Okinawa has one major expressway, running from Nago to below Naha. We've heard all sorts of amazing stories about how it cuts down travel time and that it has practically mythical speed limit of *gasp* 80 KPH (to put that into perpective, that's only 49.7 mph.) The government is currently running an experiment and has made most of the expressway free for a limited time. We decided this would be the perfect opportunity to find out how it feels to drive over 60 KPH (37 mph), our normal top speed, for the first time since we've lived on the island.
After a long wait to get onto the expressway (don't worry, we had time to kill and lots of good tunes, and really good A/C), the first sign we saw was the awesome speed limit sign!
We were really cruisin'! Then we came across the next sign:
By "Caution Animal" in English, I am assuming they meant, "Caution Wild Boar." Coming from a land of beware of deer signs, I can honestly say we were quite amused.
Then we came across some road construction. But have no fear, these wooden men with motorized swinging arms and blinking lights are a common sight to warn drivers of upcoming traffic pattern changes.
And just in case you were wondering, the left lane is the normal driving lane here too, with the right being designated as a passing lane.
Just when things are starting to look very State-side-esque, a quick look out the window reminds you that we do live on a subtropical island.
I really don't ever get tired of this view.
You can even see some of the other islands off the coast.
We even have some mountains here, too! So pretty!
While it was interesting to try a new route (and new speed limit), our final assessment of the expressway is it doesn't seem to decrease our travel time. Between the lines waiting to get on and off the expressway, and add to that the fact that it runs on the opposite side of the island from where we live, we think we'll stick to our beautiful coastal road. If we lived on the east side of the island, we might have a different opinion. For now, we'll just continue to enjoy the scenery.
---Arielle
