Sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time...

As we set off on the ferry from Okinawa to Aka Island the sky was still recovering from 2 days of heavy rain but as we got closer, the sun appeared. Our plan was to relax & refresh,  ready for our return home. I had been trying to find a small, quiet hotel, away from it all but had struggled. Japan isn't particularly well known for beach getaways.  Okinawa itself has plenty of beaches but its a large island & didn't quite fit the bill. However the Okinawa prefecture is made up of thousands of little islands a few of which are inhabited so I was excited when I discovered this small hotel on Aka Island.
Aka is home to approx 220 people, all living in a cluster of little houses, most of concrete construction(concrete is very popular here), set near/around the harbour. We got off the ferry & made our way through the narrow streets that run between the houses, to our hotel. Not an attractive building. Concrete construction of course, where the first 2 floors seem to have something to do with marine biology as there were lots of different types of tanks & water pumps. However once we reached the hotel reception the walls were freshly painted & we were warmly greeted & shown around. Our booking included breakfast & evening meal which was perfect given that there were only 2 places to eat on the island & 1 of them never seemed to be open. Our room was large & functional rather than luxurious,  with a balcony & a view of the ‘town’, port & the sea.
As soon as we were unpacked we headed to the main beach, which was initially overrun with 8 other people but v soon we were on our own.  However, you don't really want to read about how we spent every day, save for one cloudy day, on a beach – one of which we had completely to ourselves, with  bright, clear, calm, blue waters; Or that the place was alive with beautiful butterflies of all colours & sizes that danced around us as we walked; or that cute little Keruma deer seemed to appear in front of us every time  we went walking. So, instead I will tell you a bit more about the island. Next to our hotel was a school with  sports hall, running track, classrooms etc. All those facilities for just 20 pupils. Next to our island was Geruma island, connected by a road bridge that wouldn't look out of place over the river Severn despite the fact that the gap between the 2 islands is a couple of hundred meters. On the cloudy day we hired bikes and cycled across the bridge to Geruma which is home to approx 60 people &, we discovered, another school, for approx 10 pupils! The third island, connected  by another unnecessarily huge bridge, concrete of course, has no inhabitants but houses an airport, used only in an emergency or when the boat can't run. It is a proper functioning airport, with a seating area & departure lounge that looks out onto the runway.  We know because when we found it was open we went  inside, but it's barely used. Quite surreal.
Back on Aka, there were so many odd/quirky things we enjoyed about the place; every hour between 12-9pm, a tinny sounding tannoy system played a catchy tune & at 6pm the tune was accompanied by an announcement, apparently directed at the children telling them, 'it's getting late & they should be heading my home'. So sweet. We seemed to pass the same 10-20 people & quickly started to notice their routines – the man on the pink motor bike, the old lady with the Zimmer frame, at times I wondered if we were in the film ‘The Truman Show’ ! We managed to find the one bar in town on our first night but, after the most fantastic, delicious 6 course dinner every evening we were more comfortable with a stroll along the beach, before heading back to our room to read.
Our main quest whilst on the island was to spot a sea turtle. Every day at various times, we went down to the port & sat on the wall overlooking the Bay trying to spot a turtle, without success. We spent hours there, making up songs about turtles. On our last day we decided to get in with snorkels, even though the water was deeper & the current strong. After about 15 mins Mr L spotted one below us. About 2 feet across it was bigger than I'd expected & so majestic. We followed it without disturbing it for about 15 mins. It was lovely. As a old friend used to say, I had a happy attack!
When someone says Island you conjure up an image of a perfect,  idyllic setting. Aka Island is not that but it is a place you can go to stop for a moment. In the words of my favourite poem by W.H.Davies “what is this life so full of care, there is no time to stand and stare”…. And that's exactly what we did.