Joanne's Okinawa Adventure Day 2. A Maine Photographer

Day 2
Meet my friends, Jill and Philip, our hosts, our chauffeurs, our tour guides.  Jill and I go back 30 years.  We were both in retail management jobs where fraternization with the help was extremely frowned upon...so we started our own social circle...a few years later we became roommates...and have remained friends ever since.

The first beach Jill took us to, on a part of the Island called American Village

some more sights from American Village

Perhaps my favorite photo of all

 a little smoke shop, common sight

A great view of part of the massive Sea wall, for protection of tsunami

coral, coral, coral

our US military bases are a huge presence on this Island

I was constantly amazed at how built up this Island is.  So many buildings, so close together, I took many many photos, I will be sharing many more over the next few days.

Shi-sa dogs  Possibly one of our favorite facts about Okinawa.  A pair of Lion dogs that guard most entrances.  I promise to share many more photos of Shi-sa's :)

Genghis Khan, our fabulous dinner stop for our first feast in Japan.  Jill described it as a hole in the wall, off the grid, with fabulous food.  We were not disappointed.  It's an all you can eat, buffet style...like no other.  You fill up your bowl with uncooked meat and veggies, bring it to the grill, watch it cook up, then handed back to you in a fresh clean bowl.  Amazing!!  

Before I close out day 2, a few words about my friends Jill and Philip.  Philip is a Commander in the Navy, and this is his second time serving in Okinawa. Philip and Jill live on Kedena Air Force base and welcomed us into their home.  These are scary times in our world, and now that I have returned from vacation I can admit that both my husband and I were a bit uneasy about traveling, and yes, we did fly United, believe it or not, that was the least of our concerns.  Words like air strike and the mother of all missals...it was ironic to be in Okinawa, hallowed grounds, the largest and bloodiest battle of the Pacific of WW2.  We are happy to be home.