As mentioned in my last post, eisa is an important aspect of Okinawan culture. So much so that it has its own festival, the 10,000 Eisa Dancers Parade. The parade took place in the city of Naha, and is less of a full parade and more of a rotating show. Eisa groups from all over […]
Right after my return from the US, our village of Onna was hosting its annual summer festival (matsuri). This festival brings with it a whole slew of activities, performances, and cuisines, culminating into a fireworks show. Most villages and towns large enough to organize a festival do so during the summer, as I have often […]
As I mentioned in December, I have begun taking some photos with my father’s Canon A1 film camera. The experience has taught me to savor every photo and to have patience with drafting each photograph as a memory, instead of taking pictures blindly and sorting them afterwards. A little more thought before the shot leads […]
The dawn of the new year brought with it some exploration. Close to Cape Manza, a nearby lookout point, I followed a rocky road down to another cliff side closer to the water. The balance of clouds and sun in the sky illuminated the jagged rocks like an otherworldly landscape, an effect I tried to […]
Okinawa is known for having beautiful scenic vista along its many capes, chief of which is Cape Hedo, the northern most point of the island. Although it is almost a 2 hour drive from my home, the parking lot there provided a convenient base to set up my camera for sunset and night time photography. […]
Some of the greatest sights in our lives can come from just setting out your front door at the right time. Few sights can command as much presence as the sun and moon, which both decided to illuminate Okinawa in very special ways recently. As I am living on the west side of the island, […]
After a long busy summer, I finally submitted my thesis proposal, setting the next phase of my thesis in motion. With the proposal submitted, I need only to await my oral exam to officially start my PhD research. Until that time, I decided to take things easy and enjoy myself, embarking on a hike up […]
Just like last year, I made my brief trip home in May to see my family and get back in touch with my American lifestyle. Having been away from home for over a year, the transition was jarring to say the least. Among all the aspects of home I missed, one of the biggest was […]
As many of my solo adventures begin, I heard back in the fall through Reddit that a One Piece themed 5k race was being held in Okinawa. Of course none of my friends seemed interested, so I signed up alone and left it at that. One week before the race I was reminded of this […]
Having finally found time on a weekend, my friends and I decided to return to the Ocean Expo Park to visit the Churami Aquarium we were unable to visit during the fireworks trip. The aquarium is world famous for having the largest single aquarium window in the world, connected to a tank holding 3 whale […]