My name is Micaela,

- I'm Tatsu,

- And today we are in, Okinawa.

- Yeah.

Where's Okinawa?

- It's in the most southern part of Japan.

And we are walking down Kokusaidori,

Kokusai international road.

You can find lots of really cool Okinawan gifts

and like souvenirs down this road,

and also a ton of Okinawan themed restaurants.

- I think I found my favorite.

- What, what did you, oh.

It would look good on you, you should buy it.

Known as the Hawaii of Japan,

Okinawa is one of the most popular vacation destinations

for Japanese locals.

And luckily for us, it's only a short flight

from Fukuoka city too.

It may not be prime tourist season just yet,

but Okinawa in late February, early March,

just might be our favorite time of the year to visit.

Kokusai road is lined with shops offering the best

of Okinawa's identity and culture.

Even if you're not looking for anything in particular,

you'll be surprised by what you can find here.

- [Micaela] Alright, we got this Yukisio soft cream,

which is a salted vanilla ice cream.

They also recommend trying these different types of salt

on top of the ice cream.

So there's green tea salt, hibiscus salt,

Yukisio snow salt, Pepper salt, hot pepper salt,

spicy dynamite salt, and wasabi salt.

- I'll go for dynamite.

- [Micaela] Oh my god.

- Because I'm a hard core person.

- [Micaela] Oh my god, go for it.

- Uh, I don't know what to say.

- [Micaela] One of the reasons Okinawa is so much fun

to visit, is because it doesn't quite feel

like the rest of Japan.

With Taiwan being closer than Tokyo,

and with the presence of the United States Army,

Okinawa is a strong fusion of Japan, South East Asia,

and North American cultures, with of course

it's own unique cultural values and flair

thrown into the mix as well.

These are bigger than my hand, these are probably

bigger than my face.

- You can actually buy, really fresh seafood here.

Bring them to the upstairs, and then the restaurant

will cook you.

Cook you. (laughs)

- [Micaela] You bring the fish up, and then the restaurant

will put you, and the fish will eat you.

And the fish will have their revenge,

they will eat you for lunch.

It's so progressive, it's all about the fish rights.

- Just make sure that we'll be the one who'll be cooked.

- [Micaela] So Kokusaidori is really interesting,

but if you turn a corner and go down Ukishima Street

you can find that it's a lot like Ura Harajuku

in the sense that it's really really stylish,

and kind of clean and quiet.

But there's a whole bunch of really cool,

small local shops, trendy shops, fashion stores,

recycle shops, restaurants, cafes.

Lots of really cool stuff down here.

So where are we going now?

- We're heading to a complete vegan restaurant.

- Ooh.

- Yep, I got an offer from the owner this time,

to make a promotional video of the restaurant.

They use the complete vegan ingredients,

the vegetables, and everything's organic.

- Tatsu and I have been trying to eat less meat,

and Tatsu prefers to eat meat,

so will probably never ever be totally vegetarian.

- It's true.

- I think it's just a matter of finding food,

that's the right combination of delicious and healthy,

for him to keep going.

All of these are made from grains,

which is very fascinating.

- It tastes like fish.

- [Micaela] Does it really?

It does kind of look like a filet of fish.

- But it's not fish at all.

- So when you come to Okinawa, you'll find taco rice stands,

and taco rice restaurants everywhere,

but if you have dietary restrictions it can be hard

to partake in this cultural experience

which is why it's good that they have

their own meatless version of the taco rice here.

You start by destroying it, destroy it, go.

What a man.

So basically you mix it up, all the ingredients,

you mix it up with the rice.

- And salsa, (speaking in Japanese)

- Alright.

- Ready?

- Yep, I'm ready.

- How is it?

- Oh, it's good.

- It's good, right?

- [Micaela] So Tatsu seemed to like these,

and they have a bunch of pre made packs

that you can take home, so I think I'm gonna

pick up a few, and just take them back to Fukuoka

as souvenirs, so we can have them on special occasions.

(speaking in Japanese)

Tatsu, look what I got.

- [Tatsu] Oh, nice.

- [Micaela] If you want to explore the best

that Okinawa has to offer, you absolutely must

rent a car and get out of the city.

With the freedom to move around the island,

you can easily discover hidden beaches,

and if you're traveling before tourist season,

like we are, you're likely to have them

all to yourself, too.

(upbeat music)

Oh, wow.

This is beautiful, Nagahama Beach.

It's February so it's not peak travel season,

there's nobody else on this beach.

Well there is someone else on this beach,

but hardly anybody else on this beach.

It's 25 degrees today, got beautiful clear ocean water,

clear blue skies, there's one cloud.

- [Tatsu] One cloud.

- [Micaela] Yeah, it's so nice.

How's the drone coming?

- It's, you know, flying a drone in such a beautiful place

is, oh wow.

- [Micaela] I used to think that Okinwawa

was a spring, summer tourist destination.

But actually I think I like February, March, April

a lot more.

And there's less people, and because it's off season,

things are cheaper.

So where are we going?

- We are going to the, one of the most beautiful

aquarium in Japan.

Or in the world.

- I love your intonation, and how you speak like this.

Like the waves.

So we're going to the Churaumi Aquarium,

which is one of the most famous aquariums in the world?

- Uh huh.

- I think because they have these giant whale sharks,

I think that's what they're called,

we're going to see them.

The aquarium is inside of what is called,

Ocean Expo Park, an open field learning facility,

with different sections dedicated to marine life,

botanical gardens, children's playgrounds,

restaurants, beaches and more.

(upbeat music)

Alright here's our lunch, Okinawan soba,

and some Shikuwasa juice.

Shikuwasa is like an Okinawan citrus.

It's kind of like a lime.

It's a little bit sharp and bitter.

And yeah, some Okinawan Soba, and some Shikuwasa juice.

After 4 pm, the admission to the aquarium gets discounted

and honestly, I don't think you need to spend

a lot of time here, so this seems like the best way to go.

- [Tatsu] Okay let me go, go.

- [Micaela] There are a total of 77 exhibition tanks

at the aquarium, mostly showcasing local specimens

that can be found in the surrounding waters.

To mimic their native environment, the tanks

are replenished with sea water,

collected from the nearby ocean.

The most popular display, is without a doubt,

the whale shark exhibit, which extends two floors,

and allows children and adults alike

to realize how small they really are.

So this time, I let Tatsu reserve the Air BNB

and I was a little bit worried because his sense

for good rooms, isn't as good as mine.

I spend a lot of time making wish lists,

and finding rooms I wanna stay in on Air BNB

and I thought he would just book the first thing

that was available.

And inside it's actually, it's so nice, so good job.

- I told you, sometimes you can trust my

all the sense, and taste and flavor.

- I learned, I learned something new.

So the living room kitchen is very very compact.

And there's a hammock chair right in the middle of the room

for some reason, lots of curtains, lots of big windows.

And we have a patio in the bedroom, and then

in the living room, there's another little lawn space.

Have morning coffee out here, if the weather's nice.

Stop.

You're like a child.

(laughing)

Overall Okinawa is an extremely laid back

and relaxed little island, with some of the most

gorgeous scenery in all of Japan.

And what's better, traveling during the off season,

means that even on a lower budget,

you can still afford the island vacation of your dreams.

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