Pam Webb

Okinawa! Part Two

After visiting the botanical gardens my son decided I needed to see American Village. Not being fond of overt tourist attractions, I politely deferred, and said if we were short on time we could skip it and head to the beach instead. Turns out lunch and getting to the ocean involved American Village.

It’s difficult to describe American Village. It’s as as if someone took a child’s colorful toy village set and hobbled it together with bright posters, stairways, and sensational features, like a gigantic plastic fuchsia shark.

Lunch was upstairs in a restaurant called The Pancake House. Apparently it is very popular with tourists and locals. The menus, three are presented, all have photos in order to guide selections. Prices are in yen, but Google is very helpful in converting and a Visa solves transactions. With my offer of paying for lunch my son ordered freely from the menu. His main entree being a plate that combines fries, pancakes, and chicken. I attempted what I thought was a simple chicken curry with rice. It was more of a gravy with chicken nuggets. It was okay, but not going to be a recommendation. The total meal came to about $30, a deal considering we ordered two entrees, a side, a drink, and a dessert.

A stop at an ice cream shop followed lunch and it’s difficult to mess up mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone. The ice cream is made on premises and it wasn’t as sweet as its American counterpart. Walking around American Village I was amazed at all the shops tucked in here and there around all the catwalks that connected the buildings. Considering it was a Tuesday it was busy enough with mainly Japanese tourists and few Americans. Christmas decorations were everywhere. Giant snowmen, elves, Santas and the usual convivial trappings of the season were ever present among the giant box presents. Again, I deferred visiting trinket shops, hoping for something unique. So my son took me to the Cat Cafe.

Cats are revered in Japan and the Cat Cafe concept involves buying kibble to feed the assortment of cats roaming around in the airy wooden-floored room. The cat varieties vary from hairless to stubby-pawed chubbs, to fluffy tabbies with personalities ranging from noisy complainers meandering about to contented dozers curled up in cozy kitty lofts. Some cats turned their nose up at the kibble, but most appreciated the free handout. They all looked healthy and were not overweight even though it was obvious this is a popular place to visit. Both locals and tourists filled the room, all were enjoying their interactions with either petting or feeding the cats. I noticed couples coming into the cafe as a date destination. In fact this was a favorite place for my son and daughter-in-law when they were dating since animals are not allowed in the barracks. When they married and moved off base they immediately got two lovely cats from the rescue shelter. Yes, it did seem silly to me that we were paying to pet and feed cats when two were waiting for us at home.

Last stop was the sea wall. The ocean has always been part of my life having grown up on the west coast. Living inland the last 30 years I miss the ocean and it was a treat to renew my appreciation for it. Oddly, there were no seagulls cruising around and no whiff of salty air as experienced when visiting my former hometown, Seattle’s waterfront. Still, the ocean is a tonic for me and I could have easily stayed the afternoon walking along the immense promenade gazing out on the diamond-dappled waters.

Our last stop was Foster Marine base: a haircut for my son and a stop at the base library because I didn’t pack enough books for the trip. What a library! Clean, well-organized, a bounty of selection. My son is now working at another base library and my daughter-in-law is studying for her librarian degree. Two more librarians in the family!

Soon I will leave Okinawa and return home. Not being much of a traveler this has been an eye opening experience and Part Three explores my observations. Stay tuned!