There's a gecko in the galley!

This morning I padded into the kitchen barefooted and sleep-eyed but that didn't last long. It only took a second to find a little something I didn't leave on the counter last night. That woke me up pretty quick.

Hangin' with the hashi (chopsticks)

He's kinda cute!

He didn't move for the longest time!

With his tail he was about 4 inches...just a baby!

Honestly, I think if he's going to hang out in the galley he could help out and start swabbin' the deck!

Pizza in the Sky

There's a really neat pizza joint (if you could call it that) about and hour and a half from the house (uchi). It's an hour from my friend's (tomodachi no) house but it took us two hours (ni ji) to get there. Hahaha! I took a little detour. Okay, I took a wrong turn but the pictures (shashin) prove that we made it there. I'm a Pizza Hut kinda girl but this little pie is worth the drive. If you ever come visit and we go there you make think I'm going to kill you and dump your body. They have restaurants and shops here in crevices and on precipices where you almost can't find them.

It was INSANELY hot (atsui) in that little place. Naturally, there are no air conditioners. There were a couple of fans but they seemed more like a consolation prize. They didn't really make us feel any better. They make one kind of pizza in two different sizes. This is not an order-your-choice-of-toppings kind of restaurant (restoran). You get the medium or large. The only other food item on the menu is a salad and it's big enough to feed everyone at the table. It's quite satisfying to tell your waitress..."tsumetai mizu kudasai"...and have her come back with cold water for everyone. Ahh! Those Japanese classes are paying off!

This is what "Pizza in the Sky" looks like in Kanji,

I guess...

It's called "Pizza in the Sky" for a reason.

It's on top of a small mountain (yama)...maybe just

a really high (takai) hill. The view is AMAZING!

I'd bet you never had iced tea served this way before.

This is the pizza. This is the ONLY kind you get.
Yes, that is corn. What you don't see is the garlic!

Note the two bottles of Tabasco in the foreground. Hahaha!

This little bee fascinated me. There was a little garden

outside that had bees and butterflies flying all around.

I put the zoom lens on but it was still cold from

being in the car and it fogged up on me.

Look at the colors on his abdomen. They're gorgeous!

This is the restaurant. Yes, everyone sits on the floor.

There is one table inside and a bistro-type one on the

porch. And, staying true to Japanese (nihongo) custom

everyone takes their shoes (nugatsu) off at the door.

Okinawans Drive NAKED

I couldn't resist... You know you couldn't have either!

Here it is...the blog with the funny car names. Drum roll, please!

Nissan
Bluebird
Note
Serena
March
Teana

Toyota
Regius
Fielder
Lucida
Delica
Noah
Hiace
RunX
FunCargo
Voxy
Vitz
Granvia
Ipsum
Spacio

Honda
Fit
Marino
Life
Cube

Suzuki
EveryLand
Jimny
Every
Kei
Alto

Daihatsu
Naked
Boon
Esse
Atrai
Mira
Vivio
Gino
Conte
Latte
Storia

Mazda
Demio
Bongo Friendee

Mitsubishi
Canter
Pajero Jr.
Town Box
DeonCedia

There are more than just the ones that I've listed. You won't see any common models here like the ones we consider common in the US. The Honda Odyssey is the one that we see the most. I had to hang a stuffed animal by the rearview mirror to ID which Odyssey was mine. I have to admit there was a time or two I couldn't figure out why my key wouldn't open the car.

Okinawan Fun Facts

Here's just a couple of little things I've wanted to mention along the way...

Okinawa is 67 miles long. It is 17 miles wide at the widest point and 2 miles wide at the narrowest.

Naha (the capital) is the largest city. Urasoe is second. Ginowan City is third. Then, I believe it's Okinawa City and then Nago.

There are 1.3 million people living on Okinawa. There are 100,000 people that live on the other inhabited islands of the Ryukyu Island chain.

1% of the population of Japan lives on Okinawa.

There is one vending machine for EVERY SEVEN PEOPLE. Do you hear me?!?!?!

Speaking of vending machines...here's something you don't see in the States every day...or ever!

Orion...the beer of Okinawa

Pronounced [OAR ee on] not [or EYE on]