Tag: Japanese Culture

  CONTRIBUTED BY JULIA O. Blue House Okinawa is an up and coming venue for a variety of events on island.  I had the pleasure of...

Ringing In The New Year, Okinawa Style. CONTRIBUTED BY KARI F. Most cultures have annual customs and celebrations revolving around the new year, and I...

CONTRIBUTED BY LOUISE DUPUY Have you had a chance to visit the beautiful Naminoue-gu shrine yet? If you are planning a visit, I’d like to draw...

CONTRIBUTED BY LOUISE DUPUY Have any of you visited Futenma shrine caves? For those who have, you may or may not have noticed, a short...

CONTRIBUTED BY KERI C. Here you’ll find a list of local events for the month of November. Events on the island are constantly being created...

October 2016 Local Events Calendar CONTRIBUTED BY KACEY A. Here you’ll find a list of local events for the month of October. Local events on the...

Visiting Shrines & Temples in Japan CONTRIBUTED BY LOUISE DUPUY   The two biggest religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism. The former's place of worship is...

CONTRIBUTED BY KACEY A. August is here and we have a list of local events for the month. Events on the island are constantly being...

CONTRIBUTED BY LOUISE DUPUY Kokusai Dori (street) is a hugely popular tourist spot located in Naha, Okinawa’s capital city. The name Kokusai Dori translates to...

CONTRIBUTED BY CAPTAIN IAN This place is off the hook awesome! And by awesome, I really mean emotionally tragic. I visited Army Depo #20 with...

CONTRIBUTED BY KIRKLAND MARTIN In pre-war Okinawa, there was a narrow rail system stretching from Naha north to Kadena, south to Itoman, and east to...

CONTRIBUTED BY KENDRA MIGITA Nestled in the countryside of the island's south lays the most exquisite bingata shop called Nijigame Shouten (虹亀商店), which literal translation...

Onna Station Market & Onna Village Culture and Information Center CONTRIBUTED BY JENNIFER GILES The Onna Village Culture and Information Center and Onna Station Nakayukui Market...

Editor's Note: Gakiya's Obi & Kimono Shop was originally reviewed on Okinawa Hai on march 19, 2010; you can read a PDF copy of...

This post was originally published on April 18, 2009; because today is the Spring Equinox we're pulling it out of the archives as a...

CONTRIBUTED BY LOUISE DUPUY Matcha (pronounced mat-cha) is a finely grounded green tea. It’s a special type of crop, special in the way it’s farmed...

CONTRIBUTED BY HANNAH CURTIS  Perched up on a hill Naminoue-gu Shrine overlooks Naminoue Beach and of course the East China Sea. In 1605 Naminoue became the...

CONTRIBUTED BY HANNAH CURTIS  Having been on island for two years, we have been to our fair share of festivals, but I have to say...

CONTRIBUTED BY LAUREN GOEKU One of my favourite things about living in Japan is stumbling upon beautiful shrines and temples while wandering aimlessly through the...

CONTRIBUTED BY KEVIN "ELVIS" KING Standing at the base of perhaps the most iconic torii in all of Asia, it’s easy to feel the divine...

CONTRIBUTED BY INORI HAYASHI Editor’s Note: Okinawa Hai has partnered with Inori Hayashi, to provide a new monthly series written in a local voice. Our hope is to address...

CONTRIBUTED BY ANTHONY CAMINA If you want to get a dose of culture, doused with mud, and crafty all while having a good time then...

CONTRIBUTED BY MATTHEW MATLOCK Many of us a have jar full of pennies (or yennies) sitting on our counters or desks at this very moment,...

CONTRIBUTED BY SHELL BURGER As a little girl I had always dreamed of seeing the Christmas decorations that a Disney theme park has to offer....

CONTRIBUTED BY MUNEERAH BEE Sometimes I think that my curiosity and interest about the world had humble beginnings from my hobbies of collecting stamps and...

CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES After winning an EM gift certificate to a spa at a dinner I recently went to, I was ecstatic.  I love...

Follow Sarah's OCONUS to OCONUS journey here:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5 CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE In 2008, Staci Hawley wrote a “You Know You Lived...

CONTRIBUTED BY ANNA TIENTER As a half-Japanese person here in Okinawa, I am blessed to have my family nearby at all times. In fact most...

CONTRIBUTED BY CLAIRE BRAY-COLLINS I’m a sucker for a good adventure. Heck! I’m a sucker for a good old fashioned tourist trap. I don’t mind...

CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE “Kimigayo,” (君が代) the Japanese National Anthem, is a song almost all of us hear daily. At military events and at the...