okinawa hai!

CONTRIBUTED BY QUENTIN RICHARDSON Yanbaru Bird Yanbaru Front I found this spectacular place while looking at it from Cape Hedo. I was curious to see it close up and wanted to snap some photos of it. The problem was… finding it. My first attempt didn’t go so well. However, persistence paid off, as is often true [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY QUENTIN RICHARDSON Urasoe Pano 1 Urasoe City Park & Castle Site is a massive network of observatories, walking paths and a large playground at its lower level. The park sits on a high hill on the border of Ginowan & Urasoe. It branches out in several directions and also includes nearby neighborhoods, cemetaries [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY EILEEN O’REILLY Snorkeling Thumbs Up Anyone who knows me knows that I am a control freak. I freely admit it. I won’t SCUBA because the idea of trusting that…machine…to breathe for me…nope. But I sure do love the fish and reef life here on Okinawa…so what’s a girl to do? Snorkel…where? How? Do [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY JOY BARNES As a “Florida Girl” I’ve spent much time around the water and in the sand.  I’ve collected pretty shells, an occasional shark’s tooth and even some beautiful sand dollars.  However, it wasn’t until I spent time on Okinawan beaches that I discovered sea glass.  Now, searching for sea glass has become [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY MELISSA MCDANIEL You’re probably aware that Okinawa is the home of nine sites designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and you’ve probably visited the biggies–Shuri-jo, Zakimi-jo, maybe Shikana-en Gardens. But what about that one on the map–the cave-like picture with the cryptic name? In our quest to see all of the nine UNESCO [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY CALYN PAQUIN If you live in the US, chances are by now you would have gone strawberry picking or your child might have gone on a field trip to do it. My oldest did 2 years ago and this year, my youngest got to do it on his field trip with his Okinawan [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY ANALICIA MCCLELLAN 1. What is the main purpose of your organization? MOMS Club stands for “Moms Offering Moms Support“. We are a local chapter of the International MOMS Club non-profit organization and our main purpose is to support other moms here on Okinawa. We know it can be hard to be so far away [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH BANCROFT Don’t you just love it when you stumble upon a hidden gem? This happened to my husband and I when we journeyed up to Nago to see some castle ruins. We thought we were headed in the right direction, but alas, we were not. Not wanting to give up, we continued [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY MICHELLE D.     Among the many marine activities you can experience in Okinawa, whale watching is probably one of the easiest and most rewarding.  The start of the new year heralds the return of humpback whales (ザトウクジラ) to Okinawa, the Philippines, and Hawaii when these great mammals migrate south from the Arctic to mate [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY THERESA COCKHILL One of the things I love about Okinawa is its complete randomness.  Most things are unexpected, and everyday can literally be an adventure to the American traveler.  One of my most favorite places is Gala in Yomitan, and if you haven’t been there then you do not know what you are [...]

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