[Nagoyankee]

I've only been there once on a business trip, but I assure you that Okinawa looks and feels very different from the rest of Japan. It was in February when I went and they were already selling shaved ice on the streets! I was wearing a big down coat because it was freezing in Tokyo, where I live.

Everything was different there. People's faces, their speech (I felt like a foreigner), sky colors, trees, food (all parts of hogs consumed), heavy American influence (they eat SPAM, and buy KFC in huge barrels never seen in Tokyo), etc..

When I was in my hotel watching the U.S. game shows on the military channel, sipping cherry coke and munching on the American snacks unavailable in Tokyo, I actually felt I was in California or somewhere.

I've got to go back there sometime! People are very open and friendly there.