okinawa hai!

CONTRIBUTED BY ANNA TIENTER As a half-Japanese person here in Okinawa, I am blessed to have my family nearby at all times. In fact most of them are very close to Foster in the village of Kitanakagusuku. This is where the Nakamura House and the Nakagusuku castle ruins are both located. Kitanakagusuku: don’t be intimidated [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY MIKAYLA KING Shanbio Yoga After reading one of the monthly Okinawa Living magazines, I came across an advertisement for a spa and yoga studio called he Shanbio. I had missed my yoga routine back in the states and I wanted to check this place out. The next day while I was walking on [...]

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Gunners Sign CONTRIBUTED BY SUZIE SMITH I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a massage junkie; but after arriving on island I was a bit disappointed with the local shops. Now don’t get me wrong, all the places I’ve been to are fantastic if you were fortunate enough to have inherited the family wealth from your [...]

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Dulce Toes CONTRIBUTED BY MEGAN PARKER Dulce, indeed! Everything about this nail salon is sweet – the location, the nail art, the price, and most of all, the relaxation. I’ll admit that when my mother’s day flower bouquet showed up with a gift certificate for a pedicure attached to it, I was a bit disappointed [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES I may have found my “Heaven on Earth” in the Camp McTureous/Courtney area amidst the cow farms, cabbage patches, and goya fields.  There are some who never venture out this way, but this may be a reason to.  I went to Essence today for a much needed massage.   I have [...]

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Reader, Kara, wrote asking for help for her hair: I am an African American woman in desperate need of a black hair dresser.  I have made two separate appointments with black hairdressers at the Kadena BX beauty shop, and both appointments were canceled at the last minute. Ugh!  So I need help for salons, stylists [...]

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Contributed by Kara Walton Since our first couples massage on our honeymoon two years ago, my husband and I have made any excuse to repeat the experience. As our two year anniversary and a short deployment approached, my husband suggested an early celebration with our favorite relaxing pastime.  After scouring the internet for Okinawan masseuses, [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY ANNA BOOM Needles, needles and more needles. Acupuncture, oh my!  Recently, my running friend mentioned acupuncture helped her knee pain. Then another friend tried it for her glute/hamstring pain, another for plantar fascitis. And then an article in one of my favorite magazines popped up on acupuncture.  Like many of you, I have [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES Today I decided to give a treat to the part of my body that supports me and constantly holds me up—my two feeties!  Cocok’s was closed, so my exchange student and I decided to try Sweet Nails.  Oh, how sweet that was!  I may be going to Sweet Nails from now [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY SANDY VAN NIEUWENHUYZEN I recently began a self-improvement procedure effort to kick off 2011 right.  I was very pleased with the salon I found!  I wanted to share so you can enjoy a great service during your time on Okinawa.  It is a salon called Me Love on Rt 23 east of Cocoks. [...]

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