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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY KHURSTEN CORNWALL Chikyu Exterior If you’re looking for a last minute gift, something unique and worldly, quaint and cute, or just a great thing to do on a Saturday afternoon, I’ve got a treasure for you! Last week a friend of mine called me up and invited me to join her on a [...]

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We aren’t certain we are getting this info to you in time!  But on the off chance that some stores are still offering these, we are adding it now.  We will be sure to re-post it late in December again… CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH PHILLIPS Fukuburo Toys R Us Since childhood I’ve loved the excitement and [...]

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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 [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN SCHALK Koza Gate Pottery In my case, finding Koza Gate Apartment, a combined boutique and art gallery, could be best described as a happy accident. Earlier this summer, I had agreed to meet my friend and Japanese teacher there for a private lesson and good conversation. As with many storefronts in Okinawa, [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE Kadena Gift Front Where do you buy gifts for friends and family back in the States? I, for one, suffer from the self-imposed pressure of needing to buy something unique and—preferably—Asian. If I’m sending something from Japan, it doesn’t seem right to send something they could have gotten from Walmart. Am [...]

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Minatogawa Address CONTRIBUTED BY ANGI BRZYCKI Hidden away from the chaos of the 58 in Urasoe City is an area called Minatogawa. What once was military housing for families-has become a neighborhood of restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and little boutiques. The houses are chipped and the paint is faded, but the unique and antique businesses are [...]

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