Okinawa Memories
By Norman Pruitt
“Just another day in Paradise.” This was a common response when people were asked how they were doing while living on the island of Okinawa, Japan. This was a self-evident truth for the ones fortunate enough to have lived on this subtropical gem. In fact, Okinawa, located in the East China Sea, has often been referred to as the “Hawaii of the Far East.”
Okinawa is located about 400 miles south of mainland Japan and around 300 miles northeast of Taiwan. The island is close to 70 miles long and averages a mere seven miles in width. Yet, this small island offers a large and diverse amount of natural beauty with long summers and mild winters. The temperature rarely drops below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
This laid-back destination of friendly people has a rich history, a strong identity, and a vibe all its own. It has become a popular tourist destination with most guests coming from mainland Japan, South Korea, and China. There are also close to 30,000 United States military personnel and civilians stationed there.
The tourists flock to Okinawa because they’ve discovered what the rest of us have known for a long time. The island offers something for everyone. People can hike through lush forests and jungles on Okinawa’s small mountains. They can trek along small streams to waterfalls and be rewarded with spectacular views of the colorful ocean waters below.
Okinawa is home to crystal-clear waters of emerald green, cobalt blue, and turquoise. Vibrant, colorful coral reefs stretch along the coast and support an abundance of marine life. Scuba divers and snorkelers anxiously take to the water to enjoy this amazing undersea world of wonder. Other water activities include surfing, sailing, deep sea fishing, whale watching, and kayaking through the mangrove trees on the Okukubi River.
Coastal cliffs and mushroom rock formations of limestone and coral rock occur periodically along the coastline. The constant bashing of powerful waves over the years have caused the cliff sides to erode and form some rather sizable caves, which were a delight to explore.
Okinawa certainly doesn’t disappoint when it comes to beachcombing. There’s a wide variety of beaches surrounding the island. Some are sandy and easy to walk on while others are rocky or covered with dead coral. Many are difficult and challenging to reach. They all offer an assortment of treasures including a wide and unique variety of seashells, colorful sea glass, old pottery shards, and even some old fishing lures. But the items my wife and I passionately pursued were Japanese glass fishing floats.
My wife Laura and I were blessed to call Okinawa home for 25 years, from 1994 until our retirement in 2019. Our overseas journey began in 1991 in New Mexico when I was hired by the Department of Defense to teach school. Our first assignment was Osan Air Force Base in South Korea. After three years in Korea, we were transferred to Okinawa.
Being raised in New Mexico, we weren’t too familiar with oceans and beaches. However, we were immediately fascinated by the sheer beauty of our island surroundings, the abundant marine life, the friendliness of the local people, and the discovery of a whole new and wonderful world. We bought our snorkeling gear, acquired an ocean kayak, and dove headfirst into this thrilling new lifestyle. We explored the island every chance we could and were captivated by all that this subtropical island offered us.
Towards the end of our first year on Okinawa, we went to “Educators’ Day.” This was a special training day for all educators on the island with some special interest classes included. We chose to go to one of these classes entitled, “Hunting for Japanese Glass Fishing Floats.” This proved to be right up our alley, and we were hooked by the prospect of finding these elusive and alluring glass floats. We developed a love for walking on Okinawa’s beautiful beaches, and always kept our heads on a swivel and our eyes wide open speculating about what treasures we might discover.
Most of the time, we came back empty-handed as far as glass floats were concerned. But, we were undeterred and persevered in our quest, knowing that eventually we would strike it rich. In the meantime, we were finding many beautiful and unique seashells. Friends had informed us that collecting sea glass and bits of pottery were also popular pastimes, so we started picking up those items, as well.
After dozens of excursions looking for glass floats and coming away empty-handed, we finally struck pay dirt. Albeit, our first float was about the size of a racquetball and something most people would probably scoff at. Our first little float was scratched up and nicked from many years of rolling on beaches. It also had a kanji stamp on it which indicated who had made the float. We later discovered this was a rare find as almost all the floats we found after this one did not have a kanji stamp on them. Over time, our efforts began to pay off, and we gradually began finding different sized glass floats around the island or on nearby islands.
As time went on, we learned which beaches to avoid because of overcrowding and discovered the ones that were more secluded which would increase our chances of finding one of these glass prizes. We often used our kayak to reach and explore beaches that were otherwise inaccessible. We learned how tides, wind direction, and tropical storms could aid or hinder our search efforts. Occasionally, we would get up just before daybreak to be the first ones to set foot on the beach. At other times, we went out at night with our flashlights hoping a float had stolen its way to the beach during the darkness while others were sleeping.
We sometimes set out on a ferry or a high-speed boat to visit some of the outlying islands to see what we could find on these less populated locations. Each of these islands, although similar to Okinawa, had their own unique personalities. We found a few floats on Iheya, Izena, Tokashiki, and Ie-jima islands. But the majority of the 67 floats we found over the years were scooped up on the western side of Okinawa between Cape Zanpa and Okuma and on the Motubu Peninsula.
We regret the fact that we weren’t better record keepers. It would be nice to look back now and see exactly where and when we found a float, the weather conditions when it was discovered, and the size of the float. We also should have taken photographs to document our discovery. If we had it to do over again, we definitely would do this.
Our favorite beach was Yokuta Beach, because it was the one closest to our house in Onna Village. This was our place to go for a relaxing walk after work, to pick up a few pieces of sea glass, and to take our dog, Nami-tsu for a swim. Nami, whose name is the opposite of tsunami, was a wonderful beach dog who enjoyed going beachcombing and kayaking with us every chance she could.
One of our other favorite beaches was what we affectionately called the blue-and-white beach. This was a rather long beach that never seemed to have too many people on it. In all our years of beachcombing, this was the only beach on the island where we found blue and white pottery shards of old Japanese cups and saucers, thus the name we gave it. This beach also had a nice little restaurant and bar that enabled us to kick back after our hunt and soak up the natural beauty of the area.
Earlier, we had purchased Amos Woods’ very informative book, Beach Combing for Japanese Fishing Floats. We discovered that a lot of floats are circulating the Pacific Ocean on the gigantic Kuroshio current. This current flows from Japan eastward towards Alaska and Canada, where it begins heading south to the northwestern part of the U.S. before moving southwest past the Hawaiian Islands and on to the Philippines, before finally going north past Okinawa and back to mainland Japan.
These floats will continue to ride this current year after year unless something knocks them off course. That something comes in the form of typhoons. These monster storms cause chaos in the seas and often dislodge floats from the current. Hopefully, they’ll find their way to a beach where a lucky beachcomber will secure them.
We survived about 25 typhoons while stationed on Okinawa. Some years, there wouldn’t be any typhoons while other years we experienced two or three during the typhoon season. A few were direct hits while others tracked closely to the south or east of us. These storms were massive, often being 300–400 miles across, and they usually only moved seven to ten miles per hour (mph). Therefore, it could take anywhere from three to five days for the storm to completely pass by us. Most storms would have wind speeds of 90–110 mph, but occasionally bigger ones would wallop the island. We went through two super typhoons while living there. Each one had sustained winds of 150 mph or greater. Luckily, most homes and other structures on Okinawa are built out of concrete so they can withstand these super storms and escape with minimal damage. We once had the eye of the storm go directly over us, and the eye was bigger than the entire island.
Okinawa is just a small dot in the immense ocean. By comparison, mainland Japan is roughly 300 times as big as Okinawa. The odds of finding glass floats increased somewhat after these huge storms, but most of the time it was like trying to find an arrowhead on the New Mexican deserts. It was really enjoyable but usually the outcome wasn’t very successful.
I once was a leader for the Yoron Island Adventure School, which was a collaboration of American, Japanese, and Indonesian fifth and sixth grade students. We took a ferry and traveled about five hours to reach the island, which is north of Okinawa. This was a five-day, survivor-type adventure where the children would work with their peers from other countries and cultures to develop friendships and understanding of others. The students learned to build rafts, survive an overnight stay in a cave on the beach, and cook their own food.
I thought this could be my opportunity to visit Yoron Island for the first time and possibly search for floats while I was there. Unfortunately, only one glass float was found all week, by a sixth-grade student. After breakfast, we went down to the beach to construct our rafts. This student took a short stroll down the beach and soon returned with a basketball sized float. She had no idea what it was, but she was smart enough to bring it back and ask about it. I explained to her what she had found, and she went home with a nice gift from the sea. I was so busy trying to corral and keep up with all my students that I never really had much of a chance to look for floats, but I had a wonderful time anyway.
Laura and I continued to beachcomb and hunt for floats as much as possible. Oftentimes, after a beach excursion, we would pass through the small fishing and farming villages and find a nice mom and pop restaurant where we could enjoy a meal. We would look for one located on the coast that had a nice view, especially around sunset. Okinawa has some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. We would settle in and relax with a tasty bowl of soki soba or some tofu champaru complimented by a cold mug of Orion beer. For dessert, some benimo (sweet potato) ice cream would hit the spot.
Through the years, we frequented and sampled all kinds of wonderful places to eat. Some of our favorites were Hanagasa on Cape Zanpa, the Okinawa Soba Shop at the Nakayakui Market at Onna no eki, Kami Sushi, and the Transit Cafe on the Sunabe Seawall. There were dozens more that we enjoyed as each one was a delight.
Other establishments provided traditional Okinawan music with live performers playing the sanshin, an Okinawan three-stringed, banjo-like instrument, taiko drums, and hand cymbals. These performances were always lots of fun to participate in as the crowd danced, sang, and truly enjoyed themselves. We were always welcomed to join in if we chose to. We felt right at home in these situations.
There were several roadside rest areas throughout the island. One was the Michi no-eki near our home. These were similar to farmers’ markets where they sold local produce such as mangoes, a lime like fruit called shikuwasa, pineapples, star fruit, and tankan, an Okinawan tangerine. There were also plenty of vegetables along with plants and flowers to purchase. These places also had small restaurants, snow cone and ice cream shops, and souvenir stores. We would sometimes stop here as we set out on a trip and purchase bento boxes and onigiri to have for a snack later in the day. These spots were always busy and an enjoyable place to experience the local culture.
Besides beachcombing, the island also offers many other attractions such as the Gyokusendo Cave, which is a three-mile-long stalactite cave and is the longest one in Japan. There’s the world famous Churaumi Aquarium as well as the Southeast Botanical Gardens and the Tropical Dream Center, which are both loaded with a wide variety of beautiful flowers, plants, and trees. Okinawa has 200,000 cherry trees as well as an abundance of azaleas, hydrangeas, lilies, cosmos, orchids, and bougainvilleas that always brighten up the island. It seems there’s a festival for each one that occurs throughout the year. These lively festivals are full of color, music, dance, and fun. We were entertained by the U.S. Air Force’s America Fest, the Blue Angels, carnivals, amazing fireworks displays, sumo wrestlers, and top musical acts such as the Beach Boys, Trace Adkins, Bo Diddly, Kansas, Jimmy Buffett, and many more.
There are several castle ruins from the 14th and 15th centuries on the island as well as the Nakabaru vestige, the ruins of a village that existed 2,000–2,500 years ago. Depending on the time of year, one could attend dragon boat races which are held to pray to the god of the sea for prosperity and safety. There’s also a giant tug-o-war, which dates back 400 years and was established to pray for a good harvest and the eradication of pests. This event has up to 15,000 participants who pull on a rope that is 200 meters in length and weighs 40 tons.
History buffs might be interested in the battle of Okinawa, which occurred during World War II. The United States military invaded the island on April 1, 1945, and fought the Japanese troops for 82 days. This was the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific Theater. Many battle sites can be visited on the island as well as going down into the Japanese Underground Naval Headquarters.
Okinawa was a wonderful place to live, and we were blessed to call it our home for a quarter of a century. The memories produced there will forever live in my heart. I know my wife felt the same way. Therefore, I would like to dedicate this article to the memory of my beloved wife of 45 years. Laura passed away in February 2024. She loved Okinawa, embraced the people and the culture, and was a dedicated beachcomber in the truest sense of the word. I’m so thankful that my home is filled with glass floats, sea glass, pottery, photos, and so many other items that remind me daily what a wonderful person she was and of the life we were blessed to share and enjoy as one.
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This article appeared in Beachcombing Magazine Volume 50 September/October 2025.
