Hello once again, lovely people. Today's blog is brought to you from the hot and humid island of Okinawa.
Fukuoka, when I left it this morning, was raining hard. Parts of the airport looked like lakes. Here in Okinawa there's a fair bit of cloud, but it's so hot that I'm defenitely appreciating the shade of them. The sun has set now, and I'm pretty sure it's still around 25°C out there.
Thankfully, my room is airconditioned. It's also incredible.
The bed faces the window and a lovely view out to sea. There's a bathroom that has a separate wet room with a shower head bigger than my handspan. The balcony catches the sun. Also, I reckon it's about 3 times the size of my room in Tokyo, and I'm not quite sure what to do with all the space! There's also drawers and many hangers, which is a luxury no other room has had so far, so I might even get to unpack.
The hotel itself is beautiful, but very much designed to be a resort that you don't need to leave. This would be fine (well, more or less fine) if half the site wasn't closed for renovations, but since I don't intend to be spending much time here anyway, I'm not that bothered. The biggest problem is that the only things near the hotel are other hotels - there's a sorry-sounding Chinese restaurant next door, and a 'gift shop' (according to google) about a kilometre away. I knew I'd have to take the bus to see any of the towns and cities nearby, but I had hoped there'd be a little bit of infrastructure around the resorts. Still, I might be underselling it. I only walked in one direction from the hotel today, down to the beach nearby, so tomorrow I will see what the other direction holds.
There's a wonderful book in my room on personal safety. Not only does this cover locking your door and keeping an eye on your belongings (something the rest of Japan hasn't needed to say), but also what to do if you're in the sea and get poked, tickled, or stabbed by something nasty. It's been an education reading it.
I'm most interested in the Geography Cone. This is a new one on me, and the picture in the book wasn't very good, so I googled it. Wikipedia to the rescue. The Geography Cone is a type of venomous cone snail which has a sting that is fatal to humans. In fact, Wikipedia has it down as (possibly) the most venomous animal in the world. There is no antivenom, and 'treatment consists of keeping victims alive until the toxins wear off' (thanks Wikipedia). A quick google for 'most venomous animal in the world' brings back several top 10 lists with this particular death snail (also apparently called a marbled cone snail), along with box jellyfish and the blue-ringed octopus, both of which are in my safety book.
So no wandering out to sea for me. I'll stay on dry land, where there's only venomous snakes to worry about.
I haven't taken many photos today, since I spent half the day in airports or on buses, but there's one last picture I'm going to share with you. This was taken from my lovely sitting spot on the beach.
The beach is literally covered with shells and coral. I walked along for about half an hour, and I've already picked up more pretty shells than I have any use for. It's a good job I've got a few kilos spare in my suitcase allowance, because I think I might be a tad heavier flying back.
The nearby beach.
Fukuoka, when I left it this morning, was raining hard. Parts of the airport looked like lakes. Here in Okinawa there's a fair bit of cloud, but it's so hot that I'm defenitely appreciating the shade of them. The sun has set now, and I'm pretty sure it's still around 25°C out there.
Thankfully, my room is airconditioned. It's also incredible.
My room.
The bed faces the window and a lovely view out to sea. There's a bathroom that has a separate wet room with a shower head bigger than my handspan. The balcony catches the sun. Also, I reckon it's about 3 times the size of my room in Tokyo, and I'm not quite sure what to do with all the space! There's also drawers and many hangers, which is a luxury no other room has had so far, so I might even get to unpack.
The hotel itself is beautiful, but very much designed to be a resort that you don't need to leave. This would be fine (well, more or less fine) if half the site wasn't closed for renovations, but since I don't intend to be spending much time here anyway, I'm not that bothered. The biggest problem is that the only things near the hotel are other hotels - there's a sorry-sounding Chinese restaurant next door, and a 'gift shop' (according to google) about a kilometre away. I knew I'd have to take the bus to see any of the towns and cities nearby, but I had hoped there'd be a little bit of infrastructure around the resorts. Still, I might be underselling it. I only walked in one direction from the hotel today, down to the beach nearby, so tomorrow I will see what the other direction holds.
There's a wonderful book in my room on personal safety. Not only does this cover locking your door and keeping an eye on your belongings (something the rest of Japan hasn't needed to say), but also what to do if you're in the sea and get poked, tickled, or stabbed by something nasty. It's been an education reading it.
I'm most interested in the Geography Cone. This is a new one on me, and the picture in the book wasn't very good, so I googled it. Wikipedia to the rescue. The Geography Cone is a type of venomous cone snail which has a sting that is fatal to humans. In fact, Wikipedia has it down as (possibly) the most venomous animal in the world. There is no antivenom, and 'treatment consists of keeping victims alive until the toxins wear off' (thanks Wikipedia). A quick google for 'most venomous animal in the world' brings back several top 10 lists with this particular death snail (also apparently called a marbled cone snail), along with box jellyfish and the blue-ringed octopus, both of which are in my safety book.
So no wandering out to sea for me. I'll stay on dry land, where there's only venomous snakes to worry about.
I haven't taken many photos today, since I spent half the day in airports or on buses, but there's one last picture I'm going to share with you. This was taken from my lovely sitting spot on the beach.
Beachcombing.
The beach is literally covered with shells and coral. I walked along for about half an hour, and I've already picked up more pretty shells than I have any use for. It's a good job I've got a few kilos spare in my suitcase allowance, because I think I might be a tad heavier flying back.
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