Aaron’s birthday was so jam-packed that I had to break it up into a few posts!
INTERNATIONAL STREET |March 13, 2019
Kokusai Dori, also known as international street, was such an experience. There were so many stalls, restaurants, stores, hobby shops, cafes, bars, and people!
One moment, you’re walking down a large walkway, surrounded by the bustle of several people moving, not knowing where to go or what to do, bright lights and stalls surround you and vendors are trying to get you to look at their wares, kids are screaming, and lights are flashing… the next moment, you turn a corner and there’s only a few people. It’s a muted scene, a bar with only lanterns illuminating the much narrower alleyway, you walk along the alleyway and find a small cafe. A man sits alone on a chair, softly serenading you with his saxophone. You go in. You sit down. You order a red-eye, because you know it’s going to be a long night. Awaiting your coffee…
Oh wait, none of that happened. It’s busy and there’s a ton of people, but it’s nothing like that! People are actually very respectful here in Japan, staying out of your personal space, vendors welcoming you into your shop if you come in, and kindly thanking you for your business when you leave. Kids are oddly well behaved. Most of the time, if we heard screaming kids, they were American. However, it was so interesting how quickly it went from everything to barely anything.
As we walked around, we looked at the different stalls and saw fruits, shirts, pottery, and everything Okinawa. This was such an experience and we’ll have to go again because I’m sure we missed out on some parts.
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