In the Beginning...

What an awesome start to our stay in Okinawa it has been! The island is absolutely gorgeous, as we were able to experience our first weekend! Our sponsors took us up to the northern part of the island, which has very little "city" but does have some beautiful scenery. The boys went snorkeling while the girls hung out on the beach (it was a little chilly to swim for us.)

The Beach

That little head is Zac snorkeling. It was much more rough than usual.

We also visited the northern tip of the island, Cape Hedo. Gorgeous views. It characterizes a lot of the island - there are many hills/mountains and cliffs around the edge, but many great beaches also.

Cape Hedo: behind those rocks is a ~75 ft. drop

Looking down from Cape Hedo to the coral below

Sunset on the way home

We've eaten alot of sushi and soba (Asian noodle soup) since we've been here, and we're loving it! We're slowly but surely settling in. We will get our apartment and the second of our cars on Monday. I got a car on Friday, so we are finally independently mobile! I can't believe we've been here for only a week! We've experienced so much and are looking forward to much more!

Interesting cultural fact: The Japanese don't have normal cemeteries. They are mostly cremated, and families have collective "shrines" where they place the ashes. This is an important part of their main religion, Shintoism, which places an lar emphasis on ancestry.  We saw a ton of them on the drive north.