CONTRIBUTED BY JULIA
Murasaki Mura is an old Okinawan village where you can make various crafts. Entry was only about 500 yen but they’ll get you on the crafts. Within the course of an hour we had dropped close to an additional 4000 yen painting a pair of shisa dogs and a whale shark.
There was a moment’s hesitation but then...
CONTRIBUTED BY SARA HERNANDEZ
As the name suggests this is a Thai restaurant. My family has been there many times in the four years we've been here. We have never been disappointed. The atmosphere is authentic Thai which is very nice and they have a great view with wrap-around floor to ceiling windows.The wait staff is very attentive and never...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
I recently bought a kimono for the first time because I have started taking a kimono class called "kitsuke" with my friend. It is a class to learn how to put on kimono.
In my opinion, Japanese kimono is not practical because you have to learn how to put it on yourself. To wear a kimono is an...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
I had spent some time writing a post on purchasing a car, not realizing that there were already posts AND discussions about the same topic on Okinawa Hai! I thought and thought and thought. I came to realize that there is no point for me to post an entry about something which was already discussed here. Thus,...
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
When I don't get enough sleep because the stray dogs outside my window are having a turf war or I discover an ancient sippy cup full of something formerly known as milk or blood gushes from the foreheads of offspring or anyone at all, I react. Sometimes I implode. Sometimes I explode. I mix it up....
CONTRIBUTED BY KIMBERLY MITCHELL
Moving with kids is always hard. Moving halfway around the world to a place that doesn't speak your language and has a completely different culture can be especially daunting. Preparation is key, and talking to your kids about what to expect in their new adventure is a great idea. Who can help Kelly out?
Hello all, thanks...
CONTRIBUTED BY JEN PRESTON
Fear not, I have several little travelers out there gathering intel and photographing the finest travel spots in Asia. There will be lots of adventures to report in weeks to come.
Meanwhile, cooped up on this island, I've been thinking a lot about travel.
I'm sure most of you have read, or at least heard of, the best-selling...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
This week we have a question from a reader about the Chu-La spa:
I was wondering if anyone had any info on the Chu-La spa. I think it is a bath house? I wanted to try it out but I was curious about what they had there, the price, etc. Before we PCS'ed here in October we were...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
Kaho's Japanese Corner: Omedeto
Congratulations is the translation for "omedeto". For using it to someone superior to you or in a polite expression, you simply add "gozaimas". Omedeto pronounces like this. Oh-meh-deh-toe.
Here is how to use it in different contexts:
Birthday - "Otanjobi omedeto (gozaimas)!" Tanjobi is birthday. So, it means "happy birthday!"
Wedding - "Gokekkon omedeto (gozaimas)!" Kekkon...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
I buy Japanese diapers not only because I think that they are well made, but also they are cheaper than American diapers. I also like that Japanese diapers have a stripe to shows if the diaper is wet or not. This helped me especially with my new born baby. Usually the stripe is yellow with a dry...
Living overseas has its challenges, and a commonly agreed upon one is finding that perfect place to live. To help those of us who are curious about the different options for living on Okinawa, readers have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about on-base housing. If you live in an off-base house that has not yet been...
CONTRIBUTED BY KIMBERLY MITCHELL
We are just now heading into the wide world of potty training. I admit that I am a major germaphobe and a big part of the reason that my daughter is not toilet trained is because I couldn't stand the thought of her touching public toilets or even worse, having to use those squatty potties at...
CONTRIBUTED BY JEN PRESTON
With the U.S. dollar flopping about like slimy, gasping, beached trout, it's difficult to find a travel destination that doesn't make me feel...well...poor. (Let's just all be happy we are not currently stationed in Europe.) I've always heard an American could do pretty well in Thailand, and apparently this is even more true these days. According...
CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
"Put one foot in front of the other and soon you'll be walking out the door..."
Anybody remember that song?? It's from one of my favorite Christmas movies, "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", the one where Fred Astaire narrates and sings. And why the heck am I mentioning it in March??? Well, for some reason it...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
I got into Vietnamese food when I lived in Arlington, Virginia. There are so many GREAT Vietnamese restaurants there. My husband and I used to go to "Pho 75" near Roslyn Station. Their Vietnamese pho noodle soup dish is what my husband would call "da bomb". Yum.
I had lunch at this Vietnamese restaurant "DAO" with my...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
Kaho's Japanese Corner: Kore wa nan desuka?
I think that when living overseas, you are often in situations where you want to ask "what is this?" So, here's how to ask this question to a Japanese person.
Kore wa nan desuka? = What is this?
kore = this
wa = adding wa makes "this" a subject (Don't worry about it if...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
I had been away from Japan for so long until I came back two years ago that I didn't know about this brand of soy milk. Meredith introduced me to it. They are tasty! She suggested that I would write a post on Japanese soy milk. Good idea.
I'm a big fan of "Silk". My stomach doesn't do...
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
It turns out we will be leaving Okinawa. We won't be able to go AND stay after all. There is still no specific place we are going but we will be going there sometime in the beginning of July. That means I'll make it home for a wedding and a baby. For that I am happy....
The whole car experience here in Okinawa for me was like teenage deja vu. Oh! the feeling of freedom and independence of buying that first car from the Lemon Lot and then Egads! driving on the wrong side of the road (Bob and I kept yelling at each other "Stay to the left! Stay to the left!") and then...
CONTRIBUTED BY JEN PRESTON
It's bikini season again. Oh lordy, I haven't truly celebrated bikini season since '96 or so, but for those of you who still like to bare *almost* all...may the force be with you. I must say, the good weather comes to Okinawa even earlier than in my native Southern California, and that's saying something (hello, Easter?)....
CONTRIBUTED BY JULIA
Yazaemon is a relatively new restaurant that opened up about 4 months ago. I was lucky enough to end up here after a night of driving around desperately looking for food. My husband and I (with the kids of course) had stopped at a couple of our favorite places, finding out that they were...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
Indo-ya is to me a hidden gem of Park Avenue. (Side note: Indo means India in Japanese. Ya means store.) This store has anything that girls would like to have from India: Clothes, sandals, jewelries, incense, tapestries, pillow cases, decorative items, you name it. I think that the pricing is reasonable. Yen has been very strong in...
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
I killed a cat in Hawaii. Not with my own hands per se. He was slumbering peacefully under a parked car on the side of a busy street. The sun was setting; I was walking. My walking startled him and he jutted out from under the car, into the road and onto the grill of a...
Living overseas has its challenges, and a commonly agreed upon one is finding that perfect place to live. To help those of us who are curious about the different options for living on Okinawa, readers have answered some of the most frequently asked questions about on-base housing. If you live in an off-base house that has not yet been...
CONTRIBUTED BY KIMBERLY MITCHELL
Okinawa Hai reader, Lisa, has a question. Can anyone help her out?
I have been in Okinawa for about 5 months now. My husband and I are looking to expand our family and had to do IVF (in-vitro fertilization) to conceive our son. Does anyone have any info on that option here on the island – availability,...
CONTRIBUTED BY JEN PRESTON
Destination:
Seoul, South Korea
How did you travel?
We flew Asiana Airlines. The flight was about 2.5 hours long. A roundtrip ticket cost about $450.
Where did you stay? Hotel Incheon (by the airport) & Hotel Itaewon (Seoul)
Price of Hotel: Hotel Incheon $141 per night, Hotel Itaewon $110 per night
Accommodations: Both were perfectly reasonable. Hotel Itaewon (where we spent 5...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
Kaho's Japanese Corner: Irasshaimase
This is a request from my friend's husband, which I think is a very helpful one to know. I'm sure all of you have heard this word somewhere in Japan. "Irasshaimase" is a polite form of "welcome" in Japanese. When you walk into a convenience store, restaurant, stores, or other public places, you are...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
If you have an APO address, you have this wonderful store, Amazon.com, which you can shop on-line even from the other side of the Pacific Ocean and ships books to you. Our world has become so convenient. I like walking into a book store and pick books though. If you are looking for something specific like...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
Kaho's Japanese Corner: Onomatopoeia
I changed the format of this Japanese lesson. I hope that it will be easier for you to find this later.
Onomatopoeia (occasionally spelled onomateopoeia or onomatopœia) is a word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing, suggesting its source object, such as "click," "clang," "buzz," or animal noises such...
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
At five o'clock this morning my father called and woke us up. Typically and unfortunately, that's when the boys usually get up. I despise five o'clock in the morning something fierce. And since it was my dad that woke us up and not the boys I got perturbed. He's an adult and can take my wrath....