Okuma Beach




My visit to Okuma Beach at the beginning of Summer was filled with peaceful days and a final gay night. It was a vacation in my native Japan that I can't forget. When my friend and I arrived at the beach, nobody else was there because it was Monday afternoon in April. We wanted the beach to ourselves, so we selected that special time.

Okuma beach is located in northern Okinawa, Japan, and it is surrounded by sugercane farms and a few farmhouses. To get to Okuma Beach, we had to travel on a narrow road through the sugercane farms. Half of the beach is a Japanese resort Beach: therfore, in the middle of the Summer season Okuma Beach is full of American and Japanese people. On the military side are cottages which have red tile roofing and white walls. It also has a small camping area, and we camped there for a few days.

Most of the time, we watched the beautiful ocean and looked for see shells because the sea water was still too cold for swimming. The ocean color was emerald green, and it was calm. The beach sand was so white, and the wind from the ocean was warm. The wind combed down my hair gently like mother's hand, and I forgot time when I was there.

Just as the ocean was beautiful, the sea shells were beautiful too. The sea shells which lay on the white sand looked like a jewely box had overturned. When we collected shells, we become as prospectors collecting gold, and we were engrossed in it. The best one I found was the size of my pinkie nail and the shape of a tear. The top and middle of the shell was colored light pink like a baby's cheek, and around the light pink was milky white; I named it "The tear of the ocean." We brought our favorite shells to the camp and had a competition to see who had the most beautiful one. When we finished the competitive show, around us was the warm orange color of the setting sun. When the burning setting sun touched the horizon, I could almost hear the ocean scream as the sun melted into it. I wished that sunset could have lasted forever.

That last night, my friend and I walked on the sand with bare feet, and the sand was soft and moist. When we looked back, under the moonlight at our footprints, we thought we had walked straight, but the footprints weren't straight. They traveled back and forth and looked like a huge serpent lay on the sand. Suddenly, a big sound echoed. Then our surroundings were brightly lit up. We looked up to the sky and saw big fireworks. A guard for the beach came close to us, and he said, "You can't go forward." We sat on the sand and watched the fireworks.The fireworks went up overhead, and the sparks fell around us. When the sparks reached the sand, they went out. They extended across the sky with a powerful sound. I was scared because it was like overflow from the sky. When the fireworks were in the sky, they were very colorful with green, red, yellow, and white, but when they reached the sand, they changed to just a twinkle like Tinker Bell of Peter Pan disappeared from view. It was the most marvelous sight I have ever seen. The fire works continued more than twenty minutes. That night I couldn't sleep because I was excited. My heart was beating like festival drams, and my eyes felt refreshed like after using eye drops. Occasions like this always make me want to paint.

The next day early in the morning, we went to the beach to say good by. There was the sound of the surf and endless white sands. The huge serpent of last night and the excitement had disappeared. We started throwing the shells which we collected back in the ocean. When I threw the shells, I wished that we could come back and have the same good time again. When we were leaving the gate of Okuma Beach, there was a line of cars waiting to come in. From the line of cars, I could hear children crying, the voice of thier mother soothing them, and young couples laughing. As we drove away, we were quiet as we reminisced about the wonderful days.

Okuma Beach at the beginning of summer started with peaceful, quiet days and ended with the gay night. The ocean was calm, the beach was empty, and Summer season was officially started with the fireworks. I can't forget the wonderful vacation at Okuma Beach.

by Crescent

copyright 4/20/1998 Crescent

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since 4/21/1998

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