Trip
to Okinawa!
- November 8-12 (2002), Okinawa Prefecture
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |
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| Iriomote-jima is known as Japan's last paradise, though that is not likely to last for long considering Japan's environmental record. Anyway, it is located about 400 kilometers south of Okinawa's main island. This is the view from the Iriomote Youth Hostel, where we stayed while on the island (highly recommended!). | As we arrived in the afternoon on November 8th, we did not really have time to do anything really interesting. Thus, we simply went down to Hoshisuna-no-hama, a relatively nice beach. It is unfortunate, however, that the place receives more than its fair share of garbage from Taiwan and China. |
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| Here, I am entertaining various onlookers with a song about the need for environmental protection. | Yuka has discovered one of the prettier spots on the beach. |
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| Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world, and Okinawa has the highest life expectancy in Japan. I doubt, however, that eating this fish did me any good. | On our second day, we decided to hike to Pinasaira-no-taki. To get there, you need to wade across a shallow lagoon, and then plod through some mangroves. |
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| Of course, this is the adventurous thing to do. We discovered, however, that most tourists prefer to pay a lot of money to go on a guided canoe trip. In this picture, Yuka stands in front of a sakishimasuo tree, which is famous on Okinawa. | Finally reaching Pinaisara-no-taki, we had lunch before taking some pictures. Unfortunately, the water was a bit too cold, even for a Norwegian. |