CONTRIBUTED BY LAN
This question happened to come in on the same day that I took my little one for his first set of shots. Kudos to the nurses at the Lester Immunization Clinic. After days of agonizing over the pain that he would feel (can you tell I'm a bit phobic about vaccines?! :), it was over before I...
CONTRIBUTED BY MARISA AMICK
Gymnastics
My nine-year-old daughter has been taking gymnastics at the Kadena Youth Center for about three months now. She had previously taken gymnastics classes for a few years at the YMCA near where we were stationed before coming to Okinawa, so she had some skills before signing up here, although that’s not a requirement. From our...
CONTRIBUTED BY KELLYERACE
This is the first week that I'm gonna write about a place that I feel just 'eeh' about. Usually when I write about a restaurant, some aspect of it stands out to me - whether it's the food, the atmosphere, the service. Something. And this place was okay. But, it was just okay. You got me?
Anyway, I...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
I have just written about a recyclable shopping bag I bought yesterday at G-AREA in Plaza Shopping Center as my Wednesday post and today I saw a newspaper article on local newspaper about supermarkets in Okinawa Prefecture charging for plastic bags effective as of the end of May.
The agreement made between the prefectural government and 10 big...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
Have you read Meredith's "me & my PCS: VI"? My family and I are also moving from Okinawa back to the U.S. this summer like Meredith and her family. I should be thinking about our move, but I realize that my brain is in such a different place... I'm usually like "things will be fine", "I'll figure...
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
I became a smoker in someone's eighteen-wheeler. There isn't much else to do when you hitchhike. You might as well smoke. I was good at it until eight years later when I met Joe at a bar in Tokyo. A week after Joe, I quit smoking and started running. I ran outside. I ran on a...
CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
I still cringe when I hear a kitchen timer go off. I'm immediately transported back to those endless years of sitting on the piano bench hoping and praying the darn bell would finally sound and I would be free. And that went on for eight long years. Am I thankful? Yes. Did I love it sometimes? ...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
This Drug Eleven (pronounced "doraggu irebun" in Japanese) is located on Highway 23 right by the A&W near Kadena Gate 5. In Japanese, drug or medicine is "kusuri". The first picture shows how it is spelled in Japanese letter (hiragana). This store is equivalent to Walgreens or CVS in the States. I like this Drug Eleven store...
Grouchy Bf bento, originally uploaded by Sakurako Kitsa.
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
Monday through Friday I send Eli off to school without much ceremony. Twice a week I pack a lunch for him. On a good day I'll get a high-five before parting ways. We have been doing things like this, plus or minus, since last April. It is our routine....
CONTRIBUTED BY LAN
Well, we're all housebound or bound to the bases, so I'm sure the last thing you all want to look at is another house, so I'll save that post for next week.
With our first weekend almost behind us being practically bound to our off-base home, I found myself doing things that we usually do on rainy days...
CONTRIBUTED BY KELLYERACE
Below are some websites to surf to help you research your first post lock-down celebratory dinner, or just to help you kill some time on the computer.
Oh, also, as you might find yourself doing more eating "out" on base, I'm curious to know about your favorite on-base dining establishment. What is it? Why do you like it? ...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
Kariyushi is a word made up of "kari" and "yushi" in Okinawan (Ryukyu) Dialect and means auspicious or happiness. Kari means lucky and yushi means come near. Kariyushi wear was named in a wish that wearing it will bring you fortune. Although I am Japanese, I didn't know about this until I came to Okinawa.
Kariyushi wear...
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
This is my almost empty jar of yuzu cha. Yuzu as in THIS fruit. And cha as in tea. Not sure exactly what makes this tea because it looks and smells and feels like a jar of marmalade. Unlike a jar of marmalade this tea gets scooped into a piping hot mug of water. And it's...
CONTRIBUTED BY LAN
When I was about 36 weeks pregnant w/my chunky monkey , my nesting instinct kicked in and I wanted desperately to set up house again in a new, larger place to accommodate our newly expanded family of five. But eventually, practical sense and friends telling me that I was bonkers settled in and we're still here...
CONTRIBUTED BY CATHRYN JENSON
If you are looking for a fun day-long adventure then you should consider Okinawa World. The fees are reasonable and in my opinion, you get your monies worth. Adult ticket prices for the Kingdom Village, Cave, and Habu Museum (the Free Pass) are 1600 Yen and 800 Yen for kids 4 years and...
CONTRIBUTED BY JULIA CHEN
There are so many things that I will miss about Okinawa but I think one of the things that I will miss most is Araha Beach.
There are so many gorgeous spots out here with beautiful blue water but I guess Araha is special to me since I’ve spent quite a bit of time here with...
CONTRIBUTED BY KELLYERACE
So. You’re on Camp Foster. You’re shopping at the PX. You suddenly find yourself A: hungry B: tired as hell of looking at the same linens, candles, clothing, and housing goods that you find yourself browsing through again in the vain hope that you’ll find something even remotely approaching cool.
What do you do?
Drop your Yankee Candle and...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
My American friend asked me about "Kurozato (Okianawan black sugar)" and Okinawan salt that her family in the States would like to have. I looked them up on-line and thought "I can write about this!" Okinawan sugar and salt would make good souvenirs.
Two local products of Okinawa that are famous are sugar cane and salt. Okinawans make...
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
I'm in a gnarly and predictable tug-of-war match over here. On one side is my life in Okinawa. On the other side is my life after Okinawa. When the weather is gloomy like today and Joe is gone like today, I start making notes of the details I won't miss. My van that collects gallons of...
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 on-base house that has not yet been...
CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
Football. Baseball. Soccer. Basketball. Tennis. All sports we see happening frequently on the various bases.
But what about those of us who joust or curl or steeplechase or ice dance or polo-it or synchronize our swimming? Where do we go to get involved on this little island??
Well, Peggy has help for those of you who "lacrosse" --...
CONTRIBUTED BY KELLYERACE
The first time I went to Cafe Tiffany's was shortly after I got to the island about two years ago. I went a few times after discovering it and then, for some reason, just stopped going and kind of forgot about it. But now Tiffany's is back on my restaurant radar. For two reasons, I think. One...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
I LOVE 100 yen stores. We're moving back to the States this summer and one of the things that I will definitely miss about Japan is 100 yen stores. So hard to live without them. As it is described in the store name, all the goods cost 100 yen in the store. (Most accurately all, but sometimes...
CONTRIBUTED BY MEREDITH NOVARIO
Behold Day 1.
And Day 2.
And also Day 3.
Yoshikei delivered a meal for the first time this evening. Clockwise starting at twelve o'clock sits eggplant tomato gratin, an omelet, an un-sweet & chilled salad featuring lettuce with two cherry tomatoes and lastly a sweet & warm salad featuring squash, raisins, apricot bits and soy beans.
Magically delicious.
Not sure...
CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO
This is one of my favorite restaurants on the island. When we have visitors, we like to take them to this restaurant since it has an unique atmosphere. Every time we go there, it's packed with many customers. We never had to wait for a long time though.
Sushi comes out fairly fast after you order, so that's...
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 MEREDITH NOVARIO
Most of the time I feel comfortable. I know my way around the island a bit. I have friends. My home is homey for me and mine. And then in an instant, I can feel like a seventh grader. My jeans are suddenly way too tight, my skin too greasy and my tongue won't even consider...
CONTRIBUTED BY LAN
Good morning, Okinawa Hai! readers! One of our own, Kimberly, has submitted a very good question for us all to ponder:
Does anyone know how/where to rent a van here? My family is coming in a couple weeks and since we bought the smallest cars in the history of the world, we'll have to be caravaning everywhere unless...
CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA
Or maybe the correct question is, DO you camp? I have friends who hope to never repeat the camping experiences of their childhoods and maybe you are one of them. But me? I loved it then and I love it now.
I've found that without throwing the TV and the computer and the phone out the window,...
CONTRIBUTED BY JENNIFER
This is for all the folks up by Camp Courtney and McT. I'm not sure what the official Japanese name of this market is, I think it is commonly called the fruit market. It's loaded with fresh fruits out in the front, recently there have been beautiful, delicious strawberries. And I seem to have better luck with...