Hello Pinmapple community,
We had just arrived from the Philippines and entered Okinawa, Japan. After a long 7-day sail covering over 600nm (1200km), it was a very tough passage. We managed to catch a bit of a storm, enduring 50kn gusting to 60kn for 48 hours. The boat handled well, and we had no major problems. Upon arrival at the dock, we had to be exactly on time; the only exception was a ±15-minute window. So, through the night, we slowed down to arrive precisely at 10 am. As soon as the lines were tied off, 20 officials boarded the boat to go through the documents. After about 4 hours, we were done. Dealing with Japanese bureaucracy is something you don't want to handle yourself; luckily, we had an agent.
The first thing we noticed when we arrived in Japan was how quiet it was—dead silent—on the streets and in the shopping malls. Secondly, it was extremely clean, with not a single piece of plastic on the roads. Thirdly, box cars. It was a shock at first, especially coming from the Philippines, where you would have karaoke music until 4 am. Despite everything, everybody is very friendly and polite.
Japan is very organized, evident in the well-constructed buildings depicted in the photos. However, Okinawa is distinctly different from the rest of Japan. There's a noticeable lack of depth in terms of culture and history, overshadowed by the presence of the disturbing US bases. Jets flying overhead or helicopters were a common occurrence, happening every other day.
After about a week, we got used to the stillness, which wasn't quite what I expected from Japan. Despite that, this first island experience was thoroughly enjoyable. Japan truly offers some of the best sailing grounds in the North Pacific; there's something special about it. I can't wait to share more Japan posts with you all.
I hope you enjoyed it. See you next time.
Paul