okinawa hai!

CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES Bashofu Exterior While on a weekend trip to Okuma, we decided to look for places off the beaten path. We came across the Bashofu Weaving Factory on a rainy day and I am so glad we found this place. When we got out of the car, we found a sign which [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY CLAIRE BRAY-COLLINS I’m a sucker for a good adventure. Heck! I’m a sucker for a good old fashioned tourist trap. I don’t mind the kitsch, the crowds or even a few re-enactors meandering about in old-timey garb offering peace-sign-poses for a gaggle of picture-snapping foreigners. My thought is: “Hey, if it’s new to [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES Wood Crafts Bldg While driving home from Okuma, we came across a shop that boasted of hand-carved trinkets, toys and other wooden things. Wooden trains, cars and puzzles, benches, clocks, platters, and pieces of art. There was a room for kids to play while parents shopped. In addition, they had a table [...]

Read the full story

Bokunen Exterior 2 CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN SCHALK For me, moving to Okinawa has been, for a variety of reasons, both a wonderful opportunity as well as a tremendous challenge. I have studied and loved art for many years and left behind a support group of fellow artists in the states. “Art doesn’t happen in a [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY LAURA COSTA Joy Balloon Birthday Joy Company provides balloon decorations and so much more. My favorite thing about Joy Company is not just the quality of their work, which is great, but it is the kind and loving owners. Islaine and Maulo, also known as Alex, make the company so great. They love [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN SCHALK rakuten purchasesII As holiday season approaches, time, patience, and energy are all beginning to run short, while social commitments and gift lists increase with each passing day. For those of you who have already completed your holiday purchases, congratulations! Obviously you are very good at planning ahead, or you secretly harbor [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FILLMAN My husband and I are new to Okinawa and really want to dive into some of the unique cultural experiences that are offered here (there are so many.) A great resource is the Schilling Community Center on Kadena. They offer a ton of great classes, excursions, ticket and travel information, big [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES Adan Boy A little swish of the brush here, a little swish there, and maybe a slight smile looking thing on the page. Whenever I watch my students practicing writing kanji and hiragana, pure amazement comes over me, making me want to teach myself whatever they’re doing. A year ago, I [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY STEVE SINGER Like FIRE?  If you're going to Nago, enjoy nature, or just want to get off the radar, you may want to check out a wood-fire ceramic kiln firing in Nago. INTENSE is the only way to describe it.  The workshop is owned by an ex-Navy corpsman, Nicholas Centala, who originally built [...]

Read the full story

UPDATE: This storefront is now closed, but lives on in its online form at www.thefabricgirl.com. See the comments below. CONTRIBUTED BY AMANDA WEBB Most people know about House of 66 as the go to place for fabric and notions. But what they lack is that colorful fun and modern feel American designer fabrics have. While [...]

Read the full story