“Engrish” grammatical massacres like the above make me happy. I love seeing the mistakes that native Japanese speakers make in English, since it shows how they are thinking and the vast differences between the two languages and cultures. The referenced “button” was on a bus; you are supposed to push it to tell the driver that you want to get off at the next stop.
I never bother with the button, though. When I get on the bus, or rather “When Get On,” I just tell the driver where I am going, or rather “When Get Off,” and make sure he knows I have NO CLUE. Then I ask him to tell me exactly when to get off.
Usually the driver looks at me like I am an idiot and rolls his eye at the stupid foreigner, but I don’t care. I’d rather be the idiot that is asking for help while sounding like Tarzan than the idiot that is still on the bus twenty minutes after we have passed my destination. To be fair, I don’t sound like Tarzan anymore, but it remains abundantly obvious that I need as much help as I can get.
Usually the driver looks at me like I am an idiot and rolls his eye at the stupid foreigner, but I don’t care. I’d rather be the idiot that is asking for help while sounding like Tarzan than the idiot that is still on the bus twenty minutes after we have passed my destination. To be fair, I don’t sound like Tarzan anymore, but it remains abundantly obvious that I need as much help as I can get.
Super Typhoon Neoguri
We just SuperTyphoon Neoguri hit Okinawa on Tuesday, July 8th. We braved howling wind, torrential rain and... oh wait, actually, we actually just sat in our houses and hoped nothing would happen to us. Which was just fine with me, if a bit boring. Maybe a lot boring.
A big THANK YOU goes out to the emergency personnel who DID out there and save peoples' lives, though. The sirens were frequent amid the wind and rain noise.
Enjoy this video of the wind whipping around some grass and trees. And yes, the grass is on a building's roof...
A big THANK YOU goes out to the emergency personnel who DID out there and save peoples' lives, though. The sirens were frequent amid the wind and rain noise.
Enjoy this video of the wind whipping around some grass and trees. And yes, the grass is on a building's roof...
... and this audio of the wind whistling fiercely.
Okinawa no Minami (Southern Okinawa Island, 沖縄島の南)
I have oodles of pretty pictures to show off, and some fun stories. I went on a driving tour of Southern Okinawa Island this weekend with the same two friends as my previous Northern Okinawa tour. The three stooges were, therefore, an American, a Russian and a Japanese person. Sounds like the start of a bad joke, no?
On to our destinations...
On to our destinations...
Okinawa's Most Holy Sacred Ground (Seifa Utaki, 斎場御嶽)
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We first visited Seifa Utaki, Okinawa’s most sacred holy ground, and an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is technically still in use, but I didn’t see any priestesses or other folks praying, and I saw several thousand tourists. I suspect that the “still in use” might be technically true bit a bit of an exaggeration.
It cost a mere ¥200 ($2) to get in, and they clearly use this cash to keep the place up, as it was immaculate. They had sacred pots set under stalactites to gather the dripping water. The huge triangular entrance seen in the pictures is the entrance to one of the major prayer sites, and is likely to become a female-only prayer area sometime in 2015.
It cost a mere ¥200 ($2) to get in, and they clearly use this cash to keep the place up, as it was immaculate. They had sacred pots set under stalactites to gather the dripping water. The huge triangular entrance seen in the pictures is the entrance to one of the major prayer sites, and is likely to become a female-only prayer area sometime in 2015.
Persimmon River (Kakinohana, 柿花)
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Okinawa has little in the way of rivers, so the few that do exist, like this one, are ridiculously popular. The natural area around the river was beautiful, though definitely sculpted into a place for humans to play. The area with the spout-like waterfall was great fun to play in, though we found out as we were leaving that it is “だめです” (off limits). Good luck keeping people out of that, especially the little kids. Interestingly, the kanji for “waterfall” 「滝」is almost identical to that for “dragon” 「竜」The only difference is that “waterfall” has “water” added it. Therefore, the kanji for “waterfall” represents “water dragon.” I love the symbolism and mythology behind the characters.
Tamaki Castle Trace (Tamagusukujiuseki, 玉城)
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After the river, we hit up “ye olde broken down castle,” where I got to jump around on rocks and crumbled walls and play with insects. I had great fun! There is a giant heart-shaped hole in the wall, so the castle is not particularly defensible. Then again, there’s nothing worth defending at this point. The hole would be perfect for couple photos, though.
When wandering happily from shrine to wall to tree to fence to rock to crag, I learned the word for butterfly (chocho, 蝶々) and cricket (semi, 蝉). I got some wicked-close pictures of a cricket. It was bittersweet, though, as we figured out afterward that the cricket had died, and somehow still was holding on to the branch.
When wandering happily from shrine to wall to tree to fence to rock to crag, I learned the word for butterfly (chocho, 蝶々) and cricket (semi, 蝉). I got some wicked-close pictures of a cricket. It was bittersweet, though, as we figured out afterward that the cricket had died, and somehow still was holding on to the branch.
Vegetarica (ヴェジェタリカ)
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My Japanese friend looked up a vegetarian restaurant in advance this time, after she found out last time that both my Russian friend and I prefer vegetarian fare, and my friend is allergic to dairy. We are a hard-to-feed pair in Okinawa. I was really pumped about going to a place called “delicious vegetables,” in Spanish no less.
However, we quickly became disillusioned. The menu had three dishes available: chicken, beef and pork. And the salad was lettuce with chicken. All three dishes had cream sauce. When we asked about vegetarian options, they looked at us like we were stupid. When we asked about vegetables, they again looked at us like we were stupid.
Mind = blown. We spent the entire time making fun of them for their name as compared to the reality. In all fairness, the food was excellent once we convinced them that it is actually possible to make a sauce without cream, and that we would eat it, and also caved and said we would eat the chicken when they couldn’t figure out how to make a salad without it.
However, we quickly became disillusioned. The menu had three dishes available: chicken, beef and pork. And the salad was lettuce with chicken. All three dishes had cream sauce. When we asked about vegetarian options, they looked at us like we were stupid. When we asked about vegetables, they again looked at us like we were stupid.
Mind = blown. We spent the entire time making fun of them for their name as compared to the reality. In all fairness, the food was excellent once we convinced them that it is actually possible to make a sauce without cream, and that we would eat it, and also caved and said we would eat the chicken when they couldn’t figure out how to make a salad without it.
Okinawan Peace Monument (Heiwa No Oka, 平和の丘)
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Joking will now be left completely aside. Seriously. The Okinawan Peace Monument blew my mind in a remarkably uncomfortable way. In the park/area are stone tablets with the names of the 200,000+ people who died in World War Two in Okinawa... mostly by US soldiers.
Well over 100,000 noncombatants died, way more than the number of soldiers who were killed. I felt a vague sense of guilt the entire time I was there, as well as sadness. I knew that it was a healthy uncomfortable feeling, though, so I just sat with it and let it melt into my being.
My Japanese friend’s grandfather’s name is listed in the memorial, whereas my grandfather fought in Okinawa as a US soldier. I am glad I went, and had a chance to experience it. I feel cleansed afterward, especially now that I am able to let go of the guilty feeling.
By the way, the Okinawans even listed all the americans who were killed on Okinawa. The stone tablets with the Americans’ names had American flags in front of them, as we visited just two days after July 4th. A humbling experience for sure, but sometimes you just have to get emotionally naked to grow.
Well over 100,000 noncombatants died, way more than the number of soldiers who were killed. I felt a vague sense of guilt the entire time I was there, as well as sadness. I knew that it was a healthy uncomfortable feeling, though, so I just sat with it and let it melt into my being.
My Japanese friend’s grandfather’s name is listed in the memorial, whereas my grandfather fought in Okinawa as a US soldier. I am glad I went, and had a chance to experience it. I feel cleansed afterward, especially now that I am able to let go of the guilty feeling.
By the way, the Okinawans even listed all the americans who were killed on Okinawa. The stone tablets with the Americans’ names had American flags in front of them, as we visited just two days after July 4th. A humbling experience for sure, but sometimes you just have to get emotionally naked to grow.
Glass Blower Shop (Garasu Kobo, ガラス工房)
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We got lost after the Peace Monument, and randomly found and visited the Okinawa Glass Blowers shop. The shop was humongous, and had twenty or so people working on creating the glass sculptures and cups and jewelry and such. They were giving tours and allowing people to work on the glass, but it was 90 degrees outside, and about 1200 degrees inside that area, so we demurred. Actually I didn’t make the number 1200 up, that’s the temperature in Celsius, which is over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.
We wandered around the gorgeous store for quite a while. They had spectacular colors and patterns with intricate designs all over the place, as well as beautiful but practical glass cups, plates and jewelry. See pictures and video!
We wandered around the gorgeous store for quite a while. They had spectacular colors and patterns with intricate designs all over the place, as well as beautiful but practical glass cups, plates and jewelry. See pictures and video!
Cape Kyan (Kyan Misaki, 喜屋武岬)
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Afterward we got even more lost, so we just headed toward the ocean, since that’s where most of the interesting things are anyway. We arrived at the end of a dirt road, and were going to turn around, but then we realized that there was a path with an entrance stone. We decided to hop out and look around, and we went down the path. Within two minutes saw the most beautiful sparkling ocean I have seen in years. We were the only ones there, so we horsed around and took pictures and generally disported ourselves.
Nashiro Beach (名城ビーチ)
FAIL. We attempted to go to the huge and well-known Nashiro Beach, but failed because it was “closed due to construction.” How do you construct a beach?? It’s already there! Okay, okay, I do get it, they construct the human elements of the beach and such, but it was quite annoying, I must say.
So we found the next big beach down the waterfront, and were about to pay the $5 parking fee when the attendant mentioned that it was low tide, and the water was less than 50 centimeters (18 inches) deep. Uhh, that doesn’t sound like fun. Definitely not $5 parking-fee fun, so we moved on.
So we found the next big beach down the waterfront, and were about to pay the $5 parking fee when the attendant mentioned that it was low tide, and the water was less than 50 centimeters (18 inches) deep. Uhh, that doesn’t sound like fun. Definitely not $5 parking-fee fun, so we moved on.
J. A. Market (市)
Finally, we stopped at J. A. Market. Think ginormous farmer’s market, but inside, and with a few packaged things along the edges. You can buy huge goya and a bunch of fruits and veggies I didn’t recognize on the cheap. I bought some goya ($1), a huge cucumber-like thing I didn’t recognize but my friend said was delicious ($1), two liters of water ($1) and an apple ($1.50, which is cheap for Okinawa).
Oh, also, you can also have the pleasure of buying a gift box of four mangoes for ¥9000 ($90). Yep, you read that right, that’s $22.50 per mango. Granted, they’re large mangoes, but I never thought of putting mangoes in a gift box and charging ninety bucks!
After that we meandered home and split up, satisfied and happy after a great day trip.
Talk to you next week!
Sam
Oh, also, you can also have the pleasure of buying a gift box of four mangoes for ¥9000 ($90). Yep, you read that right, that’s $22.50 per mango. Granted, they’re large mangoes, but I never thought of putting mangoes in a gift box and charging ninety bucks!
After that we meandered home and split up, satisfied and happy after a great day trip.
Talk to you next week!
Sam
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