©Toshihide Ikoma 2022
The Sea of Okinawa
“THE SEA! the sea! the open sea!
The blue, the fresh, the ever free!
Without a mark, without a bound,
It runneth the earth’s wide regions round;
It plays with the clouds; it mocks the skies;
Or like a cradled creature lies.”
- Bryan W. Procter
©Toshihide Ikoma 2022
The sky is blue. The blue sea stretches out beyond the horizon. The boat, shining in the hot sunlight, moves forward slowly. The wind blows along with the boat, carrying the smell of salt. An island overgrown with trees comes into view in the distance.
It seems like it will take a while. I returned to the boat, drank some juice I bought at the supermarket, and watched a program called "Coral Paradise" that I had downloaded from Netflix beforehand.
©Toshihide Ikoma 2022
After about 30 minutes, the boat announced that we would arrive soon. I went outside the boat. Then, the sea changed from a deep blue to a beautiful cobalt blue. Looking carefully outside the boat, I saw wild sea turtles swimming there.
©Toshihide Ikoma 2022
©Toshihide Ikoma 2022
As I looked out at the sea from the pier, a ship came toward me. Its white hull stood out against the cobalt-blue sea and could be seen from afar. The sea was a variety of colours, from dark blue to light blue to pale blue, and it looked as if the white ship was creating a marbled pattern on the sea.
I walked through the island to the beach. The sun was still full of energy, shooting arrows of sunlight at the living things on Earth. Just as I was getting exhausted from the heat, I sensed the presence of a large animal. It turned out to be a Kerama deer, an endemic species that lives on the Kerama Islands.
©Toshihide Ikoma 2022
The endlessly blue and beautiful sea. Why don't you visit the sea of Okinawa this summer?