Korea - week 1

As a tourist in southern South Korea, you are a stranger in a strange land. This area does not receive many foreign visitors. You will make no end of faux pas. People may comment on the size of your nose, the redness of your sunburned skin. Children stare. When you go into a restaurant, you may have the distinct feeling the staff wish you would turn around and leave, because they know you won't be able to read the menu or eat the food correctly. But you will also enjoy that sense of adventure and accomplishment when you stumble on a busy restaurant, manage to order, and then eat one of the finest meals of your life. And if you like to drink late into the evening, you will inevitably encounter a drunk professor or engineer who speaks some English and has a daughter studying in Australia, who will buy you beers despite your protestations. You will feel privileged to hike lovely hills and take in seaside views that few other foreigners have seen. You will lament that your own country fails to organize a transportation system even half as inexpensive and efficient as that in South Korea. And you will fervently wish that every country had 35$ motel rooms replete with high-speed internet, plasma screen TV, minifridge, free drinks, and private bath.

Fukuoka to Busan - Fly to Fukuoka on Skymark, and jump on the subway (the airport is the metro line terminus) for the brief ride to Hakata Station. If you arrive in the evening, stay in one of the business hotels within 5 minutes walk of the station. We went to Toyoko Inn (8600Y a double) this time, which boasts a nicer colour scheme than most business hotels, and a tasty Japanese all-you-can-eat breakfast of onigiri, miso, and burdock salad. The Green Hotel is cheaper, but no breakfast. In the morning, take the bus from the bus stop right across the street from Hakata station to the International Ferry Terminal (correct line for the bus clearly signmarked in English). The bus stops right in front of the terminal. Carry small change for the bus.

The JR Beetle is a high-speed hydrofoil to Busan - a fantastic idea. http://www.jrbeetle.co.jp/english/ We made advance reservations online (you have to create a login and password to do this) but you can buy tickets at the counter too. The ticket is 130,000Y each way normal price, but if you go on weekdays less than 7 days apart it is 100,000Y each way. On a weekday, the ferry was half empty. You also have to buy a terminal useage ticket for 500Y. There is a bit of paperwork for the Japanese and Korean immigration/customs, and you definitely must have your leave paperwork and ID card. The ferry of course leaves on time, arrives on time, and is a beautifully smooth ride. You keep your luggage with you on a rack above your head. You cannot leave the cabin during the ride. You can buy beer, beverages, and snacks in the terminal and on board. Asahi Super Dry is just 150Y a can, so almost everyone had one.

On arrival in Korea, you clear immigration (where everyone gets their temperature checked) and customs, get some Won at the global ATM, and make your way our of the terminal compound onto the street. From there it is just two blocks west (ie away from the water) to Jung-angno street and the subway station. From there, you can get almost anywhere in Busan, but we were headed for the express bus terminal. The ATM gives you 10,000W notes (about 8$) but you need 1000W notes to buy a subway ticket. So, head to the center of the subway station to the change machine and get some small bills. The, right next to it is the ticket machine. You have to know your line number (Line 1 goes to the bus terminal) and then select your destination (for us, the North end of the line Nopodong). The fare was about 1500W. The train takes about 30min, and the subway station is contiguous with the bus terminal. There are various food shops, including international chains and family-owned Korean joints, in the station/terminal. The destinations are written in English over the appropriate ticket booth, and when the bus is about to leave a sales clerk appears at the window and the price appears. It was 4000W to Gyeong-ju, a 1 hour ride. The bus was tidy, left on time, and trundled along at a remarkable speed.

GYEONG-JU is a town that grows on you as you explore it. The ancient capital of the Shilla empire, it is billed as the museum without walls. The bus pulls in at the western end of downtown. There is a tourist info kiosk right there, with helpful ladies who speak English, provide a city map, and can write a note for you that says "May we stay another night?" and/or "May we see the room?" or some other useful phrase. Seriously, these are the most professional tourist desk ladies we have ever encountered. While there, pick up the handy Yangdong Folk Village handbook.

ACCOMMODATIONS Just north of the express bus station (on the way to the intercity bus terminal) there are a couple of newish-looking love motels, including one with the slogan "Love&Joy&Fun." We decided to go a bit further east, into town, and stumbled on the delightful NMotel(N for Noblesse), which sits on the upper-west corner of the Noseo-dong Tumuli Park area. For 40,000W weeknights/50,000W weekends, you get a large room, double bed, flat screen TV, computer with Internet access, air-con, water machine, minifridge, jacuzzi bath and shower, electric toilet, toiletries, and tea/coffee/drinks. Very comfortable, and very quiet, with a lovely view of the Tumuli. The Korean love motel has to be one of the best accommodation values ever. You pay in advance at the window - no names, no forms, no ID required at all. Each evening we showed our note paper (Can we stay another night?) and handed over the money. In the morning, we turned in our key so they would know we were out and clean the room. Otherwise, we kept the key with us. The man in the box downstairs is sometimes not there in the morning, so you can just leave your key in the basket out front if you are checking out. There is no laundry service in these hotels, and no laundromats in Korea, so we just did our dirty clothes each night in the tub/sink and hung them up on a line (which we brought with us) overnight. Between the aircon and the warm spring temperatures, they were dry by morning. There are hostels and tourist hotels in town as well, but why would you spend the same or more money for a room not nearly as nice?

FOOD Many Korean restaurants specialize in one particular item, which is fantastic for the adventurous eater. We had duk (porridge) at a shop on the west side of Boseongno street, between Wonhyoro and Dongseongno streets. The beef and mushroom was quite tasty, similar to risotto, and came with three different side dishes (7000W). We recommend against the walnut duk unless you are looking for a gruel-like bland breakfast. We had a two delightful noodle dishes (4000Y each) at a place on an alleyway off of the main shopping drag that extends off of Gyerimno street as it travels north of Tumuli park. Turning left at the Benneton, you head down the alley and the shop is on the south side of the street. One was a chilled noodle with lots of veggies and spicy bean paste, which you mix all together and enjoy. The other was noodle soup with fish cakes, with a good-to-the-last-drop broth. The alleyway just south of there has a mandoo (dumpling) shop where you can get amazing steamed, fried, or watery dumplings for 3000-3500W a plate, and various mandoo and/or rice cake soups for 4000-5000W. We enjoyed Jjim duk at a little place on the south side of Wonhyoro street, just east of Noseodong park. For 15000W, you get a huge serving of Andong-style spicy soy-based stew filled with chicken bits (boned costs more, so for 12000W you can get unboned chicken), glass noodles, and veggies. You can order rice to mop up the juices, but we didn't have any room left in our bellies. You get a small blue dish for the refuse ie bones and skin. We tried a bit of street food across the street from Gyeong-ju station, including yummy barley dumplings stuffed with bean paste (1000W for 3) from a lady on the north corner, and fishcake on a stick and mandoo (4000W total) from a lady on the south side. We cannot recommend the westernish cuisine at Cookand Bistro, which is on one of the alleyways in the downtown shopping district. We had two rather unfortunate oversweetened dishes (9000W each) and were a bit suprised at the popularity of the place. We also must advise against ssambap, or at least the ssambap place at the southwestern corner of Tumuli park with a picture of a friendly-looking older Korean couple on the sign. Ssambap is supposed to be numerous side dishes which can be wrapped in lettuce leaves. We eat almost anything, but there were multiple dishes we could not stomach, including raw fermented/pickled fish, rehydrated dried&salted fish, fermented fish and tofu soup, pickled eggs, jellied brown stuff, kimchi'd large leaves, and super-spicy chewy raw fish. We made a small meal out of the rest of it, but were sad to part with our 9000W and disappointed that the LP and Moon guides so highly recommended the experience. It should also be noted the marking on the LP and city maps of Ssambap restaurants does not seem to be in the right place.

WHAT TO DO Walking around town is quite rewarding - Noseodong's Tumuli park (free) and the larger walled Tumuli park compound (1000W) are both lovely. The Jungang market is alive, interesting, and has a plethora of inexpensive food options. One morning, we took the 10 bus for 1000W (caught on Seoseongno street heading south) to Bunhwangsa temple (boasting a pagoda from the 600s AD), and visited there, Hwangyongsa (foundation of a Silla palace), Anapji pond (Silla pleasure lake area), Wolsung forest, Gyerim forest, and the Cheomseongdae observatory in succession. Admissions are either free, 500W, or 1000W. Another morning we took the 11 bus for 1500W to the museum (admission 1000W), which holds all the Silla artifacts excavated from temples, palaces, and tombs locally. We took the 11 bus down to Bulguksa Temple (4000W), which was ridiculously crowded with middle school children on school trips, but still worthwhile. At 20 past the hour, a bus leaves across the street from the temple parking lot and heads to the Seokguram grotto, 20 minutes up the hill. There is a 20min walk from the parking lot to the grotto (admission 4000W), which houses a beautiful stone Buddha sculpture and is considered a high point in Sill artistry. The bus returns down the hill on the hour (ie, about an hour after you arrive at the grotto.) A 2.2km wooded trail connects the two sites as well. Koreans seem to enjoy the steep uphill hike, but we did it downhill and were plenty tired as a result.

We spent another rewarding day exploring Yangdong village. You take a 200 series bus (200-208, 212, 217) from across the street from the bus station or from Seoseongno street about 40min north and get off at the sign for the village turnoff - remember to mention to the bus driver where you are headed so he will stop appropriately. Then walk about 2km by the railroad tracks (there is a track beside and below them), go under the bridge, then veer left heading towards the elementary school. Walk a bit further and you have arrived. Use the handbook to guide your walk around the village - it is large and hilly, and there is a lot to see. We are usually suspicious of "folk villages" but this is an extraordinary place. Regular Korean people live here as they would in any other farming village, except that they live in beautiful traditional homes. There are trappings of modern life like air conditioners, satellite TV dishes, and mechanized farming equipment, which is exactly as it should be for a functional community. There are two spots in town for refreshment, as far as we could tell - both visible from the main road. We had a persimmon-cinnamon-ginger tea at the place with two outside umbrella tables (2000W each). There was also a ssambap-type restaurant which was crowded with the camera crew that had been on site filming a bunch of singing and dancing children.

JINJU - We hopped on a bus to 1.5 hr bus ride to Jinju, with a plan to stay overnight there and then take the bus to Tongyeong. Jinju is a pleasant work-a-day city that straddles a river. Unfortunately the bus station is distant from the downtown centre - best to hop a cab, but one can walk along the river (keep heading west on the south bank of the river until the main bridge, approx 1.5km, then cross the river and the love hotels will be immediately on the right). The LP suggests the Versace, but we ended up at You motel, which was totally acceptable. No computer, but a balcony and view over the river, and a large tub (4000W). The love hotel zone is just west of the bus station, and just east of the main drag shopping area. It is a pleasant walk past the riverside eel restaurants to the Jinju fortress, a worthwhile attraction (1000W). We spent hours checking out the fortress wall, temples, and views. But the cafe in the park is a rip off. One of out best meals of the trip was dinner in Jinju - we wandered the streets heading north from the hotel until we were at the foot of a huge Lotte residential tower complex (within stone's throw of a large church) and stumbled on a small restaurant with a picture of rice in a dolshot (stone bowl). Turned out, this was ssambap, but a delightful version. For 700W, we got a ridiculous amount of food that included 3 different kinds of fish, a crab tofu stew, and countless veggie dishes.

Onna at lower low tide

Onna is accessible via the 58 or the expressway, exiting at Yaka and crossing the island.
From the 58, there are various places to turn to approach the water and find a spot to park. If you turn at the elementary school, you go down a small road and then go right into a dirt opening, follow that around, get as close to the water as possible, and park. There is a cute beach here. We prefer to turn at Manzamo, take a left before entering the tourist trap, then take a right to get to the straight road parallelling the coast. You can park here and find a trail that heads down to the water. This puts you on the beach near the cave pools. You can also drive further into Manzamo and turn down a tiny unmarked street and follow this downhill. This takes you to a grassy area with a picnic table and the toilet bowl dive site entry.
Onna is a sweet spot to spend a sunny spring day, especially at lowest low tide. Check beforehand at the Tide Toya website: http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/6543.html
At super low tide, you can walk almost the whole length of this coastline over the exposed shelf. Some live coral is exposed, so you have to be careful to avoid it. There are also plenty of sea urchins, making correct foot placement even more essential. This is not a walk for children. But the tidepools are great along here. There are lots of Japanese people out quite far collecting shellfish or whatever.
This little adventure should be combined with sustenance at a local cafe. Our favourite is Cafe Masaho, which is just south of the Manzamo turnoff on the 58 (west side), and by a restaurant with a pig sign. We have reviewed them elsewhere on this site (open at noon). They do plate lunch for 1000-1200Y - they speak minimal English so just point and shoot. All the food is delicious and healthful. One of the sets is a pasta dish.
Afterwards, head to the Onna Resort public beach, which is just north of the Onna fishing port. There are a couple places to enter from the 58 - one at the fishing port, then you turn right and get to the parking lot, and one a little further north that heads more directly into the parking lot. The beach is behind a sporting field and school. There are public toilets, free picnic areas, vending machines, a snack bar, and a lifeguard. During our visit they were not charging admission or parking. To the south is a great view of the cliffs at Manzamo, and to the north is the ANA Intercontinental resort. They have various boats doing touristy things. There is a swimming area perfect for kiddos. We got some drinks at the local Coco (there is also a Family Mart) and spent a leisurely couple hours at a covered picnic table reading our books. Bliss. The beach does have a loudspeaker system playing J-pop, sol you do have to tune this out, but otherwise it is a great spot.

North of Kadena steps

Location: north of Kadena marina, take one of the small roads off the 58 out to the sea. Park along the seawall in Mizugama.
Golden week has passed, so the carp flags over the river may have been taken down. Regardless, this is a nice walk. The seawall here is nearly deserted, and lined with residences instead of shops. The graffiti on the wall consists of elementary school childrens' murals. You walk to the mouth of the river, and then turn and follow the south bank of the river. The multimedia center marked on the phone book map is an interesting modernist structure. There is a small jetty and on the day we went boat rides up and down the river were 500Y. The river is prettiest on an incoming tide.

Best of cafes

Best buffet - Cafe 4th (Naha downtown)
Best value for money by far on the island - delicious fresh made pastas and pizzas

Best coffee - Azzuro (Hamby)

Coffee on Okinawa leaves a lot to be desired. This is passable, and a mile ahead of any other cafe.

Best fancy lunch - Gueleton (Kitanakagusuku)

Changing menu, inventive food, nice atmosphere

Best salad - Tida (Urasoe)

The salad bar here is lunch unto itself, each dish seasonal and delicious

Best desserts - Tida (Urasoe)

They generally taste as good as they look, especially the fruit cream puff and the berry mousse cake

Best weekend lunch - Nirai (Hamagawa)
A different meal each week, a lovely view, and convenient for a seaside stroll afterwards

Best cheap meal - Genki (Hamby)

You can't beat 680Y for their daily special - main, rice, macaroni salad, cabbage, sashimi, veggie side, drink, and prepackaged dessert

Best veggie option - Sora (Chatan)

Get there on a weekday right when it opens, or you won't get a seat. If you do, then feast on the amazing array of Okinawan veggies prepared in a traditional manner. And give your fish main to your lunch companion.

Best burger - Gordies (Chatan)

Tastiest bread and pattie by far, although the fries and soup could use an extra oomph

Best non-Japanese Asian or South Asian - Shimauma curry shokudo (Yomitan)

Yummy, asthetically pleasing curries and tandori chicken

Honorable mention for same category - Som Chai

Discovered and noisy, but they do a great job producing real Thai flavours at very reasonable prices

Best Hawaiian - Hanahou (Yomitan)

The curry, pizza, and tuna-avocado-rice dishes are all so fantastic it is hard to choose between them

Best inexpensive dinner - Orange diner (Hamagawa)
A tasty continental/fusion tapas style dinner for about 1000Y pp, plus drinks

Cheapest beer within a bicycle ride of Lester/Kadena/Foster - Izakaya Jijiman (drinking cat)

Between 6-8pm, draft beer is 50% off, which makes it about 225Y. Good times when combined with salt-flavoured grilled squid and edamame.

Best pasta lunch - Cafe Pao or Pana

Homemade noodles and savory sauces, served with bread, salad, mini appetizer, coffee, and sorbet

Best in Northern Okinawa (north of Motobu) - House of Taste

Unfortunately lacking in an English menu, but the food is so tasty you can point and shoot with confidence.

Best of the mid-island beaches - Cafe Masoho (Onna)

Charming ambience, lovely proprietors, and a reliably light, delicious, and healthy lunch

Best in Okinawa City - Fertile
You can taste the attention to detail in the lovely soups and mains here, dessert isn't bad either

Honorable mention:

Cafe Jiji (Kitanakagusuku) - we periodically crave the soymilk green curry and big salad plate; the fish dish is nice too

San Diego and Las Vegas

Many gaijin take a trip to the United States during their stay here, and these two cities are popular destinations. A few comments about each:
San Diego:
A car is highly advisable. If you plan ahead and book online, you can find some great deals. Among the big chains, we've had the most luck with Avis and Budget. The San Diego Reader (http://www.sandiegoreader.com/home/) is invaluable in planning your itinerary and offers real reviews (not advertisements) of restaurants, movies, theatre, and music. Search their food & drink section by neighborhood and find the local gems. Downtown, we enjoyed several hours at Neighborhood (777 G street, at 8th Ave) - great atmosphere, fantastic music at an appropriate volume, a huge beer menu including Hitochino white ale and a slew of local brews (4-8$), quite good beef tacos (10$), and satisfying gourmet burgers (approx 10$). In Pacific Beach on Tuesday nights Turquoise hosts a flamenco troupe from 7 - 9:30pm. Cover is 5$ a head, wine and beer start at 5$, and tapas are 6-12$ approx. Much of the crowd seemed to know the dancers or take lessons together. It is always fun to stumble on a little community of people with an unusual shared interest. We also enjoyed a spicy Thai lunch at an unmarked hole-in-the-wall supposedly called Sab-E-Lee (2405 Ulric street). The tom yum soup is the real deal with loads of kaffir lime leaf, lemon grass, and fresh herbs. Convoy street continues to offer an amazing variety of Asian restaurants and shops. We went to ChinaMax Seafood restaurant for some shrimp dumplings, stir fried Chinese broccoli, and yummy string bean and meat sauté. There are also some great Vietnamese places on Convoy.
We tend to return to a few favored zones when we visit San Diego. We love a stroll through downtown La Jolla, although most restaurants there should be avoided. A walk through the Torrey Pines State preserve offers a glimpse into California’s beauty prior to the development/population boom. For more reasonably priced food and some secondhand store shopping we like Pacific Beach. Balboa Park merits a leisurely stroll and a visit to a museum or two. Across the street from the zoo and Natural History museum is a large rose garden, which abuts a cactus garden, all of which overlooks the Naval Hospital. MCAS Miramar hosts the Flying Leatherneck museum, a fascinating and large collection of helos and planes piloted by Marines over the past 70 years. Afterwards, officers may wish to stop by the Miramar O club, relive a few Top Gun memories, and have a couple beers by the sunny window.
Las Vegas:
We would never normally have traveled to Vegas. We don’t gamble, we don’t wait in line at buffets or pay cover charges at nightclubs, and we like to drink sitting down over dinner. However, we had to be there for a family event and thus tried to make the most of it. We drove out from San Diego, breaking up the trip with a stay on MC Logistics Base Barstow. They offer clean suites with kitchenette for about 50$. We were glad for the safety of on base accommodations – Barstow is rather sketchy and depressed. Food offerings are sparse in Barstow, so we ended up suffering through a meal at Chilis. The food wasn’t terrible, but we despise the chain restaurant sales strategy of continually offering you way more food than any human being should ever eat at a sitting (how ‘bout we start you with some appetizers?...want to add on some double fries?...can I interest you in a chocolate fudge explosion lava cake with 5 scoops of ice cream).
We bid on Hotwire for a 5-star strip hotel and got the Wynn for under 120$/night. Try betterbidding.com to figure out which hotel you are being offered prior to paying. Having read Trip Advisor, we knew that most hotels in Vegas delight in giving customers trouble during check-in/check-out. Wynn did not fail to deliver on this. Multiple phone calls and chats to different desk staff were required to get our requested non-smoking Queen room in the back side of the hotel away from the nightclub. And they were not pleased with our demand that they seek our specific authorization prior to placing any additional charges on our room bill. But in the end, persistence paid off and we got a lovely corner room with a magnificent view. The bathroom and bath amenities – lemongrass scented shampoo/conditioner/soap/conditioner were fantastic. The bed was cozy with plush linens and pillows. The Wynn parking lot is quite navigable, not too far from the rooms, and lets you know how many spots remain on each level.
We highly recommend having a car in Vegas. We went out each day to lunch on West Spring Mountain Road - the Las Vegas Asian shopping zone. We found an amazing Vietnamese place - Pho Saigon 8 (5650 W SMR suite B) - and delighted in their heaping trays of fresh herbs and sparerib lunch set (essentially all dishes <10$).
There is some appeal to watching such a broad cross-section of Americans, and global tourists, do whatever they come to do in Vegas. Truly, there is no dress code there - from grannies in nylon track suites to teenagers in hot shorts to high rollers in designer suits and brides in their white gowns, anything goes.
Our final day we drove out to the Valley of Fire State Park. On a clear day, the contrast between blue sky, red rock, brown desert, and green scrub is a sight to behold. In early April, wildflowers were everywhere and improved the asthetic impact further. There is a driving track around the park and some places to stop and walk the trails. We could have spent several more hours there if we had the time. We returned via the North Shore Road (ie of Lake Mead) and were slightly disappointed at the lack of water views. When leaving Las Vegas with a rental car, be forewarned that the rental car drop-off point is about 10 miles from the airport and requires an extra 20 minutes of your time. Never fear, if you get to the airport too early there are ubiquitous slot machines to help you pass the time.

Lily viewing

Location - Zanpa point (take the 6 off the 58) Zanpa point is a lovely place to walk around, especially on a sunny April day. The colours are supersaturated, water views abound, and the cliffs are spectacular. There are lots of lilies and gladiolas planted in this area and they bloom with vigour in April. For those who can't make it to Ie-jima, this is your own personal lily festival, and is remarkable un-touristed. The paths at Zanpa may also be bicycled. The trip can be combined with a lunch at Hanahou for their delicious ahi poke don, spicy Hawaiian-style curry, or pizzas, or to Shimauma curry shokudo for their tandoori chicken and Indian-style curries. Also, the nearby beaches at Zanpa (in front of the Zanpa resort) or Nirai (in front of Nikko Alivia) are inviting and spared from the wind and wave at Zanpa point.

Annoyances on Okinawa

Okinawa is a lovely place to live for a couple of years, or even longer. But like any place in the world, it has a few peculiarities and annoyances.
On base annoyances:
1. Other people's dogs
Everyone thinks their own dog is great, but oftentimes their neighbours would not agree. Military families have a predilection for buying dogs they don't have time for, and leaving them tied up in their yards (against base housing rules) or alone in a tiny fenced area. While most pet owners are pretty good about picking up dog feces, a minority simply let the feces lie where they fall - grassland where the kids play, sidewalk, your flowerbed, wherever. Disgusting. And, this same minority of dog owners seem deaf to the irritating barking of their treasured pet. Remember, many military members are shift workers, and incessant barking is simply not cool.
2. Other people's windchimes
Okinawa can be quite windy. No one wants to be kept awake by your windchimes after they have worked all night. In a quadriplex living situation, windchimes should be illegal.
3. Unneccessary stop signs - the more stop signs put up in stupid places, the more people disobey them. Yield signs are much more appropriate in intersections where you can easily see in all directions and everyone is going less than 30 mph.
4. Extremely poor parallel parking skills
This is an issue on and off base. Nowhere else in the world is there so much room left between cars when parallel parked. Strangely, the offending drivers never leave enough space to actually fit another car. The most flagrant example of this is by the Naval Hospital. Offenders include gaijin and Japanese alike. Please, if you can see the headlights/taillights of the cars in front/behind you, you are too far away. And motorcycles should take up much less than space than cars.

Off base annoyances:
1. Illegal trash dumping
The quantity of illegal dumping on Okinawa is quite sad, and points to a real problem with local disposal and pickup regulations. The worst part is, many of the favored dumping areas are right along the beach, where people park to walk down to less developed seaside locations. There are entire rotting cars, old TVs, sofas and other upholstered goods, and large plastic items littering every slightly-concealed vehicle-accessible nook and cranny in Okinawa.
2. Fisherman trash, feral animals and their feces, and public urination by the seaside
Walk along any area frequented by fishermen, and you'll find a pathetic array of discarded drink cans, plastic bento boxes, cigarette detritus, wrappers, and other trash lying about. These same areas are infested with feral cats, horrible mangy animals that hide in the tetrapods and scrub. One has to constantly look down to avoid stepping in their mess (just like in New York City, but there the waste is mostly from pets and not ferals). And do avoid stairwells and dead-ends if possible, as these are favored spots for a piss, which might occur in broad daylight (despite the huge number of public toilet facilities in Japan)
3. Curbside stopping
Drivers on Okinawa love to stop on the side of a busy road, and don't pay toomuch mind to pulling over as far as possible to the curb. Sometimes hazard lights are turned on, sometimes not. Sometimes the driver is just sitting in the car, sometimes the whole family gets out to take a photo or pick up something at the store. It hardly matters that this behaviour may cause a massive traffic pile-up or imminent danger to other cars - it is so commonplace it may as well be written into the traffic laws that a driver may stop anywhere he or she may please.
4. Summer Sundays and Golden Week
Beware the 58 traffic on these days...especially in the afternoon/early evening. And if you want to be seated at your favourite restaurants, arrive early or late. Riding your bicycle down to Mihama or Ginowan may be faster than driving to a summer festival/fireworks show.