{"id":23861,"date":"2015-03-26T09:48:38","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T13:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=23861"},"modified":"2015-04-01T09:54:29","modified_gmt":"2015-04-01T13:54:29","slug":"osaka-to-okinawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2015\/03\/26\/osaka-to-okinawa\/","title":{"rendered":"Osaka to Okinawa"},"content":{"rendered":"After spending a few weeks hanging out with friends and host families in Hiroshima and Osaka, I'm ending my spring break with a brief solo trip to Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa. Once a semi-independent kingdom, Okinawa subtly separates itself from Japan's other prefectures; its older generations speak Okinawan, and its classical architecture, i.e. that of castles and some homes, is markedly different from that of Japan's other prefectures. Moreover, its remote location affords a unique topography. These characteristics\u00a0collectively provide a sense that Okinawa is somehow distinct from most other regions of Japan.\r\n\r\n
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Okinawa Prefecture is also referred to as the \"Ryukyu Islands.\" [source<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure>I started my first full day in Okinawa\u00a0by waking up early to catch a ferry to the island of Tokashiki.\r\n\r\n
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Approaching the island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nThe island's port was characterized by wild vegetation and rusty shacks, aged through years of salty sea-breeze. After briefly\u00a0taking in the scenery, I grabbed a bike at the local rental shop, and started my adventure.\r\n\r\n
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Rice paddies near Tokashiki's port.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nHalf an hour's cycle brought me to one of the island's famous beaches:\r\n\r\n
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Tokashiku Beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nOkinawa is\u00a0renowned for its beaches, but most of the more famous ones, e.g. Tokashiku, are located away from the main island -\u00a0where most tourists stay. Tokashiku alone made the trip worthwhile.\r\n\r\n
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A view of Tokashiku from its connecting mountain road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nI spent a few hours reading and relaxing at the beach before hopping back on my bike.\r\n\r\n
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One of the mountain roads connecting the island's municipalities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nAlternating scenes of beaches and thick vegetation patterned the island's landscape:\r\n\r\n
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Aharen Beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
\"wpid-img_20150325_134822.jpg\"<\/a>
Aharen from above.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nThe island's north coast featured a number of war memorials commemorating\u00a0victims of World War II.\r\n\r\n
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A memorial dedicated to Korean victims.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n
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A memorial dedicated to Japanese victims. The island's tragic history juxtaposes its beautiful scenery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nAfter spending a few hours cycling the length of the island, I finally caught a ferry back to Naha, where my hostel is. \"wpid-img_20150325_171840.jpg\"<\/a> Spring break has been a blur of transit, catching up with friends, and eating delicious food. While I don't want it to end, I'm also looking forward to the beginning of my second semester. Next week, for the first time in a while, I'll be writing to you from Tokyo. Until then, good luck with the end of the semester!","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nAfter spending a few weeks hanging out with friends and host families in Hiroshima and Osaka, I'm ending my spring break with a brief solo trip to Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa. Once a semi-independent kingdom, Okinawa subtly separates itself…\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Osaka to Okinawa”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>
Continue reading “Osaka to Okinawa”<\/span>…<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2340,12848,12786,12738,12847,13563,12785,237,1804],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23861"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23947,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23861\/revisions\/23947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}