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Rest and Relaxation in Okinawa
By Camila Palmer
If you are looking for a beachy spot to relax close to South Korea, I recommend hopping on a short, direct and inexpensive flight over to Okinawa. I first became interested in Okinawa after checking out Speak Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki Brina from the Camp Humphreys library. Reading about Okinawa’s rich history and culture and crystal-clear waters bumped it up on my list of places to visit. When I saw low-cost flights pop up, I decided to book them. A friend who had lived on the island advised that I get my international license ahead of time because renting a car was necessary in Okinawa. It was advice that I was later glad to receive.
Since I travel with my two young children, I like my vacations and travel to consist mostly of relaxing on beaches and eating good food, and Okinawa was perfect. I contacted the Okuma Beach Military Resort where there are a variety of lodging and camping options and booked a cabin right on the base’s private beach. It turned out to be a perfect place to stay with my children. Most of our week was spent playing on the beach and swimming together in the calm waters. We were also able to rent jet skis, beach chairs, snorkel gear and kayaks right there on the beach. Kayaking over the crystal-clear waters, watching manta rays swim under us was a highlight of the trip for me.
The Okuma base has a restaurant within walking distance on the beach where you can pop in for coffee or a meal, but there were some other fun local spots right down the road from the base that we enjoyed walking to in the evenings for dinner. We also spent several nights cooking hot dogs from the base’s little market and making s’mores on the grill outside our cabin and then laying down to star gaze after. It wasn’t the fanciest dinner but made some of our best memories on the trip. When we needed a break from the beach, we drove to the Hiji Waterfall a couple miles from the base. It provided a nice hike into a waterfall where we got to sit and watch birds and do a little forest bathing.
It did end up raining on one of our days in Okinawa, so I took the children to the Yanbaru Forest Toy Museum near the base. It’s a beautiful, indoor play area for children made entirely from local wood with all wooden toys and even a wooden ball pit. Think a Montessori kids cafe. We spent hours there playing, and I even got a little reading in while the kids enjoyed themselves. We only left the Okuma area once to go to the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, which was worth the drive. It was crowded but quite large, and I didn’t realize how incomplete my life was before, having never seen a dolphin show choreographed to the original Top Gun soundtrack. Overall, it was a relaxing and beautiful trip for us. We returned to Korea after our week in Okinawa feeling restored and rested.
Along with Speak Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki Brina, I also recommend swinging by the library to grab one of the Lonely Planet Japan guides before you go. If your installation’s library doesn’t carry these books, talk to the staff about how they can request these titles and get them to your library!
Reservations at the military base in Okuma can be made at DSN number 631-1991 or 098-962-1991.
About the Author
Camila Palmer is a former firefighter and current librarian living in South Korea with her two children and bulldog. She enjoys going to the gym, traveling, and reading in her spare time and can be found on Instagram @Camila_palmer1
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