Tokashiki Island

This week we joined nine other families for an exciting stay at the Youth Friendship Center on Tokashiki Island...

Fair Maiden Aboard the Ferry

The ferry to Tokashiki Island departs Okinawa from Tomari Port (shown above) and the commute takes about 70 minutes.

Aharen Beach

We spent the majority of our time at Aharen Beach. The beach and swimming area were great for the kids and the snorkeling was AMAZING.

Cafeteria Food

Our group ate breakfast and dinner at the youth friendship center's cafeteria. The cafeteria food brought back fond memories of American public school lunch and was very similar with the following exceptions: 1) The food looked like it was actually homemade; 2) Rice was the main course of every meal; 3) Instead of Forks there were Chopsticks; 4) Instead of Spoons there were Chopsticks; 5) Instead of Knives there were Chopsticks; 5) The cups only held about 1/2 cup of beverage; and, 6) The hair-net toting rotund lunch ladies were notably absent.

The Gymnasium

One of the amenities of the Youth Friendship Center was the indoor gymnasium. The kids had a blast playing with the balls and the tug-o-war ropes.

Flag Ceremony and Morning Calisthenics
Our favorite part of our stay at the Youth Friendship Center involved gathering at 7:00 a.m. sharp every morning for a flag-raising ceremony followed by morning calisthenics. The morning calisthenics were AWESOME and we are totally hooked. We did our best to follow the lead of our Japanese instructor, but I don't think we will be starring in any Japanese exercise videos anytime soon. Since I didn't capture this on video, I've included a YouTube link below that will give you an idea how our excercise routine looked:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWnneYILXUQ

Scenery Shots

McCall Making Friends

McCall Making a Mess

Ride Sharing

Since transporting a vehicle to the island is somewhat expensize (~$175.00), we teamed up and placed two families in each car. It is amazing how miniature a mini-van can seem when it is transporting 9 people and all of their gear.

A Touching Farewell

Our group had a great time and we really enjoyed meeting the people of Tokashiki Island. We were overwhelmed at the elaborate and emotional farewell ceremony they held for us as we left the island on our ferry. Each of the village children held a role of colored flagging that was fastened to the ferry at one end. As we pulled out to sea the flagging unwound to into colorful streamers that gracefully flapped in the wind.