CONTRIBUTED BY MARY RICHARDSON
Living on Okinawa for a year and a half, I’ve taken several Japanese classes.
I started with the basic classes at Camp Foster Personal Service Center and moved on to a two-month long class at Kadena USO. Both courses were helpful and gave me a good foundation. But afterwards, I didn’t know where to turn next. It seems...
CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
"Sell so much, your kids think they are next." -- Advise from financial wizard, Dave Ramsey
With PCSing looming large on the horizon for us, I've begun to spring clean. Or, well, cleaning has very little to do with it, I guess. It's more a purge and discard sort of process. Along with other things, I've been...
CONTRIBUTED BY CHRISTY SUTTON
Just after you pass Arume on the East coast of Okinawa, and before you reach the village of Higashi you will find the Mangrove Tree Park, a well-maintained nature preserve. You will cross over a bridge and see that a river extends inland and is lined on both sides by mangrove trees. If time and money permit,...
CONTRIBUTED BY STEPHANIE LONG
Konichiwa! My name is Stephanie and I’m 25 years old. I am not a dependent, a spouse, or contracted by the government -- nor have I ever been exposed to life in or around the military. But I was bored in Dallas, TX, and needed a change. And boy howdy, did I ever get it. I...
CONTRIBUTED BY MARY RICHARDSON
Looking for a local shop that supplies organic food staples?
Well, you’re in luck. One afternoon I was driving along in Okinawa City and noticed the Organic and Natural Market.
I stopped to check out this tiny store and found a goldmine of organic and macrobiotic diet foods, including a buffet of home-cooked prepared dishes.
On that day, some...
CONTRIBUTED BY KATHRYN CALAGUI
One of the things that I love most about Okinawa is how convenient it is!
I am originally from New York City, and what I miss most about New York are the steamed buns from Chinatown. Growing up, I called them siopao (show-pow), which means steamed bun in Filipino. In Okinawa, a steamed bun is called chuuka...
CONTRIBUTED BY KARA LESPERANCE
After seeing the posts on Rainbow House and the Hand Craft Shop that reference the House of 66 Cents, I wanted to write up a post on them. I could spend hours wandering fabric stores and picking out fabrics and the House of 66 Cents has pretty much any fabric you could want. The biggest problem I...
CONTRIBUTED BY LARISSA TRAQUAIR
Combining a café and bakery isn’t a new concept, especially in Okinawa. However, Marco Polo delivers one unique option not many restaurants can boast – breakfast, off-base, at 8a.m.! For breakfast you have a variety of sets to choose from with your choice of soup or drinks. Soup for breakfast might sound unusual, but it is...
CONTRIBUTED BY KATHRYN CALAGUI
When my family and I first arrived the island, one of our biggest concerns was furnishing our house. We came here with very little furniture. We figured that our best bet was to look at the furniture available on base. We tried Foster furniture, but the stuff we liked was either out of stock or too...
CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
Guess which one is purple inside??
Hard to tell from the outside, eh? These two tubers are abundantly available on Okinawa. One is a sweet potato (beniimo - bottom one) and then other is a yam. And even if you are someone who says, "I hate sweet potatoes," you should still give them both a try! For...
CONTRIBUTED BY JANAE BURGER
Some of you miss Macy’s or Kroger’s, me? I miss Hobby Lobby. Sure, you can find a handful of crafty items at the 100Yen stores, the BX, and even the occasional small craft or fabric store but these places usually have a variety of supplies, but not a lot of selection. Green Note is a larger...
CONTRIBUTED BY JOY BARNES
Six months ago, if I would have seen a post about “Running on Okinawa” I would have kept right on scrolling down the page. I am a newbie to the pastime of running, only having started after my neighbors convinced me to run a half-marathon. This is my first race so you can call me ambitious...
CONTRIBUTED BY HEATHER GELORMINE
The book club that I belong to here on Okinawa has been meeting for longer than I've been on-island, but when the founder and organizer PCS'd I took over. At first I made few changes; we continued to have our members take turns choosing the books we read each month but rather than always meeting at...
CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
It's fruit time again!
I'm a delayed gratification girl, so I'll start with a fruit I'm a bit ambivalent about. But it's SUPER interesting, so worth giving a try. And who knows, it may turn out to be YOUR favorite fruit ever!
Egg fruit (aka, canistel) --
Its name comes from the shape and the texture. And this is...
CONTRIBUTED BY HEATHER HANSEN
Twice a year MCCS offers an International Adoption Workshop through the Marine and Family Services Center. The workshop covers issues pertaining to both international & domestic adoption (don’t let the title fool you!). Adoption is possible while living in Okinawa.
Before my husband and I were married, we discussed the possibility of adopting children. I was raised...
CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN STRAIT
Of course Okinawa has plenty of homeless people, and there are those few faces that you recognize time and time again. One specifically I have seen all over the island, usually hanging out in underpasses with that Okinawa-famous flower hat. Like many homeless regulars of small towns this guy owns the typical rumor of being rich....
CONTRIBUTED BY ANNASTASIA MCPHERSON
When my girlfriend told me about the new reflexology place in Jusco, I really didn’t think much of it. I mean I have CoCok’s right? Then a few weeks later after a long day of my kids stressing me out, I decided I needed a break, and went to get some reflexology done.
What exactly is reflexology?
It is...
CONTRIBUTED BY JANNINE MYERS
Last summer we moved to a new residence to get away from the irritating drone of jet-planes taking off and landing right beside our house, and while we now enjoy living in a relatively quiet and peaceful neighborhood, we aren’t entirely noise-free.
Our new home happens to be situated right beside three strategically placed outdoor PA speakers,...
CONTRIBUTED BY JEANINE CZUBIK
When I initially told my Korean friend about a place to buy fresh kimchi out of someone’s house, she told me it sounded a little sketchy. But after bribing her with free kimchi and lunch, she agreed to be my kimchi taste-tester. After not caring much for the pickled dish myself, I’ve come to like it...
CONTRIBUTED BY PAMELA OLIVERAS
OK, fellow photographers, this is the last TO SEE post.
Although I LOVE colour photography, B&W is where it all began for me and I am sure a few reading: BW ilford film and a darkroom full of smelly chemicals. Of course many still use film too but at least it is easy to convert to B&W...
For all you parents looking for a preschool that suits your kids, we’re hoping to add a little something to aid in your search. Parents of children who attend various preschools on island have filled out a series of questions about the schools for the benefit of the rest of us. We welcome more than one voice on each...
CONTRIBUTED BY JANNINE MYERS
I was at a Japanese community center some time ago, when a Japanese lady whom I had just been introduced to asked me what my blood type was. Now ordinarily I would think this was an odd question, but since I’ve been asked the same question once or twice before I wasn’t overly surprised. I did...
CONTRIBUTED BY MARY RICHARDSON
Next time you're looking for a fun activity for your family over the weekend, why not consider a visit to the Gala Sea Salt Factory in Yomitan?
I know you're thinking, what's so fun about salt?
That's what I thought too, but let me tell you, a visit to Gala is a great educational excursion for kids and...
CONTRIBUTED BY LARISSA TRAQUAIR
Teppanyaki style cooking is easy to find on Okinawa and very entertaining. If you like to watch your food being prepared in front of you while acquiring a few new tips for your own adventures in the kitchen than my recent find, Jam’s Steak House, is what you are looking for. Located a few kilometers from the...
CONTRIBUTED BY JEANINE CZUBIK
When a friend recently asked where she should take her car for repair, I didn’t have an answer. What I do know, however, is where to buy new parts for my handy husband to repair our cars.
If you’re like us, you’ve purchased relatively cheap and old vehicles on the hope they will safely get us from...
CONTRIBUTED BY PAMELA OLIVERAS
Okistephie is back showing us minimalism with this shot of the beautiful sakura. Actually her husband took this shot. Good job hubby!
If you are shooting with an SLR and want to just focus on one part of a shot (like in this one) it is great to open up that aperture (which is actually the lowest...
You're hungry. You're looking for somewhere good to grab a bite to eat and you're hungry NOW... but where do you start?
Thankfully, Okinawa Hai has an extensive collection of posts detailing the many restaurants, cafes, and sushi bars here on island. This is an index of all the food establishments we have reviews and information about, grouped according to...
You're hungry. You've got a craving for sushi. Or curry. Or Italian. You want to find that perfect place to eat... but where do you start?
Thankfully, Okinawa Hai has an extensive collection of posts detailing the many restaurants, cafes, and sushi bars here on island. This is an index of all the food establishments we have reviews and information...
CONTRIBUTED BY MARY RICHARDSON
Of course, there's no time to jet off to Vietnam for Valentine's Day, but you can always get in the romantic frame of mind by looking at pictures and planning a trip there in the future.
I highly recommend this travel experience.
One of the most popular travel destinations in Vietnam, Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World...
CONTRIBUTED BY LARISSA
One of the many things I love about eating out in Okinawa is that a lot of the restaurant kitchens, in the smaller restaurants, are visible. This makes for great entertainment if you watch closely. From our table in Tantantei we could watch the chef fry up our noodles and boy did he make it look fun. ...