I never served in Nishihara or Yonabaru. I went on splits down there ("down" from Shuri), but always more or less followed someone else around. But since the in-laws live in Nishihara, I have to learn my way around a little.
The plan was for me to run an errand in Haebaru, then meet with the wife and kids at a park built around a beach in Nishihara, Agarizaki-cho. I knew roughly where the park was, and didn't have any trouble finding it, but finding the family was a bit more difficult. (How dependent have we become on cell phones?). So, I sat there for an hour, playing with my Goal Zero solar phone charger (I highly recommend this).
It is, at this point, that I must confess that I actually did have a smartphone with me, and a pocket hotspot, and as such had full access to GPS capabilities. Which either proves the point that the road system in Okinawa is completely incomprehensible...or I'm a complete navigational moron.
So, I downloaded a few songs, updated my facebook status, and did various time killing activities until it was obvious that I missed them, somehow. Perhaps they went to a different park somewhere else. Who knows? I was hungry, so I went to a little dive on 329 (one of the few roads that has a name/number) kiddie corner from the Yonabaru McDonalds and got some katsu curry. A heaping helping of it. For just a 5 hyaku. I may have to go back.
Not only because the food was remarkably good and cheap, but also because I like being the only gaijin in any place - walking with my kids in my in-law's neighborhood, or hanging out in a katsu shop that no gaijin has any business being in. There's something very satisfying about being the outsider, knowing the inside game (how to order from the meal ticket machine, being able to shaberu with the cook, etc.).
Fully charged with some rib-sticking man food, I hopped on my donkey of a bike and started peddling for home. And this is where I made my wrong turn. There's a fork off a main'ish road that I was looking for to get me on the right path back home, and I mistook the fork in the road. Long story short, I ended up in Shuri/Urasoe next to Ryudai, which, for those of you who are familiar, is the most brutal and unforgiving option to get up to Shuri. Upon return to home after the detour, I pulled up google maps on the computer to see how I went off course...and much to my dismay, I noticed that at one point I was less than 0.5 miles away from my home and didn't know it. I continued to the route I did know, and went through Shuri, past the Shuri apartment, and back down the hill.
I was totally spent. But, after several hours of laying around and recovering, I'm feeling much better...but for the righteous bicycler's tan/burn that I got on my arms and legs. Ouch!
Sunscreen next time.
It is, at this point, that I must confess that I actually did have a smartphone with me, and a pocket hotspot, and as such had full access to GPS capabilities. Which either proves the point that the road system in Okinawa is completely incomprehensible...or I'm a complete navigational moron.
So, I downloaded a few songs, updated my facebook status, and did various time killing activities until it was obvious that I missed them, somehow. Perhaps they went to a different park somewhere else. Who knows? I was hungry, so I went to a little dive on 329 (one of the few roads that has a name/number) kiddie corner from the Yonabaru McDonalds and got some katsu curry. A heaping helping of it. For just a 5 hyaku. I may have to go back.
Not only because the food was remarkably good and cheap, but also because I like being the only gaijin in any place - walking with my kids in my in-law's neighborhood, or hanging out in a katsu shop that no gaijin has any business being in. There's something very satisfying about being the outsider, knowing the inside game (how to order from the meal ticket machine, being able to shaberu with the cook, etc.).
Fully charged with some rib-sticking man food, I hopped on my donkey of a bike and started peddling for home. And this is where I made my wrong turn. There's a fork off a main'ish road that I was looking for to get me on the right path back home, and I mistook the fork in the road. Long story short, I ended up in Shuri/Urasoe next to Ryudai, which, for those of you who are familiar, is the most brutal and unforgiving option to get up to Shuri. Upon return to home after the detour, I pulled up google maps on the computer to see how I went off course...and much to my dismay, I noticed that at one point I was less than 0.5 miles away from my home and didn't know it. I continued to the route I did know, and went through Shuri, past the Shuri apartment, and back down the hill.
I was totally spent. But, after several hours of laying around and recovering, I'm feeling much better...but for the righteous bicycler's tan/burn that I got on my arms and legs. Ouch!
Sunscreen next time.
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