A farewell to Tokashiki Island, one of the most beautiful places on Earth

So a little more about Tokashiki Island… Tokashiki is home to only about 700 people. The entire island has a single stop-light, and the barber comes from the mainland for two days out of each month to cut everyone’s hair. There is no high school, so at age 15 teenagers have to move to Naha or somewhere else to continue their educations. Unsurprisingly, few make it back to Tokashiki. I think I was able to relate to this rural, small-town feel because of my own experiences in rural settings.

Two days ago marked my last full day on Tokashimi Island, and I think I spent the time well. I started by watching the sunrise on the beach, which was amazing. Then, after breakfast, some of the local guys had to go do some work on the docks that morning, and they invited me to come along with them to do some sea fishing while they worked. So I spent a couple of hours that morning fishing. We caught a few medium-sized, brightly colored fish. What was cool is that you could often see the fish as they were approaching your bait. I hooked one fish so big that it broke my line! Kuni, Seichi, and the other local guys I had been hanging out with thought that was very funny. I thought it was funny too, but also a little frustrating. They took this opportunity to teach me how to vent my frustration with a Japanese curse word, “bukaros,” which I think means “son of a bitch.”


I spent a couple of hours that afternoon sunning on the beach (actually, I fell asleep listening to the ocean.) I still can’t get over how beautiful Aharen beach is. Really an amazing place.

That evening I was invited to go grab dinner and drinks with the guys I had been fishing with. They were very concerned about the fact that I usually don’t eat pork or beef, so they kept ordering vegetarian dishes for everyone to share. We of course drank plenty of “beeru” and also had a delicious drink called “Awamori.” Awamori is an especially pungent kind of sake that, to my knowledge, is only produced in Okinawa. I’ve been told that you cannot buy it in many other countries, including the US, because it has a very high alcohol content for a rice wine. It has a very strong taste, but I found that I really like it! The locals mixed it with water (“mizhu” in Japanese), but I preferred it straight. They were amazing that I liked the taste and would drink it by itself.

(Kuni-bo, Seichi, Akito, and most importantly, Awamori!)
Midway through our meal, another local guy who had stayed at the docks to do more fishing came into the restaurant to show us he had just caught a pretty big fish. To my surprise, they handed the fish to the restaurant owners, and they had fried it up in no time flat. It tasted amazing, and obviously you can’t get fish any fresher than that.

After a few hours of eating, drinking, and chatting with other locals who came in, we decided to drive to the other side of the island to the town of Tokashiku (so far I had been staying in Aharen.) We went to what looked like the only open establishment that was still open at 11pm, a karaoke bar and restaurant. A few of the locals we met in Aharen had joined us, so we were up to about 9 people at that point, and we all piled into a private karaoke room for more drinks and singing. Needless to say, I didn’t get to sleep until about 2am!

To put it simply, my time spent in Tokashiki was absolutely amazing. Not only was the scenery gorgeous and the food delicious, but the local people were some of the most kind, genuine, and sincere people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Miho and Shinnoske, for instance, are a newlywed couple (as of March this year!) who I bonded with on several occasions. Shinnoske runs a hostel on the island and does a number of other odd jobs, including helping Miho run her newly remodeled restaurant/bar that is just by Aharen beach (called Octupus Garden, after the Beatles song). They are both damned good cooks, and Miho knows how to make an excellent drink. Kuni, another local guy I had the pleasure of getting to know, is the son-in-law of the older couple who own the hostel I stayed at. At first, I was a little intimidated by him; he is a very big guy (he practiced sumo at one point, and he also competes in arm wrestling tournaments), but he turned out to be one of the gentlest,

kindest people I met in Tokashimi. He called me “Friend Jeemy” and “English teacher.” Seichi, a transplant from Tokyo who came to Tokashiki only a month ago for work, liked to joke around with me and call me “Charao” (translation: playboy). When no one else was paying attention, Seichi gave me a beautiful seashell as a going-away present; he said he had spent hours that day diving in the ocean to find it.

During our night out eating and drinking, Kuni, Seichi, and the others absolutely refused to let me pay for anything. I was a guest to them, and they said if I wanted to pay, I have to come back to Tokashiki and take them out! All of these people, and the people at the hostel I stayed at, gathered together when it was time for me to leave and waved goodbye until my car was completely out of sight. Saying goodbye to all of them was such a strange feeling. In only a matter of days I felt like I had become a part of this community, and they all seemed very sad to see me go. I certainly was sad to go, and I couldn’t help feeling a little worried that my amazing time spent on Tokashiki was going to overshadow the rest of my time in Japan. I guess this just means I’ll have to work extra hard to have fun as I continue my travels!

Okay, long post I know, but just a quick update on where I am at the moment… so again, two days ago was my last full day on Tokashiki. Yesterday I took the ferry back to Naha and immediately caught a flight to Fukuoka. It was rainy in Fukuoka, and I wasn’t in the mood to do touristy stuff, so I spent the evening wandering around back alleys (getting lost on more than one occasion). And this morning I boarded an express train headed for Hiroshima, and I should be there shortly. Planning to do a lot of touristy stuff there, so I’ll keep you updated!

Left: Ocean view from higher up. Right: Tokashiki rice paddies.