I’m currently on a highway bus heading back to Naha from Nago, and I finally have some free time to post an update. I’ll catch up soon with the places I’ve been to over the past several days, but for now, this quick update will have to do.

It’s a rainy evening here in Okinawa. And, as if by some conspiracy, it’s a Saturday. I hate rainy weekends because that’s exactly when I have the most free time to go out and explore. When it rains here, it pours cats and dogs (and geckos!), but luckily these intense showers tend to be brief, rarely sticking around for more than half a day. The clouds move fast over these islands.

I’m currently staying in a spacious traditional-but-remodeled house in Nakijin, a small rural village on the Motobu Peninsula. I’ve been here six days already, and I’ve got another four ahead of me. It seems this rain should let up sometime in the morning, so tomorrow I plan to head out to the eastern coast to a place called Teniya, specifically to shoot some videos and take photos. The coastal cliffs there look spectacular from what I’ve seen on Google Maps.

In Tokyo’s Hibiya Park, a close neighbor of the Imperial Palace, there is a large agave that is planted next to the pelican fountain. It’s not your usual garden variety, but a special type called agave americana, also known as the “century plant”. It is said that this type blooms only once in 100 years. It is a native of Mexico and southern part of the United States, specifically Texas. Back in May, a park staff member noticed that its center stem was growing. Since this happens so rarely, the staff had never witnessed this before. In July, it was confirmed that the plant is indeed blooming. Locals and tourists alike started flocking to the park to catch a glimpse of the rare event.