The telegraph poles that once lined Okinawa's Route 58 have long gone, but the great coastal avenue still reminds me a little of the Dire Straits song "Telegraph Road." Like the lyrics of Mark Knopfler's extended anthem, Route 58 is a journey through time, a digest of history.
Dubbed Highway No. 1 after World War II, the road was built primarily to serve the interests of the U.S. military in swiftly deploying heavy vehicles and transporting fuel trucks — military vehicles were given priority over civilian ones. Okinawans who owned cars and taxis were not allowed to overtake American transports. If they did so, they were pulled over and reprimanded.
Fittingly, the first kilometers of the six-lane highway, which starts its journey in the prefectural capital of Naha in the south of the island, is a strip of Americana: a mash of fast-food outlets, bars selling Millers Draught, furniture stores draped with the Stars and Stripes, tattoo parlors, used military supply stores and vehicle dealerships with names such as "Johnny's Used Cars." Signage on this section of the highway is largely in English.