Japan - a long-lasting WOW moment - Arriving in Okinawa

The journey to Japan has been (so far) the only longer culture shock moment.

It starts at the airport with the toilet, which overpowers all smells during business with the smell of a sea breeze.

The food is simply unbelievably different, and if I didn't know any better, I would definitely think it's a different world.

When it comes to the construction of cars, a pragmatic view on things is definitely taken into account. Otherwise, the cars would certainly not look like stones with wheels, cut off in the front, but after some time in the country, it has nothing to do with pragmatism anymore, but simply with lack of space.

The island of Okinawa is the destination, as this is where most centenarians live/lived.
I would like to learn a bit more about that.

So, the first 3 days will be spent in the capital city, trying to cope with the new circumstances.
The ordering system at the restaurant, and we're not talking about McDonald's or anything like that, the bus rides, the orderly queuing, the cleanliness on the streets (I dare say, you could eat directly off the street) and so on and so forth....

On day 1, we strolled through the city and immediately noticed when we went bathing at the city beach that it's not so safe. There are some nasty fish that hide in the sand and sting when you get too close to them.
I didn't get stung, but now I have a bit more respect for the not-so-obvious sand inhabitants and I'll wear some bathing shoes next time I go into the water.

In the evening, we visited the first Izakaya. Here, a small snack is combined with a nightcap after work. It usually comes with a fixed price and a maximum number of drinks that can be eaten.

We had Sashimi. Quite delicious and a few more drinks afterwards.

So, the drinking culture is quite widespread, as far as I could tell on the first evening.

We were so taken by the evening that we went to the fish market the next day.
My expectation was that you have to come very early and everything is sold out by 8, it smells bad, and there is no such thing as a refrigeration chain. But I still have the ideas from Thailand in my head

At the fish market, there was very fresh fish and the Sashimi was simply abundant and very, very delicious.
The evening of March 24th ended early.

On the 25th, we will get up early and explore the island by car. We had an offer from a local who showed us the most beautiful beaches, and we went to the aquarium together.
I have already noticed that renting a car could be quite expensive, lucky for me that I had my driver's license translated in Bangkok at the last minute.

The flight to Osaka is already booked - from the 26th to the 1st of April, we will go to the mainland.

If the cherry blossoms are blooming and I am nearby, well then let's go.

We celebrated my birthday with the four of us in a car on a rather rainy but impressive tour of Okinawa Island and enjoyed sushi in the evening, and then tested the nightlife.
Dancing is definitely fun, but the party culture in Naha is quite touchy. It's only partially fun.

On the 26th, it was time to sleep in and then get on the plane - it's been raining all day anyway - so I won't miss much on the island.