To Ishigaki, Okinawa

Our Air BNB

The Haneda airport was quiet at five in the morning but by 5:15, people were beginning to stand in line to check bags. Nothing opened in the airport until 5:15. Absolutely nothing. We walked until we found a vending machine and got an orange juice. My granddaughter tried to talk me into iced coffee in a can but I wasn't interested. She said if it were winter, there would be hot coffee in the machines--in a can. We laughed when we saw the trash cans covered. We thought maybe they wouldn't open until 5:15 either.

Because of our son's frequent flyer status, we joined a short line at the priority check in. Once the counter opened, they assigned us seats and we were on our way through security. Worried about my knee replacement setting off the metal detector, I asked my son if I should say something. He said he doubted I would set it off and he was right. We were through security and right to the gate and soon we were on our way. It was an uneventful  direct flight to Ishigaki but other than a soft drink we had nothing to eat on the plane. By the time we landed we were all looking forward to something to eat.

View from the patio

We picked up our rental van and managed to squeeze luggage and bodies into it for the drive to the Air BNB that we had reserved for our stay. Between the van nav system and Apple Play with Google maps, we found our way to the house. We were delighted to find that it had a pretty view of the shoreline. The house was small but more than adequate for all of us to stay in.

View for lunch from Puff Puff

After leaving our bags, stomachs growling a bit, we headed out to find a place to eat. We ended up at a place called Natural Garden Cafe Puff Puff. The menu had several choices of entrees and with the entree you got a small buffet which included tossed salad, pasta salad and several other items including very small pieces of a variety of breads. Drinks were also at the buffet and included. I went for the coffee. I needed caffeine. We were still getting used to the time change. When you go to Japan from the Eastern Time Zone, you are flipping night and day.

We ate leisurely and enjoyed the beautiful view as well as the wonderful temperature that was in the 80s without much humidity. Perfect.

Tummies full we decided to have a look at the Ishigaki Island Limestone Cave. It would prove to be awesome.