My dad was a Navy Dentist, stationed with the Marines during the Vietnam War, and spent a fair bit of time in Okinawa. Okinawa was taken over by the Japanese, then liberated by the USA during WWII. The Japanese treated the Okinawans poorly, and told them that the Americans were cannibals and would eat them, so they had to commit suicide at what is now known as Suicide Cliffs. My dad befriended an Okinawan and learned this story from him. When asked why he didn't commit suicide, my dad's friend said, "Well, suicide was for sure, and the Americans just might not eat me."

So, back 40 years ago anyway, the Okinawans were very friendly toward Americans. My dad said he had him an Okinawan girlfriend who he would have married back then, but that's typical GI stuff that you know. It's been many years since I've seen his slide shows from Okinawa, but I remember it being very beautiful. Architecturally it was a mix of Japanese and then-modern western styles. The cuisine was Japanese. On parts of the island everybody spoke at least some English. On the part far from the US bases, there were towns where nobody spoke any English. He said that back then, the people were honest, kind, and friendly.

I hope you enjoy it.