I was just poking around YouTube, and happened upon this series, “Okinawa: A Journey of Discovery.” It is, I think, produced in part by the Okinawa Prefectural Government, and it is indeed rather touristy and cheesy in some respects – the series follows a group of seven Westerners with no previous experience/knowledge in Japan at all (let alone Okinawa), learning about Okinawa largely from the perspective of simply being interested, open-minded, travelers on a cool vacation.

So, yeah, it sort of has a “reality TV” feel, of these seven young people just having an adventure, and facing various “challenges” on each episode. The series also reinforces the image of Okinawa as tourist destination, as vacation destination, and I suppose that’s the point… but, at least it’s not emphasizing the resorts and beaches, but rather, devotes episodes to music, dance, food, and so forth. I wish they had spent more time…