Just a quick post here to share a beautifully interesting place: Okinawa, Japan. I visited Okinawa for work (military-related) in June 2024 and found the most shocking fact about Okinawa to be that 20% of its landmass is US military bases. Those bases account for 70% of US military presence in all of Japan. So, in short, what I noticed most about Okinawa was the sheer number of Americans there! So much so, that Okinawa doesn’t feel remotely like mainland Japan and yet, it was charming, unique, and geographically varied.

The bottom half of Okinawa is where the majority of its population resides, leaving the north quite rural and, well, wild. The rainforest is so dense that the US Marine Corps has a jungle warfare training center there. One can only imagine the amount of spiders living deep within that forest…

I only had a few days to play in Okinawa but that allowed me to circumnavigate the island completely, explore waterfalls and underground caves, beaches and castles, and even Okinawa’s famous aquarium – Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. That aquarium is a must see! These are the points that I visited and would recommend to anyone traveling to Okinawa, a drone video, and my photo highlights! For best viewing, navigate to the blog page (map and photos won’t all appear through email).