The American Village

So yesterday (Tuesday the 12th) Maddie and I ventured down to the American Village. As I have stated before I don't really know how American it actually is but it was fine. We started our "American" adventure with a trip to A&W. It looked nice from the outside with drive up areas where you could park and order. Then an A&W worker would bring food to you. As neither Maddie nor I can really drive anywhere meaning we have to walk everywhere, we opted to go inside. They had a bunch of burgers and such. They also had different types of food. They had a teriyaki burger and a sweet and sour pork sandwich. I got the Super Mozza Burger that was being advertised. Maddie got the Melty Rich burger that had tartar sauce on it. Good thing she got the double too, because the burgers were TINY. As we were leaving I tried to ring the bell for good service but I failed at that. Yeah, I failed at ringing a bell. Don't ask me how, because I have no idea.

We then walked over to the actual American Village area where they had the ferris wheel. We had been planning to go on that since before I got to Okinawa. So we ventured onto it. We bought tickets for 500 yen a piece or about 5 dollars American. Now let me set up the scene for you guys at home,. Yesterday, it was overcast. Dark overcast. There was wind that pelted you with water droplets. When I say wind I mean gusty. As you will see from the pictures it was windy enough to create nasty surf conditions. But anyway, from the bottom of the ferris wheel the weather didn't seem so bad. From inside a box half the size of a ski resort gondola it seemed scary as hell. The wind shook us a little bit and while we were fine the wind shaking us about kind of made us nervous. The view was pretty amazing, the China Sea with it's teal blues and greens of color was covered in vicious whitecaps that invited injury to anyone stupid enough to venture out into the water. I don't know how high up were were, but the ferris wheel stands on top of a 3 story mall at its base. So including that we were up pretty high.

After we got back down and vowed never to do that again we went and shopped a little bit. Being my last few days in Okinawa I wanted a keychain or some other touristy item to secure the memories made on this trip. What can I say, I'm a sucker for being a tourist. Anyway, we were walking along and saw these Doctorfish as it was advertised. Fish that when you stick your feet in the water will eat the dead skin and what not off your feet. Maddie and I were reluctant to try it at first but we figured, where else in the world are we going to do it and why not. At first it tickled. The fish were bitting and sucking on our feet and it eventually started to feel like a massage. Maddie didn't like the big fish on her and would shoo them away with the flick of her feet. Some of the fish pinched a little. Afterwards our feet felt soft and tingly. It was an interesting experience.

We then walked along these areas of different shops. They did have more American brands so I guess that's why the call it the American Village. Maddie found a candy store where I got these packets that when you add water they look like beer. They weren't beer. One tasted like pineapple. Afterwards we went to Yogurt Land. Basically it was the Golden Corral of frozen yogurts. You go in, pick your flavor. Put it in either the large bowl or the extra large bowl and add toppings. They had a variety of yogurt flavors. I got tiramisu and Maddie got a mix of double cookies and coconut. Then came the toppings. I added caramel, oreos, cheesecake and Maddie added cheesecake, oreos, nuts and caramel. I spilled mine accidentally. Nobody saw though so I was in the clear.

After buying an Okinawan t-shirt, computer mouse pads you could put photos and such into and doing the photo picture booth thing, we went home and got ready to do the Water Aerobics. Tonight we are going to do sushi and try another different restaurant out. Can't wait. Stay tuned for when I get back to the states to wind down my very first international trip. A trip of a lifetime, a trip to Okinawa!