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 [...]

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 SARAH FORTE “Kimigayo,” (君が代) the Japanese National Anthem, is a song almost all of us hear daily. At military events and at the end of the day, the “Star Spangled Banner” follows “Kimigayo.” I remember the first time I heard it here on Okinawa. I’m sure I had heard it played before, but [...]

Read the full story

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 [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY JOY BARNES I wouldn’t call myself a “coffee snob” but I would definitely say I know a thing or two about good coffee. My first job in high school was at the mall coffee shop. Later, when I was in college I even met my Marine husband while working at a Starbucks near [...]

Read the full story

Analicia & Sarah submitted posts about the reasons they love local "shoppettes."  We've combined them to give you a look at some of the konbini favs… CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE AND ANALICIA MCCLELLAN Konbini is Japanese for convenience store. Around here Family Mart, Lawson (a.k.a. Lawson Station) and Coco are the ubiquitous brands. Throughout Asia [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED SARRA MCMILLAN Shortly after my arrival in Okinawa in December 2009, a new-found friend pulled me towards the flashing lights and screaming sounds of teenagers playing arcade games. “Have you ever done purikura?” she asked.The word was as unknown to me at that time as arigatou and irasshaimase, so I just looked at her [...]

Read the full story

I have received some wonderful cooking posts from Penny over the last weeks and started an email conversation about how she came to be in Okinawa.  I'm always curious about those non-Japanese, non-military, non-ESL teachers living on island.  If you are curious too, I've attached her bio at the end of the post. CONTRIBUTED BY PENNY [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY KATHERINE MOORE Whenever I go out with friends, they quiz me about eating out in Japan.  Some of them are more concern with etiquette, while others are just for fun and good to know kind-of-stuff.  To give you some ideas, here are some things I think it would be nice for you to [...]

Read the full story

As promised, here is the second installment of Shannan's favorite kid's books related to Japan, Okinawa and its cultures.  If you missed the first, it's HERE.  Take it away, Shannan… CONTRIBUTED BY SHANNAN LEWELLEN   My Japan by Etsuko Watanabe is fairly new to our collection, and by far the most informative.  The book details every aspect [...]

Read the full story