We will be staying 2 nights at Pro Style Ryokan in the heart of Naha. It looked good online, but the reality was not to our liking. We had a western style room but all of the furniture was at ground level. Barry’s back can’t survive this arrangement. Plus, we had a lengthy discussion with them about our trikes. Initially they offered us the curved entry lane (which is where cars drop people off) for 2200¥….we said no. We finally convinced them to let us park inside at the entry way where there was plenty of space, but only when we accepted liability. Having travelled in Japan with our trikes for 6 months, we have relaxed our standards in parking our trikes outside. However, this hotel is adjacent to the Entertainment District, not a desirable neighbourhood. As the hotel is on the 2nd floor, there is no security for our trikes. Anyway, it worked out finally. Now, we need to figure a way to get to the airport with our folded trikes and panniers. We have been researching and have been unable to find any “van taxis” which could accommodate our trikes. Our first choice would be to take a taxi and have everything with us, but since we are not finding what we need, we will explore other ideas. Option 1 - We could ride to the airport and fold/pack them for the flight on the day we fly. We nixed that idea as we would be in trouble if we ran into problems. Plus, where could we spread out for a few hours? Option 2 - take the monorail. It is fast and runs constantly. Barry read that bikes can go on the monorail, but only if they are folded &/or in a bag. That would work, we think.
So, we need to have a day to scout out the possibilities. Off to the airport by monorail we will go. The first thing we noticed was that being close to the monorail doesn’t help…we need a hotel that is close to the station where there is an elevator, otherwise, we are forced to climb stairs and walk a distance.
The monorail is fabulous. Depending on the time of day, there can be 4 cars.
There are no trains on Okinawa. The monorail offers service in the southern part of Okinawa to attractions and the airport. The only downside is that we would have trouble managing our heavy bags and the trikes…that means 2 trips.
As we hoped, Okinawa airport is smaller and more user friendly than big airports like Kansai in Osaka or Haneda in Tokyo. The monorail discharges us at the departures level…looking good.
We feel good about our little field trip as we now know what we are dealing with. Travelling with trikes require extra planning. Now all we need to do is find a hotel near one of the monorail stations.
Treated ourselves to lunch at the airport. It is so appreciated that prices at the airport are no different than in town, and this includes all the shops and the restaurants. Barry had the curry set meal.
Okinawa is a subtropical island with a love for colourful images and clothing. We have heard people compare it to Hawaii, a smaller less developed version. Note the orchids along the windows.
