[ Apr.2017 ] I always wanted to go to one of the small islands in Okinawa in Japan.
During our stay in Japan this time, we finally fulfilled that as we thought the timing to visit there was good, so we stayed on Ishigaki Island for 5 days.
We flew there from Haneda airport in Tokyo via Naha, the capital of Okinawa.
We had only 35 minutes between flights, so right from the first I was a bit worried that we might miss the connecting flight.
We reached around Naha on time, but did not land for a long time.
According to the announcement, the reason was the congestion at the airport.
I thought that if that is the case, the connecting flight must be late, too and tried to make myself calm down.
At last we landed, but the only crowded place was inside the terminal building and the runway was empty.
As I thought the connecting flight was delayed, too and we had to wait for some time in the busy waiting area.
When we got on the next flight and looked at the window, we saw that four military aeroplanes roared and took off one by one.
That was the cause of the congestion.
It was the time that the relationship between Japan and North Korea was volatile and I wondered where they flew to and to do what.
Finally we arrived on Ishigaki Island, but unfortunately it was raining on and off.
I was expecting striking colour of the sea, but even in Ishigaki, when the sky was grey, the sea was grey, too.
We went to the town by local bus from the airport.
We wanted to stay in one of those resort hotels along the coast, but they were so expensive that we stayed in a hotel in the town called Hotel Bell Harmony.
It was quite an unusual hotel and I wondered if it used be an apartment.
There was a small kitchen in the room.
By the way, Ishigaki Island did not belong to any country until about the 15th century according to the driver of the taxi we took next day.
In those days, pirates were living on these small islands, south west of the Okinawa main island.
Because on Ishigaki island people could grow rice unlike any other islands, the pirates of Ishigaki got power and attacked Miyako Island.
So the people in Miyako Island sought the help from the Ryukyu Kingdom on the Okinawa main island and that was why Ishigaki Island was in the end incorporated in Ryukyu.
Another interesting thing is that islanders did not have steel until about 15th century.
That was recorded by Koreans who were saved from a shipwreck apparently.
As far as I could see, the town of Ishigaki could be any other town in Japan, but it used to be a different country with a different history.
