Wait, where am I?

The last week has been a long one, as I'm sure everyone is aware. Kobe is still totally safe and in all likelihood will remain that way. Of course, convincing family and friends on the other side of the Pacific of this is a tall order.

Our families are, naturally, very uncomfortable with the situation in Fukushima Daiichi plant. They would all feel better if we were closer to home. I have had a trip back to the US to visit my grandmother planned since January. We finished our textbook writing on Thursday, so now we are free to take vacation before the new term starts. Understandably, our families are both hoping Russell can just come with me for the visit.

The problem, is that flights out of Japan are pretty much booked solid now. You can occasionally get a seat for over 5K, but no guarantee. We did some searching and found a more reasonable flight, but we had to go to Okinawa.

Twist my arm.

Okinawa is kind of like the Hawaii of Japan. It is a smaller island far south of the main collection of islands we call home. We live on Honshu, there is another large island just south of Honshu (Kyushu) and if you fly for an hour south of the bottom tip of Kyushu, you get to Okinawa. The weather right now feels like summer, there is tropical fruit and flowering trees and apparently beautiful beaches if we can get out of Naha (the city with the airport). Add to that outstanding local cuisine, and I'm not so sure I really need to make a trip home anymore after all. ;)

We have been monitoring the situation back home. There have been no serious setbacks in a while, which is a promising sign and everyone is hoping power will get hooked up out there soon (which would allow for water to be pumped into the reactors normally again.) They are having trouble getting power hooked back up, and the rating for the nuclear disaster has been upgraded from a 4 to a 5. We clearly can't breathe a sigh of relief yet, but overall things are looking more positive than they were a few days ago. Russell still hasn't decided whether he will be coming with me to the US or not.

While we wait and watch, Russell is trying his best to get back on top of work and I am checking out local tourist attractions.

The two that are the most attractive are:

1. Shuri Castle - this is totally unlike other Japanese castles. The first castle was built some time before the 1500s by the kingdom of the island. It was rebuilt several times throughout history after burning down. The latest bult is, unfortunately not even remotely old (though based on old models). It was absolutely leveled in WWII because the Japanese military central command was housed underneath it. It was rebuilt in 1992. It does house a highly rated museum on Okinawan history (which is very separate from mainland Japan). And it is gorgeous in its new and shiny form.

2. The largest aquarium in Japan. If the aquarium were close to Naha, there would be no question. I have always wanted to go to this aquarium, its suppose to be awesome. However, it is a 3 hour bus ride (one way) away. I don't know that I want to spend six hours on a bus tomorrow. Especially before spending 18 hours on an airplane...

Difficult choice...

I'll let you know the result tomorrow.

So far, Okinawan food gets a solide 5/5 stars. Very different than Kansai, but equally delicious.