selective on what to show as the safety harness had sectioned off my middle/legs quite effectively (think nonexistant camel toe) while the back emphasizes each cheek to an embarrassing degree. these kind of photos can almost be likened to clothed pornography.
with the harness off we got our stuff (lockers) and headed back to the bus..or attempted to. was actually on a farm road until friend realized something was wrong and we turned around. at least the staff got a good laugh.
back at the car we walked a few steps to the sea to take photos when some Japanese tourists (apparently they had accents) offered us donuts. after goofing off, it was time to find food and a 24 hour diner was picked. i'll admit it..i had a hamburger. it was ok. what kicked ass was the milkshake made with classic cow product.
we drove a different way back on a road that passed the american base. having not seen a westerner since China it was overwhelming to be suddenly surrounded. pretty much every white person i saw driving was in the typical big jeep or the two door "speed" car complete with obnoxious stereo. i was told that all foreigners have a "y" on their license plate and the locals warn each other to stay well back as they drive crazy.
back in Naha, it was decided to hit up the market. i was doing excellent until we found a shop with the cutest little glass animals. i hemmed and hawed (they were all so damn cute!) and ended up with 5. one for friend for taking the time to hang out and the rest for me. we walked around a bit more, purchased a few more baubles and than said our good byes. hit up the supermarket with the intention to stock up on food for Iriomote as i was pretty sure it would be pricey out there. ended up with a thing of noodles, 5 oranges, 2 bottles of water and a milk bun. pathetic. i promptly ate the bun (with a plan on getting more in the morning), repacked (hard choice was made to ditch the ass pants ( 3 continents!) and my beloved red sneakers) and hit the hay.
not sure on the internet situation at my destination as it's only got 1 road/population of 2000. Ishigaki may be the same. it's more developed but i'm staying at a hostel way out there. how am i getting to it? haven't a clue! post on the flip side..if i still have any $$$ left!
