Well, it seems that even Okinawans have more sense than to brave the high noon heat by going to Onoyama. From the Yui Rail train I could see hardly any movement amongst the tents so I just stayed on and continued to Naha Kuko. Apparently Okinawans are like Hawaiians when it comes to 3-day weekends, i.e. they get out of town, and so the trains were jam packed going in both directions. Consequently I was afraid to get off for fear I wouldn’t be able to get back on again and so I rode the return trip all the way to Shuri, where I stayed on for the return trip and finally got off where I’d started at Kencho-mae Station. It’s nearly 1:00 now and the first of the hatagashiras still hasn’t reached the hotel yet.
On this Yui Rail ride I did my good deed for the day and relinquished my seat to an older woman who got on at Furujima station. Not only was she old, but she was also very thin and had a heavily bandaged broken hand to boot. Obviously there was no way I could possibly have her hanging from a strap while I remained seated. She was most apologetic and appreciative and I felt good.
The day’s becoming another scorcher and I probably won’t venture out again until early evening. I would guess that Onoyama should come alive about then and I’ll probably have dinner there too. Hopefully the temperature will drop a few degrees and the evening breeze should pick up along the Kokuba River and make things entirely more comfortable.
Gonna go check on the progress of the hatagashiras. The sounds of the fire crackers are getting closer now.