Saturday, we headed up north to Nago with our sponsors, Tim and Christa, for the Cherry Blossom Festival. I loved seeing the cherry blossoms in D.C., but this was truly a sight to behold. We started the day with a trip to the local Orion Brewery. Okinawa has very strict rules about drinking and driving. Basically, if you drive, they won't let you drink...even if you're not planning on driving for hours. So, Christa and I enjoyed our lemon tea instead.
After refreshments, we walked up a mountain over 600 steps, but it was worth it to see the cherry blossoms and the view of Nago Bay from the top.
With our legs quivering, we decided it was time to eat at our first Okinawan street fair! Ryan and I used to love getting sausage and peppers, crepes, and gyros at the New York street fairs, so we were excited to experience the food at an Okinawan street fair! They had huge corn dogs and french fries, but they also had yakitori (chicken skewers), okinawan pancakes called okonomiyaki, yakisoba (stir-fried noodles), and a lot of stuff we just couldn't decipher. Everything we tried was delicious!
An Okinawan street fair booth
Ryan trying out the yakitori chicken skewers (look for these at the wedding!)
Okinawan pancake/omelet/pizza called okonomiyaki
Whole squids (no, we didn't try it)
On the way home, Ryan and I decided to take a scenic detour and check out Motobu Point. The views were gorgeous, so I thought it was a great opportunity to play with my new DSLR camera. What do you think?
A fisherman on the pier near Nago
Ryan hanging out on the pier
Sunset
Since the Motobu region is known for their tangerines this time of year, we stopped at a local stand to pick some up. The local farmer was kind enough to let me try two different kinds of tangerines. YUM!
We ended the night with a local Orion beer at our neighborhood hot spot, the Transit Cafe. One of our favorite things about our new home is the ability to end the night with a beer while overlooking the East China Sea. Oyasuminasai!
