Okinawa Hai!

Tsuboya Museum Front CONTRIBUTED BY AMY MADDOCKS Naha’s Tsuboya District has been the center of Okinawan pottery since 1682, but they say the earthenware first began being made about 6,600 years ago. The most famous Okinawan pottery is tsuboya-yaki, and it is still being made after being passed down from generation to generation. These are [...]

Read the full story

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 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

EDITOR’S NOTE: In November 2012 a reader left the following comment on this post: “Okinawa Pro Wrestling’s last show was on August 31, 2011.  They are no longer here.  I was told that they would be doing shows in Mainland Japan now.” CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES Wrestling 3 One-two-three! Ding-ding-ding-ding!!! I remember being in intermediate [...]

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 AVIVA BOWMAN As a four-year veteran of Okinawa, I’ve been through a couple of typhoons, the worst of which was Man-Yi in 2007. It was a near direct hit by a category 4, sustained wind speeds were over 100mph (that’s not gusts, that’s sustained). At the time, people weren’t really prepping much because [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY PENNY VA HEERDEN In the comments section of my Why Martial Arts? post, someone asked for links to local Martial Arts Association websites.  There are so many top notch dojos in Okinawa that I was, at first, a bit hesitant to list only one association.  However, since coming to Okinawa I have received so [...]

Read the full story

We were recently invited to enjoy a complimentary dinner and show at The Orchid.  Sarah & Tara enjoyed the evening with their families, but the opinions are all ours. CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE When you think of traditional Okinawa what comes to mind? Maybe it’s Eisa dancers, sanshin players and taiko drummers pounding out their [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY MICHELE LEHANE Dug into a hillside outside of Naha city is one of the islands most somber reminders of the bloody Battle of Okinawa. In 1944, the Japanese Navy Corps of Engineers dug a 450 meter tunnel complex to serve as an underground headquarters.  Towards the end of the battle, as things began [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY JENNIFER SHUE This little gem is nestled right between the Toys R Us/Babies R Us and the Naha Mainplace. If you’ve been down there you must have seen it. The outside is the creamy limestone so common in Okinawa and is stylistically reminiscent of the various gusuku sites scattered around the island. Inside, [...]

Read the full story