Plotbunnies, Pastebin, and Wishlist Thread #2

[robkelk]

I just did some poking around on Google Maps, one thing lead to another, and I came to an... interesting... conclusion.

First, the background. In Azumanga Daioh, the girls went to Okinawa for their class trip. They spent most of their time in Naha (as shown by them making a personal visit to Shuri Castle, seeing Shureimon along the way). The main six characters spent their independent-study day on Iriomote Island (where they met a... mixed-breed... cat.)

Next, the messing about on Google Maps. First, Iriomote Island is much closer to Taiwan than it is to Okinawa Island. It takes 55 minutes to fly from Naha to Hateruma Island, plus a half-hour drive from the airport to the ferry, and a 50 minute ferry ride from Hateruma to Iriomote. That's a one-way trip. Second, Iriomote Island is the second-largest island in Okinawa Prefecture; it takes seven and a quarter hours to walk from the ferry landing to Mariudo Falls, and the same amount of time to walk back.

Now, the thinking. It's always dangerous, thinking. Let's assume that (1) pre-9/11 airport security and processes let them spend no more than a quarter-hour in each airport, (2) they make every connection with no wasted time, and (3) Chiyo-chan and Osaka don't slow them down during all that walking. The girls are looking at a minimum of twenty hours just in travel time.

The Doylist answer to this is simple: Writers Have No Sense Of Scale.

The Watsonian answer, though... Either:

• this is not a day trip -- but the episode indicated that it was,
  
• the Azumanga Daioh world has different transportation technology than ours -- but the episode showed real-world technology for Y2K including a wide-body jet,
  
• the Azumanga Daioh world has different geography than ours, or
  
• at least one of the Azumanga Daioh girls can teleport and nobody thinks that this is unusual.
  

We did confirm that Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga and Kyosuke Kasuga use the same characters to write their family name, and Kyosuke is confirmed to be a teleporter, so... teleporting schoolgirl, anyone?