the plane reached osaka and we stepped into a greenhouse. that's how hot japan is right now. horrible. we had to pick up my mom's luggage she checked-in and take it with us to check-in for our domestic flight. i had written several postcards to my friend michiyo in fukuoka and put them in an envelope. there was a post office in the airport and i sent it there. we also picked up some stamps for postcards. then we checked-in. my mom bought a telephone card and we looked at a omiyage (gift) store. my mom bought some food stuffs to give as gifts. i called michiyo to say hello. then we boarded the plane to okinawa. there wasn't much of a wait.

the plane we took had small seats--thank god i lost weight! the plane must be dedicated to okinawa flights. the decorations and music they played were okinawan.

upon arrival of the naha airport in okinawa, i saw the above ad. i took it as a good sign of the trip to come. just look at that face. too bad they airbrushed out her tongue!

traditional japanese toilet--much easier to use if females are wearing a skirt/dress

we arrived at the airport knowing we had to get to my uncle k1's house on our own. my mom called her brother to let him know we had arrived and to apologize for telling him the wrong time earlier. she had told him we'd arrive at 10am when we arrived at 10pm! as my mom talked to the lady at the info counter, i was snatching tourist pamphlets so i could show everyone back home what okinawa is like. as we debated between whether we should take the bus, a taxi, or a combination of both, someone approached us. it was my cousin jun! (he's actually the stepson of my uncle.) he also brought his wife and 2 children. i was really surprised to see all of them as i didn't know that he had married. it turns out that jun called my uncle right after my mom had talked to him, so jun said he would pick us up as he lives in the same area of the island that the airport is. my uncle lives further out, can't drive at night, and goes to bed very early.

jun drove his wife's old car that her younger sister now drives. it's a very small car. super super compact. luckily i packed very light. all of us and our luggage fit. jun was shocked that we had brought so little! his son riku is 3 and his other son sen was just born this year. riku is very hyper, full of life. he talks so much. he's very cute and bright, i think. his wife is erika, which by a strange coincidence is also the name of jun's little sister, my only full japanese cousin. they were all very nice.

during the drive i learned that liquor laws in japan have become very tough. if you are caught driving with alcohol in your blood, (the legal limit has significantly lowered so you can't drink at all), you lose your license for 1 year or pay a fine of $3000.

we got to my uncle k1's house and it turns out he was so worried about us he couldn't fall asleep even though he took twice the dosage of sleeping medicine he normally takes. we got there a little past 11pm and my uncle normally goes to bed at 8pm! he and his wife erika kept talking about the same thing several times. it's a small island.