Day 8 In Okinawa

Japan's version of McDonalds, in my opinion, is Hokka Hokka. Well, I should say "was" Hokka Hokka. I had longed for a visit to that fine dining establishment, yearning for its simple katsu curry.  Really, it's nothing special.  Like I said in another post, it's as common as oatmeal in the States.  Or, perhaps, to stay consistent with our earlier comparison, as common as a burger.  But, alas, Hokka Hokka's successor is Hotto Motto.  No matter to me, the name change, the katsu curry is still remarkably sufficient.

I was really disappointed with only one thing about my visit to Hotto Motto.  They don't sell t-shirts like In & Out does. 

We hit Hotto Motto on the way up to Gushikawa.  As you may recall, we tried going there the other day, but got lost (because we were going to it from an unfamiliar direction), and besides, the weather was lousy, with a good amount of rain falling.  The biggest feature to going to the Gushikawa area was to head out to the islands that are attached to the Katsuren Peninsula by a long and very skinny bridge.

For those of you who wandered out onto Henza Island around the time of the Okinawa dendobu, you'll recall that they were building another bridge connecting Henza Island to Hamahiga Island.  As the consummate explorer, I was distressed that the bridge remained incomplete during my tenure in Gushikawa.  However, the bridge is now finished, and Hamahiga Island is well worth the visit.

Between Ike Jima and Miyagi Jima there is a red bridge that connects the two islands.  The water is ridiculously gorgeous.  I took pictures of the bridge and the water when I rode out there on a day off with my other missionary compadres, and have always wanted to go back to test out the waters.  I've had dreams about diving into these waters.

And so I did.  We had to park on one side of the bridge and shimmy down a little trail, but we managed to get to a small private beach.  It was righteous.  The water was as chilly as it was yesterday, but with my lady watching from the beach, I couldn't pansy out as quickly as I did yesterday.  So, I actually swam around a bit.  In doing so, I warmed up, and the water became quite comfortable.  Again, it was righteous!

I got out, dried off, picked up some broken coral from the beach as an o-miyage, then we headed back to mainland Okinawa.  As we drove along the Katsuren Peninsula back to Gushikawa, I began to notice a number of familiar roads, neighborhoods, and buildings.  It occurred to me that these were the scenes of many, many dreams I've had over the years. You know, those dreams that you have that are set in some location that doesn't quite fit.  Like, "I know this dream is happening in Salem, Oregon, but that corner shouldn't be there."  Well, the reason it shouldn't have been there is because it wasn't.  The corner was in Gushikawa.  A lot of them.  So, the lingering mystery (and yes, a little uneasiness) was somehow resolved by seeing these places again, and understanding why they were invading my dreams.  They did fit, and I had been there.

One more thing: the ride from our Gushikawa apartment to the top of Ike Jima is loooooonnnnnggggg.  The drive was so long, we didn't even bother to finish it.  We just went to the bridge, got in and swam around, then turned around.  Imagine riding that on a bike, with a strong headwind.  Brutal.  If I didn't have the pictures from the mission, I don't think my wife would believe we actually did it.