FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

Our readers have lots of questions.  And in the interest of getting you the answers you need in the fastest manner possible we’ve compiled a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions here:

Q1: Help!  I’m moving to Okinawa in the next few months and I’d never even HEARD of the place until a few weeks ago.  What am I in for?

A: You’ve come to the right place!  We’ve got tons of great resources for you.  You can go to our Island Newbies page, where we have a list of the most common concerns we all have when preparing for a move and while settling in.  You can join our Facebook Page to get updates with our new posts and ask other fans some of those “must know now” questions.  While you’re on Facebook you can also join our Q&A Group where we’ve got a thriving community of helpful neighbors who are always willing to lend an ear or give you some advice.

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Q2:  I want to buy {insert Japanese item here}.  Can I buy that from you?  OR  I’m looking for a long-lost relative.  Can you help me find her?

A:  Nope. Okinawa Hai is an online tutorial of sorts about what to do, where to go, and what restaurants you might want to try, but we do not deal in the business of selling books or finding that special someone you lost touch with sixty years ago. We can, however, offer you an Okinawa Hai calendar (available around November/December/January of each year), and if you’re really in the spirit you can purchase some gear from our Marketplace. We can also offer you a complimentary Bumper Sticker, but you have to Submit A Post to us in order to get ahold of one of those…

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Q3: I’m a long-time reader of this blog.  I swear there used to be a post about {insert attraction/restaurant here}.  Where did it go?

A:  Okinawa Hai has been publishing new posts since early in 2007. During that time we’ve seen restaurants open and close, parks shut down, and favorite daytrip excursions close their doors. When we first began combing through the archives to weed out the posts that really don’t belong here anymore *some* of those might have been deleted permanently. But we’ve since instituted a different policy: now we’re leaving those posts on the site but with an update informing you – our readers – about what we’ve learned.

Because this is an interactive website, we rely on YOU to fill us in when you’ve learned something’s wrong on our site. Either leave a comment on the associated post or send our site manager an email at: editor @overseasyes.com to let us know.

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Q4: I want to find {insert destination here} but there’s no map on the related post.  What’s the deal?

A:  We moved to a new blogging platform in July 2011, one which provides us with an easy way to insert a Google map right into each post for your traveling convenience.  However, due to the fact that we’ve got four-and-a-half years worth of backposts that did not originally have maps… well, you’ve got a whole bunch of locations that are not currently mapped. We’re working on it.

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Q5:  I see a lot of US military related posts on your site.  Is this an official DOD website?

A:  Most definitely NOT. As Americans most of us who live on Okinawa are affiliated with the military in some regard, either as a military servicemember, a DOD civilian, or a dependent, but this website was not created nor intended to replace official DOD websites. We provide information to you in order to help you get the most of out living here, but anything we post is not official DOD policy. You’ve gotta contact your command and/or legal office for that privilege.

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Q6:  I left a snarky comment on a post yesterday but now it’s gone.  Where’d it go?

A:  We deleted it. We reserve the right to remove any comments that are not in accordance with our Comment Policy. We also are under no obligation to remove comments that you wrote and later decided you shouldn’t have said. Think twice, type once. Or something like that.

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Q7:  I have a car/piece of furniture/cold-blooded creature that I need to find a new home for before I PCS off-island. Is there somewhere on this site where I can leave a comment or post to find someone to take it off my hands?

A:  No. Sorry, we don’t allow classifieds on our blog; this has been our longstanding policy and we do not plan to change this. But you can head to Okinawa Yard Sales or Japan Update where you can create an ad that will hopefully help you solve your problem.