On our two hours ferry to the island, the shadowed clouds, with lady Luck smiling upon us, started to drain away, and gave way to a halcyon sky of azure blue.
On the deck of our ferry: 
Zamamijima! Mensore!
Zamamijima is part of the the Kerama Retto, which consists of six inhabited and some twenty uninhabited islands located about 30 km west of the Okinawa main island. Undisturbed and sparsely inhabited, this island is like an undiscovered gem, waiting for unknowing explorers like us to chance upon it.
Summer House Yuyu.
Summer House Yuyu.
This was the minshuku we stayed over on the Zamamijima. Very nice and cosy place. And did you notice the Nemo and other sculptures behind us? All of them were handmade by the owner. Impressing!
By the advice of the Oyasan, we headed down to this beach, which is reportedly the best snorkelling spot of the island.
Did you see those brownish discolorations in the midst of the turquoise blue water? Those are coral reefs, rich and undestroyed. I have been scuba-diving for quite a while, but never have I seen something so amazing. The coral reefs are less than a metre from the shoreline, intact and animated in the southern warm ocean water. Most of the other diving sites that I have went to are either partially or totally destroyed by inconsiderate novice divers or irresponisble fishing. This is really the paradize for all lovers of the sea.
Fishes, of rainbow colours and various sizes, unabashed of our existence, swam temerariously near us. And when we littered our unfinished Cheezos as we dived into the waters, school of fishes circled and enveloped us, much like the scene when the birds spiralled around the singing Snow White in Shrek 3.
Just as I was mesmerized by this magical moment, I heard a wailing scream behind my back. Apparently, a sea snake of bright yellow stripes was also equally interested in our Cheezos, and was swimming menacingly close to Jenelle. Jenelle, in her desperate attempt to distract the serpent, threw the can of Cheezos into the deeper waters of the open sea while she swam frantically to the shore. Fortunately, nothing untowards happened to us and the sea snake swiftly disappeared after its brief appeareance. Nonetheless, this incident became one of our laughing stocks for the next couple of days.
Hot girls in Bikini:
There were actually other hot pics (think FHM, haha) of the girls on the beach, but they were ruthlessly censored by the 3 iron ladies.
After the exciting and life-threatening dive, we visited several observatories on the islands. The sceneries from the observatories were equally stunning as the marine life from our earlier dive. We drank in views of treacherous cliffs and mysteriously shaped islands, all of which painstakingly crafted by Mother Nature.
After visiting the observatories, we went to the one and only restaurant in Zamamijima (remember? It’s only a small island) Decent food and reasonable price. Osusume!
On the second morning, we went for a scuba dive trip. This was my second dive in Okinawa. Unlike my previous experienced dive, this was a full dive. The instructors didn’t really ask for my diving license (I left my license in Singapore).
And after the dive, I felt so blessed. So blessed to be able to go on an exchange programme to Japan, so blessed to be able to come to Okinawa, and so blessed to be given a chance to dive in the Japan Sea. It has always been my dream to dive in other foreign seas outside of Malaysia and Thailand. Though it was a little pricey compared to my dive trips in SE Asia, the sense of overwhelming achievement and the unique experience of witnessing marine life of foreign seas certainly made my every cent count.
After the dive, we took the afternoon ferry back to Naha. There we would move into our 5 stars Moon Beach Hotel, and there we would begin our mad spending spree! Wait for my next installment of my Okinawa trip:)
By the advice of the Oyasan, we headed down to this beach, which is reportedly the best snorkelling spot of the island.
Did you see those brownish discolorations in the midst of the turquoise blue water? Those are coral reefs, rich and undestroyed. I have been scuba-diving for quite a while, but never have I seen something so amazing. The coral reefs are less than a metre from the shoreline, intact and animated in the southern warm ocean water. Most of the other diving sites that I have went to are either partially or totally destroyed by inconsiderate novice divers or irresponisble fishing. This is really the paradize for all lovers of the sea.
Fishes, of rainbow colours and various sizes, unabashed of our existence, swam temerariously near us. And when we littered our unfinished Cheezos as we dived into the waters, school of fishes circled and enveloped us, much like the scene when the birds spiralled around the singing Snow White in Shrek 3.
Just as I was mesmerized by this magical moment, I heard a wailing scream behind my back. Apparently, a sea snake of bright yellow stripes was also equally interested in our Cheezos, and was swimming menacingly close to Jenelle. Jenelle, in her desperate attempt to distract the serpent, threw the can of Cheezos into the deeper waters of the open sea while she swam frantically to the shore. Fortunately, nothing untowards happened to us and the sea snake swiftly disappeared after its brief appeareance. Nonetheless, this incident became one of our laughing stocks for the next couple of days.
Hot girls in Bikini:
There were actually other hot pics (think FHM, haha) of the girls on the beach, but they were ruthlessly censored by the 3 iron ladies.
After the exciting and life-threatening dive, we visited several observatories on the islands. The sceneries from the observatories were equally stunning as the marine life from our earlier dive. We drank in views of treacherous cliffs and mysteriously shaped islands, all of which painstakingly crafted by Mother Nature.
After visiting the observatories, we went to the one and only restaurant in Zamamijima (remember? It’s only a small island) Decent food and reasonable price. Osusume!
On the second morning, we went for a scuba dive trip. This was my second dive in Okinawa. Unlike my previous experienced dive, this was a full dive. The instructors didn’t really ask for my diving license (I left my license in Singapore).
And after the dive, I felt so blessed. So blessed to be able to go on an exchange programme to Japan, so blessed to be able to come to Okinawa, and so blessed to be given a chance to dive in the Japan Sea. It has always been my dream to dive in other foreign seas outside of Malaysia and Thailand. Though it was a little pricey compared to my dive trips in SE Asia, the sense of overwhelming achievement and the unique experience of witnessing marine life of foreign seas certainly made my every cent count.
After the dive, we took the afternoon ferry back to Naha. There we would move into our 5 stars Moon Beach Hotel, and there we would begin our mad spending spree! Wait for my next installment of my Okinawa trip:)
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