Last weekend was a long weekend for Matt because of Columbus Day - a 4 day weekend! We've been living on the island for 5 weeks now, and have yet to really go swimming. So, we decided to make a day out of it and go check out a couple of the local beaches this past Monday. Our first stop was Torii Station Beach, which is on the US Army base (called Torii Station) up north of us. We'd heard from a friend that it was a gorgeous beach with little cottages on it, and it was exactly that. Torii Station Beach was quiet, very calm, and the water was crystal clear (as it is everywhere I've seen so far)! The only thing that would have made it a little difficult for us to swim if we had wanted to, would be the sand. And by "sand", I really mean "coral". The whole beach is covered in pieces of coral and shells washed up from the reefs. In fact, there was hardly any sand present at all! We had heard that most of the beaches in Okinawa are like this because of the huge coral reefs that surround the island, and I'm learning that some are coral-ier (I know that's not a real word!) than others. If we had wanted to swim at Torii Station Beach, we would have needed to go buy some water shoes or diving booties first, which we plan on purchasing soon. Although the beach was rough, the coral and shells were amazing and quite beautiful! We found some unique things that we ended up collecting and taking home with us. 
Video of the coral ledge:
Video of me walking back to shore in the water:
Video of the tiny crab Matt found:
After spending some time walking along the beach at Torii Station, we decided to be more adventurous by hopping in our car, driving further north (where we've never been before) and just seeing what we found! We ended up taking a beautiful drive through a ton of sugarcane fields on a road that paralleled the coast, and discovered a Japanese beach out in town called Zanpa Beach. It was a small, secluded beach that belonged to a resort, but anyone was able to use it. The sand at this beach was, in fact, sand, and the water temperature was warmer than the air! We went for a swim and then explored the surrounding cliffs for a little bit. The water and cliffs were stunning, and I hope they turned out on film as amazing as they looked in life!
Video of us driving through the fields to get to Zanpa Beach:
After our day of beaches, we ended up back at American Village and went for some dinner at a Thai place called Sai Thai. The food was yummy and the view from high up was nice as well. And for dessert? Yogurtland! Yes, for all you Yogurtland-loving Californian's like me, we have them here as well! Everything is pretty much the same as back in the States except some of the flavors are different as well as the toppings. Ahh, I miss California, so it's nice to have some things that remind you of home!
And, yes, those ARE Koala Yummies in my Yogurt in case you were wondering!
-C
So interesting! Thanks again for your great commentary, pictures as well as videos. Such wonderful life memories you are creating. I was surprised at the solitude of Torii Beach and also, "no sand"? The beauty of Zanpa Beach! Incredible. You have some beautiful photos worthy of framing. Love you both! P.S. What else was in with the yogurt and Koala Yummies? xo
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