This post is 'Sponsored by Okinawa Prefecture'
When you arrive in a new place, as much as you did your research before, you can't help but feeling a bit lost and confused. Then you realize that you passed over the initial hypnotizing effect, and it's time to move from A to B. Your senses are filled up, you are over excited and you try as fast as possible to find your spot in this new setting.
The first impulse every tourist has is to find someone with whom they can make a first contact. It's not only the practical aspect of asking directions, but even more a way to introduce yourself, put a friendly smile on your face and receive a welcoming one in return. After that you already start feeling a bit more confident because you gained a bit more ground. With every local willing to help you, sharing his time with you, you will conquest smiles, approvals, and solidarity: just the right assets to make you soon feel at ease.
Whether you find yourself in a big public square with hundreds of people passing by you every minute, or a quiet place, in a sunny Sunday morning with no people around, you will soon understand that finding the right person to establish a friendly connection doesn't come from the first try. So if you were to imagine a place where all the people would be willing to help you, even though they are missing their bus, a place where from the first time you will meet someone you would be considered as part of the family, how grateful would you be? Search no longer, that place already exists: it is Okinawa in Japan!
