December 9, 2025
Day 98 — Ginoza
Marilee here.
Well, the lure of a half-price resort in the off season proved too much for us. We sat down to breakfast still undecided — should we move on, or stay? — but by the time we got to the third or fourth cup of coffee (look, they’re very small cups in this country, okay?) we realized that the reason we hadn’t leapt up already and started packing was that we both wanted to simply relax for the day. So we did!
We’d been given a choice of breakfasts when we checked in the previous afternoon: Japanese style, or Italian style. We were a little unsure about what an Okinawan interpretation of Italian breakfast might be, so we went for Japanese, and it was a great choice.
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Breakfast buffets on this trip have often included cups of natto as one of the offerings, but neither of us had given it a try so far. With it actually on my tray this time, I decided that it was now or never. Natto are fermented soybeans, and they are typically available at hotel breakfasts in a sealed paper cup with a sachet of mustard or soy sauce. We’ve observed people eating it, and it’s clearly sticky stuff. It’s also reputed to be an acquired taste, with a strong smell and intense umami flavor. My try at eating it was a bit of failure: when I opened my packet, the beans seemed very dry, so I tried adding a squirt of hot water, which just turned it into a bean soup. It was OK, (although I’d made it much more challenging to eat with chopsticks), but I think I missed out on the real natto experience.
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After breakfast the first order of the day was to explore the beach. The resort is set on a cliff above the ocean, with a steep winding path leading from the pool area down to the seaside. Once down there, we felt rather Robinson Crusoe-ish, leaving our footprints on the untrodden sand. After a few minutes of walking, we came across a small cove where a finger of rocks leading out in the water created a natural breakwater, and inside it was calm and shallow - the perfect spot for a swim. We hadn’t brought down suits or towels, so the swim would have to wait for later in the day, as we had a few errands to get through first, even though it was a day off.
Tom headed out to the nearest town to find a grocery store to get some provisions for the day ahead, while I stayed and did laundry. Glamorous tasks, I know. But once they were done, we got busy with the relaxation — heading back down to the scoped out swim spot, which was just as perfect as it had appeared to be earlier.
We spent most of the afternoon on the beach without seeing a single other soul, except for a lone British woman who came around the rocks and seemed just as startled to see us as we were to see her. Many swims were enjoyed, until at last I had an unexpected moment of maturity and realized that we’d been sun-worshipping for a few hours and we should probably take a break in the shade. But we returned to the beach for a sunset dip —a perfect finale to an unexpected but well-appreciated day off.
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