Anyways, on with the show. There's just two posts left to my latest Japan series now, this one not included. Right after the wedding, we left the idyllic calm of Hotel Nikko Alivila, set in front of the beach in the middle of nowhere, to the bustle of Central Okinawa. I couldn't find any hotels close to the American Village, so Leon and I found ourselves 20 minutes away by car, in a small, crumbling former airbase of the United States.

Almost no open shops, and very little people. You could tell that this was not a usual tourist spot. We stayed at the amazing Trip Shot Hotel, set upstairs from Players' Cafe, that has one tenant and only one guest at any given time. I loved it. I found it quiet and very quaint. Like, I don't really have to be a tourist here, doing all these touristy things. It's very cute too, giving out an alien-like vibe.

Too bad Leon and I only stayed a day, I would have liked to stay longer actually. Just walking around, or chilling at the cafe, or just laying in the coolest room I have ever had the pleasure to book.

Sigh. The weather went downhill after this, but we were well on our way to our second destination, Fukuoka. But that's for another post. See you soon, lovelies! - Che

Gosh. I so wish I was still on holiday right about now. Work has become an all-consuming pit of despair lately, with bright spots in between, but mostly despair. Hahaha. I guess I'm being melodramatic. It's not that bad, all things considering.

But enough about reality, let me transport you back a week (or two now), to our Okinawa trip. Okinawa, being a military base of the U.S.A, definitely has more influences from the land of the free than most places in Japan I have been so far. This background here is from a shopping area called 'American Village'. Basically, after the wedding, Leon and I decided to stay around central Okinawa, and our hotel is actually 20 minutes by car from this place - an amazing Air Bnb that's giving me the itch to redesign our apartment. 

Then we came here. 

And spent more than two hours inside the biggest vintage store/American goods store I have ever seen. rows upon rows of vintage army uniforms, boiler suits, and Coca-cola shirts! I bought one such shirt (me and my obsession with all things Coca-cola, except for the drink), and this amazing vintage jacket. I wish I could have bought more stuff - like a few jumpsuits and vintage track suits, butttt...I didn't want to go overboard. Ha! Smart thinking. Not.

The weather went downhill from there. It rained on this day, actually. But nothing could dampen my spirit for exploration. And shopping! Hahaha. Anyways, I'll see you soon, loves! - Che

If the light in these pictures look weird, it's because the weather at this point of our trip in Okinawa kept moving from stormy grey skies to sunshine, and back, the entire day. I was hot and cold in this outfit. I actually had my leather jacket with me, just in case.

Anyways, we actually have a lot of photos of the married couple, but it's private so I just leave you with one. I'll keep this short for now because I am beyond exhausted, and there's one more day to go before the weekend. Ugh. But, I hope you like this post! See you soon darlings - Che

Anyways, I just realised that many of these pieces I'm wearing are from previous trips. This swimsuit, in particular, do you know I've had it for 5 years now? I bought it on the first trip Leon and I ever went together on, which was Taiwan, right after we graduated. Tee tee, the quality is really amazing, because I've used it every year since I bought it.

So, back to the beach, Leon and I splashed for a bit, and then hit the heated pool upstairs. Haha, at least I'm honest, right? Then it was a big, big dinner spread (open barbecue buffet), and then an early night for the wedding the next day! A great day, in all. Sigh. I miss it already!

But there's so much posting to be done that I'm not that bummed about it for the time being. See you in the next post, darlings! - Che

Anyways, these photos were taken on our first official day on the island. We had planned to be part of the wedding party, who were touring the island as well. The itinerary was the Zakimi Castle ruins and a series of caves and peaks, with a lighthouse looming in the distance. The views of the sky and blue seas are amazing, and they really bank on it here.

You can probably see the ocean and the sky from a lot of points in Okinawa - our amazing hotel notwithstanding! So, I hope you enjoy these first travel photos of our Japan trip! So much more to show you, so see you soon - Che