Our Spring Break Trip to Tokashiki Island

For Spring Break we took a wonderful trip to Tokashiki Island. It is a tiny island about an hour's ferry ride from Okinawa. It is very remote (about 700 people live there), filled with rice paddies and the most beautiful beaches. It was incredible. We spent three days sitting on the beaches and soaking up the sun. I have to tell you a little bit about the place we stayed, though. It was very interesting cultural experience. We stayed at a place called "The Okinawan Youth Friendship Center." It is subsidized by the Japanese government, and I think it is meant for Japanese youth and school groups to use for things like retreats and summer camps, etc. Somehow, our friend who speaks Japanese made arrangements for us to stay there. The accommodations were very sparse and minimalistic- for example, in the sleeping rooms there was nothing but tatami mats. No furniture or anything. At night, we would take mats and blankets out of the closet to sleep on. Our meals were prepared for us by Japanese cooks, and there was no choosing what you wanted to eat. They prepared the same Japanese meal for everyone. Our kids were really great about eating miso soup, rice, seaweed and vegetables for breakfast each morning! The funniest part about the whole thing was when they told us we had to participate in mandatory morning stretching exercises at 7 am at the flagpole. They weren't kidding, either. Each morning, we would meet and have a flag ceremony led by a Japanese man. We listened to the Japanese national anthem and then he chose some of our children to help him hoist the Japanese flag. Then he led us in our exercises. This was all done in Japanese, and we just followed along. It was hilarious. And actually, after sleeping on the tatami mats for two nights, I was more than happy to do some stretching since my back was in knots! We encountered some rough seas on our ferry ride back home, and many people in our party were puking over the side of the boat. That part wasn't so fun. But all in all, it was a great trip!