Kokusai-Dori

A. in front of a movie store. . .any of the titles look familiar?

We were excited that J. found a map so we could finally figure out where we were!!

"Oh yes, NOW I know how to get there!" :)

On one of the many offshoots in Kokusai-Dori

This weekend we ventured out to a HUGE market/shopping place called Kokusai-Dori in Naha. First was the matter of getting there. There are a couple websites that Americans seem to use here, and the directions, although super helpful, just make me laugh. We of course passed where we were supposed to turn and were left driving in all directions until we spotted an arch that looked like maybe it could be an entrance to this huge marketplace. We pulled into the first tiny spot we found, and when we started walking, we knew we'd found the right place. Kokusai-Dori is a huge maze of alleys and stalls and shops. We bought our first piece of "Japanese" clothing here - size 100 shorts for A. It will take some nice math to figure out all our sizes in centimeters. . . I'd rather not equate such a high number with my waist size! The food stalls were woven in seamlessly among the clothes and other trinkets. For how many shops we walked past, we didn't spot many identical wares. I take it back. We did pass a few food vendors that had whole. . clumps? bushels? of dried blackened snakes hanging above the produce. I'm hoping it was not their highly poisonous Habu snake, because they do use that to make a form of sake here. I don't know if we really just stand out that much here or if people just like seeing a baby in a carrier, but with almost every stall we walked past I would look back and there would be a trio of ladies pointing and smiling at us. Kind of makes you feel like a celebrity. :) After a couple hours of wandering through shops, we exited the maze and were thrown out into sunlight onto a side street that didn't look familiar. We briefly thought about trying to find our car from there, and then decided it would be much better to be lost in the confines of a market, no matter how large, as opposed to being lost on city streets with no way of stopping to ask for directions. 

Below are the types of directions we'll be using frequently. I like 'em because they are "woman" directions. We got lost coming back too and J. says, "Just drive towards the setting sun. It's where the ocean is and you know our road is to the west." I guess that works, too. 

Pass Kinser. Pass the Pachinko parlors and stay in the left lane. Keep an eye out for an intersection that has the Birkenstock store on the corner and a purple church looking building. Make a left there. On the left hand side of the road you'll see the museum, the San-A and finally the DFS building. You can park under the DFS or in the San-A parking lot and walk a block over.

Make a right at the Pizza In road. Make your first left by the nail shop. You are on a little back road that runs parallel to 58. Pass tattoo shop. Pass apartment that says "English Course" on the side. At the end of the street (it's a t intersection with a blue vending machine) turn left. The AU building and restaurant are right there on your left.