Driving to Sesoko Bridge I looked up at the bridge I’d just crossed, this time from the beach

I drove over Sesoko Bridge and onto the island. After parking, I walked down to the beach, and the bridge I’d just driven across stretched far over the sea. The breeze brushed my shoulders through my white blouse. I stopped and looked up, as if searching for where the bridge ended.

The piers nearby look huge, then shrink into the distance. A bridge deck runs across their tops, with a white arch partway along it. Tracing the line with my eyes, I realised how many details I’d missed during that short drive across.

My sandals sank a little into the sand. I stayed on the dry beach instead of going down to the waterline and steadied my stance. The breeze came in off the sea, and I rested a hand on my skirt. For a moment, all I noticed were the waves washing in and out and the breeze moving my skirt.

This bridge is 762 m long. It linked Okinawa’s main island with Sesoko Island in 1985, the 60th year of the Showa era. I’d taken it for granted that you could simply drive onto the island, but after seeing the piers standing in the sea, I felt grateful that this road was here.

Beyond the arch, I could see the mountains on the Motobu side. I was looking back in the direction I’d come from, but the view felt different from the one I’d had before crossing to the island. As I listened to the waves, I was glad I’d made time today to cross the bridge and then see it from the beach.

Before heading back, I traced the bridge once more with my eyes, from the arch to the nearest pier. I’m looking forward to having Okinawa soba in Motobu on the way back. I’d seen the bridge from the car and then from the beach; the shapes of its piers and arch were etched into my memory. I lowered the hand I’d been using to hold my skirt in place and took a slow look at the road across the sea.