Okinawa: Sunny Island of the Immortals

Our Diamond Princess cruise had been almost perfect. We had departed two weeks earlier from Yokohama, visited Kagoshima in southern Japan, stopped in Hong Kong for the Chinese Lunar New Year and celebrated again in Taipei. The festivities had been limited because a mysterious novel coronavirus had been discovered in China just two weeks before the trip. Hong Kong had canceled its famed fireworks display and dragon parades. We had our temperatures taken in both Hong Kong and Taipei, but we weren’t particularly concerned. Even though it was Feb. 1, we enjoyed warmer temperatures as we approached our last port: Okinawa. Japan’s southernmost prefecture has a subtropical climate, pristine beaches, and coral reefs that welcome snorkelers and scuba divers. It also boasts the earliest blush of Japan’s cherry blossom festivals. The blooms arrive the first week in February in Okinawa and continue up the island nation chain, reaching Tokyo in …