I spent a couple of wonderful days exploring my old stomping grounds in Okinawa. My days were filled with visiting karaoke bars, Tropical Moons, Next Door Bar, Cocos Ichibanya, Araha Beach, and a must, “Sushi Go Round” restaurants. The vibrant, evolving culture was fascinating to see after a few years. The more I think about it, I cannot wait to return to the tiny island for a longer holiday.
Before long, it was time for me to make the short journey to Naha International Airport. By taking the Expressway, we made it to the airport in less than 40 minutes. The trip home was one for the books (more on that in the full trip report). My All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight to Nagoya was operated by a Boeing 737-800. Much like the previous aircraft, an ANA 767-300, this plane was definitely on the older side. Although the interior was dated, it made me happy to see privacy dividers between the First Class seats. This was my first time seeing these on a regional aircraft, impressive.
My aisle seat was near the back of the aircraft. I did not have an issue with is because I ended up having the entire row to myself. I mentioned the old interior earlier, but these seats were not too bad. I was able to relax during the short, regional flight.
In Economy, there were no complimentary hot meals offered because this was a domestic flight. No worries there. I was able to purchase a beer for 500 yen. The beer came with a complimentary snack of rice crackers, mini salami, and cheese. Did I mention this snack was complimentary?! I might have enjoyed a couple of those snack packs.
This flight was very interesting for two reasons: 1) A family of four seated next to me, would not take one of the seats in my row to give themselves more space, and 2) the husband, who was Japanese, was an American football coach on mainland Japan. I understand the culture enough to know the family would keep their purchased seats, but I could not believe that American football was being played in Japan. There were no leagues, that I know of, when I lived there from 2008 to 2012. I am sure it would be cool to see.
The complete trip report will be live soon. Until then, continue to check out the “5 Pictures“ posts from the rest of the trip. Thanks always for following along.
