3 Favorite Tings - Volume #24
a new Hometings product, an outdoor space & an indoor space
Hometings is a curated homewares collection, with individual products sourced from all over the world (from Buenos Aires and Brussels to my small town in Florida). You can browse and buy here. Every other week, I'll send you three favorite tings: a Hometings product, an outdoor space & an indoor space.
We are currently putting together a Okinawa trip at work now which allows me to revisit my favorite spaces from living there 10 years ago. So this week is Okinawa themed, where we feature a pizza & pottery shop overlooking the ocean, a place where vending machines & manta rays exist in harmony and a Murano glass ice bucket.
An indoor space (with a great outdoor view):Cafe Doka Doka
I am not sure how there got to be so many pizza shops with amazing views on Okinawa but I rotated through a few when I lived there 10 years ago to work at a hotel on the island. The go to was Cafe Doka Doka, around the corner and up a very large hill from my apartment. The cafe itself is in an airy building with a patio to take in the views while you enjoy the pizza served on homemade Yachimun pottery. The pottery, made on the island, is also for sale in the cafe, I bought a few tea cups for myself that are still part of my daily tea intake ritual.
An outdoor space: Cape Hedo
We saved the trek up to Cape Hedo—the northernmost point of Okinawa—for the end of our time on the island. It’s not very hard to reach if you have a car, but since we didn’t and were working with limited funds, we opted for the local bus route instead.
Despite it being a more laborious way to travel, the bus was my favorite method of transportation because it ran along the coast of route 58 offering scenic views the entire way up (and a stop at my favorite pancake shop (Paanilani)). I also loved watching our individual fares raise on the screen pertaining to our ticket number, never amounting to more than a few dollars per trip.
When we were dropped off at the last stop, it was just us, outstanding nature that resembled that of Jurassic park and a few vending machines, a reminder these exist anywhere in Japan. From Cape Hedo, you can either venture into the jungle via the nearby national forests or hike the dramatic karst rock formations along the coast, which we choose to do.
High above the water, the sea was so clear we could see the spots on the backs of the manta rays gliding below, while we sipped our Pocari Sweat, ice cold from the vending machine.
Hometings: 1970s Murano Glass Ice Bucket
I love love love this ice bucket: The small handles that serve almost no function, the swiggly lines, each one different, and the way it captures the light. Its size makes it perfect for the amount of ice needed for a small dinner party or to keep a nice bottle of wine chilled either way it makes anything inside look fantastic.
