May 18, 2013 - Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, Gyokusendo Cave and Dojo Dinner

We woke up to an overcast but dry day and took a walk down Kokusai-dori, the main street that is lined with boutiques, craft stores and big department stores like Mitsukoshi. We grabbed a coffee at Starbucks (always a safe backup when more local and authentic options are not available) and went back to meet the guys for another day of sightseeing. We drove to the southern tip of the island and visited the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park with monuments dedicated to over 260000 military and civilian lives lost as a result of the Battle of Okinawa...

May 17, 2013 - Shuri Castle, Heiwa-dori Market, Tsuboya & Ryukyu Mura

First of all, throwing my retractable umbrella into my duffel bag at the last minute was probably the best thing I could have done! It is monsoon season and my little umbrella served me well today! We would be going sightseeing with 4 of Dan's students from home in the next couple of days (Rashid, Dan T., Jerry and Panos). We had breakfast at the hotel and I really liked the rice/pickled turnips/grilled fish/miso soup combo! I would definitely try to have that at home in the future! We then took the Monorail to Shuri Castle. It was pouring...

May 16, 2013 - Arrived in Naha, Okinawa

I got on the shuttle before dawn on May 15 to catch the flight from SeaTac to LAX. Because I worked the late shift the day before and I could never go straight to bed when I got home, I ended up staying up all night watching TV instead of sleeping for just a couple of hours and risking oversleeping. By the time I got on the flight at 7 a.m., I was so tired and sleepy that I passed out before the flight even took off! That leg of the trip was pretty much a blur and I was still a bit in a daze when I got to LAX. After getting my regular dose...

May 11, 2012 - Finding Nemo (and Dory too)

I woke this morning determined not to let my day be ruined by Akemi's insistence on coming snorkeling. The easiest way to do this was by simply ignoring her. After all, it's not like I invited her to join me. Fortunately there were some divers along who I actually enjoyed talking to. The situation became even more ridiculous when it came out that crazy Akemi couldn't swim. One of the dive masters had to tow her along holding onto a float. Needless to say, I had no problem loosing her once I got in the water. We went to three sites around...

May 10, 2012 - International Freak Magnet

Before I left America I had booked a tour of Southern Okinawa online. I knew it was only in Japanese but that they lend you a audio player with explinations in English. To me this seemed ideal since I find it tiring trying to act interested in everything tour guides have to say. I figured as long as I knew what time to be on the bus I could enjoy the sights in anti-social splendor. What I didn't count on was the middle aged Japanese woman who decided it was her duty not only to explain everything but to become my best friend as well. She...

May 9, 2012 - Japan, American Style

I woke up refreshed and ready to explore. After an overpriced hotel breakfast I headed across the street to the handy dandy Naha Monorail. It was just a few stops to the start of Kokusai Dori (International Street). I checked out the sort of tired old Mitsukoshi Dept Store and some tacky t-shirt shops before heading to the Makishi Market. It was all you can expect of an exotic foreign market, creepy dead things and lots of crowds. I was particularly taken with the cryovac pig faces and rainbow colored fish for sale. The only thing that...

Nov 3, 2008 - Okinawa

Okinawa, Sunday Nov. 2, 2008 8:30 AM We are still on our way to the island and it is, as usual, raining. We should arrive around 12:00 noon. In the mean time we are being subjected to fingerprinting, retinal scans, and thermal scans. We have provisional landing cards and exit permits. This is the most intense exit procedures I have ever encountered. The three of us have all been here before: Mom and I lived here in the early 60’s for 3 years and Stephen flew out of here during Vietnam. It will be interesting to see how it has changed but...

Oct 22, 2007 - At the Beach

We woke to a great view of the East China Sea from our balcony – what a beautiful sight! The waters over the sandy bottom were incredible shades of turquoise with the areas with coral a darker "marine" blue. It was a perfect day and Mother and I had lovely breakfast in the restaurant downstairs overlooking the sea. They offered a very broad array of things both eastern and western and good service even though it was a buffet. We had some fruits, specially cooked omelets, sausage and toast, freshly-squeezed orange juice (that you squeezed...

Dec 5, 2006 - the last 4 days in Okinawa

My bro Trev has quite a wicked place to live. Okinawa life is relaxed but on top of things. I spent time at the aquarium, a place called Pineapple Park where we sampled pineapple products till we sweat it out, great Japanese food, pizza at a place called pizza in the sky (a la american wording), curry, spent a day at Trev's school (I became a celebrity!), went to his first place to live in Japan Ie-Jima, a tiny island of 5000. Great place. And I got a little sick so today I'm just relaxin, catching up on this kind of thing. Be home in a...