BinaryBedlam: Okinawa, Japan Trip 1

I finally got an international assignment for work; and it's a place I've always wanted to go, Japan! Due to an inability for our company and the Marine base to reach an agreement on network design, they sent me in to negotiate a compromise. I went for 10 days and stayed in a small resort area called American Villiage between 2 bases in Chatan Mihamma Okinawa. Granted I only had evenings and no car to explore, I still tried to see as much as I could around my hotel. On my last night I got to stay in a hotel closer to the airport so I could take a cab the next morning. It was in the big city of Naha, and that's far enough away from the bases that no one speaks any english, so it was quite interesting. Too bad it rained hard that whole night, thats why most of the pics aren't that great. Everyone is soo nice and helpful, even if they can't understand, they really go out of their way to try to. I should also note, Google Translate is almost worthless, because it can't detect context very well, no one ever knows what it says. Also, it is very expensive here. The US dolar is very week, so like a soda is 500 Yen or $6.50. And it rains almost every day. But the fashion is my style, robots are prevailent, and video games are everywhere! All in all, I had a blast, can't wait to go back!

Some random notes:
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1) Taxi from Kokusai Dori Daiwu-Roynet hotel to Naha aiport was 1140 yen

2) Leaving from Naha Airport: on upper level, find ticket counter 9, check in with passport and itinerary, don't pick up bags at Narita, they transfer. Flew into narita terminal 2, proceeded to 1st level bus stop 18 and took bus to terminal 1, went to North Wing of international departure level 4 isle C, checked in with passport and itinerary, went through security check point, then imigration where they just ask how long you stayed and tear out the slip in your passport, then went to gate to board plane.

3) In US went stright to imigration, they stamp your entry papers and check passport, then went to customs to declare value of goods, then picked up checked bag from baggage return, then went to international ticket counter to get domestic boarding passes printed, then dropped checked bags right off again, then proceeded to flight gate.

4) Drinking limit in Japan is 0.03, just one drinkcould do you in, so if you're going out to drink, you deffinitely need a cab.

5) Police are almost never seen, they don't stake out trying to catch you like in the US, they only dispatch when needed.

6) When driving, to signal, Thanks, instead of waving, just blink your 4-ways. Also, if you are having issues and need a moment, also just blink your 4-ways, in fact, this will let you get away with anything. You could pull up on to the side walk perpandicularly, running over a mailbox to park, perhaps even hitting a small child, but as long as you turn on your 4-ways, no one will bother you.

7) Electric outlets are all American style, but they are 100v at 50Hz so make sure your device is with in tollerance. Also, many recepticles don't take a third neutral prong, so if you're bringing a device with a neutral pin, you will need one of those little 2-to-3 prong adaptors.

8) Since so many people have internet enabled smart phones, wi-fi isn't quite as prevalent in Okinawa as in the US. The hotel rooms have ethernet jacks but no wi-fi. So if you want to give several devices access, like a smart phone, then you should bring your own wireless router/access point.

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Pic 101	Pic 102	Pic 103 Back Alley	Pic 104	Pic 105
Pic 106	Pic 107	Pic 108	Pic 109 Sidelines	Pic 110
Pic 111	Pic 112	Pic 113	Pic 114	Pic 115
Pic 116 View of Okinawa	Pic 117 Low Tide	Pic 118 Beefy Power Lines	Pic 119	Pic 120
Pic 121	Pic 122 McDonalds Japan	Pic 123	Pic 124	Pic 125 tower
Pic 126	Pic 127	Pic 128	Pic 129	Pic 130 Kokusai dori
Pic 131	Pic 132 Power Ranger	Pic 133 Shi-sa Dog Figures	Pic 134	Pic 135
Pic 136	Pic 137	Pic 138 Robot Camera	Pic 139 Street Performer	Pic 140 Liquer Shop
Pic 141	Pic 142	Pic 143	Pic 144	Pic 145 A1 rip off
Pic 146 Goya Vibrator?	Pic 147 Roofed Shoping Areas	Pic 148	Pic 149	Pic 150
Pic 151 Traditional Music	Pic 152	Pic 153 Traditional Restaurant	Pic 154 Eels and Goya	Pic 155 Helios Pub
Pic 156 Tomato Salad	Pic 157	Pic 158 Star Wars	Pic 159 cab to naha airport	Pic 160 Auto Doors
Pic 161 Flight Crew	Pic 162	Pic 163 Heading Home	Pic 164 Flight Attendant	Pic 165 Inflight meal
Pic 166 Broken Wing	Pic 167 Airport Frisbee	Pic 168 Great Circle Path to Japan	Pic 169 Verizon Cell Phone Overages	Pic 170 Japanese Receipts