While in my hotel here in okinawa I have been swamped by news papers and magazine articles with different restaurants and places to eat. When I first arrived I decided to stay with the safe restaurants that I know; like Burger King, Mcdonalds,Pizza Hut, Kentucky fried chicken and the list offast food resteraunts in Japan can go on... Due to my fear of eating raw fish I must of ate Japanese Mcdonalds for a month. Japanese Mcdonalds is better than their American big brother but after all of those burgers I was in the mood for something new and refreshing. I decided to make a slow progression into the Japanese cuisine. The Japanese have a great semi fast food restaurant called mos burger. I think MOS burger bows away any American fast food restaurant. The japanese service is excellent and the japanese semi fast food style is refreshing. After about a week transition I decided to open one of the news papers in my hotel. I decided to go to a place called an Izakaya. An Izakaya is a place to drink and they offer a splendid array of dishes from chicken, fish, all sorts of vegetables. They all served to your table by a japanese waitress on these little dishes. Izakayas are probably the most popular restaurant in japan. I heard that in mainland they have begun to theme these restaurants. One restaurant uses Manga characters as servers one of the characters is dressed like a Japanese School Girl, pretty odd I know. Anyhow, from the news paper I decided to visit this restaurant that was shaped like a huge okinawa sake barrel. What a place....! Out of all the japanese restaurants that I have ate so far, this one was originally Japanese and delicious. They even had a real japanese sword hanging in the bathroom. There are a lot of fake japanese swords out there so I was surprised to find out that it was an authentic katana japanese sword. This place was h-just great!!! As I visit new restaurants during my visits to okinawa I will let you know about my good and bad experiences. What have your Japanese dining experiences been like?     

Okinawa Japan

Okinawa is one of the most beautiful places in all of Japan. The best part is all the japan pictures you can create by being in Okinawa, like this set of festival images from the Naha Matsuri, Okinawa Japan. This photo essay is a small image compilation of two days of matsuri on Okinawa.

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Naha Festival

Located at the northernmost tip of Okinawa Honto, Hedo Point marks the confluence of the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea. The surrounding waters are known among the dive community for containing some of the most breathtaking seascapes in the prefecture.

The northern portion of Okinawa Honto is collectively known as Yanbaru and consists mostly of thick forests and jungles. While civilization may not be the region's main feature, the area is particularly important for the amount of diverse flora and fauna that thrive in the harsh, intertwining expanses of vegetation.

Recognized as one of a dozen World Heritage Sites on Okinawa, Nakijin has a storied past that dates back to the 13th century. During the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Nakijin served as the primary castle of the Hokuzan, the northernmost portion of the kingdom.

Before World War II, beer held little prominence among Okinawans, who preferred their native spirit of awamori. But with the flood of American service members and government officials during Occupation, a new market emerged for beer. Founded in 1957, Orion Brewery makes their select pilsner-style brew using hops imported from Germany and the Czech Republic.

One of the three largest aquariums in the world, Churaumi is home to dozens of varieties of fish, sharks, and manta rays. It's also one of the few aquariums in the world that has successfully housed whale sharks in captivity, and scientists at the park lead the way in research on coral bleaching and whale shark mating.

In January and February of each year, eyes across Japan turn to Nago to eagerly await the country's first cherry blossoms. The city's Central Park, near Nago Castle ruins, host an annual Cherry Blossom Festival, traditionally observed as the first hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, of the year.

Cutting across the heart of the dense forests and jungles of Yanbaru is the Hiji River, which plummets several meters to produce Okinawa's largest and most spectacular waterfall. Though cliff jumping is prohibited for SOFA status personnel, there's nothing stopping visitors from cooling off from the 1.5-kilometer hike in the refreshing pool below.

This strip-shaped Tokashiki Island is located in the east of the Kerama Islands, 60 minutes ferry ride from Naha, and populated with approximately 700 villagers. Most of its area is hilly, but the sea with fully developed coral reefs is crystal clear and worthy to be called the "paradise for divers". Both of the two main resort beaches, Tokashiku and Aharen Beaches overlook white beachesof coral sands and emerald green ocean.

Early History

Archeological evidence gleaned from illustrated ceramics fragments suggests that dance has been a part of daily life for thousands of years. Many early dances, such as those of Native Americans, derived from ceremonial and ritualistic purposes. Ancient Egyptian and Indian dances often had religious purposes, while those of ancient Greece were more celebratory in nature. While Okinawa has several folk dances related to religious ceremonies, it developed its classical dances in a not-so-traditional way.

Already an established entrepôt by the time the Ryukyu Kingdom unified in 1429, Okinawa enjoyed trade with many nations, including China, Japan, Vietnam, Siam, and Java. With the influx of luxurious trade goods came entourages of visiting economic and diplomatic dignitaries that often stayed for months at a time and required constant attention and entertainment. Consequently, the Ryukyu court frequently held elaborate banquets involving fine foods and staged performances of ukwanshin (crown ship dances) and kumiudui (classical plays). For the purposes of the latter, the court appointed dance magistrates, or odori bugyo. The odori bugyo drew on the songs and dances used by locals during religious festivals and combined them with the cultural influences of China and Japan, thereby creating a terpsichorean art form that was distinctly Okinawan.

Classical Okinawan Dances

Among the classical Okinawan dances are men’s dances, women’s dances, boy’s dances, and elderly people’s dances. Each of these dances had highly choreographed routines and accompaniment from musicians playing the sanshin (stringed, plucked instrument), koto (zither), fue (flute), taiko (drum), and Chinese fiddle.

Men’s dances, or nisai odori, are often characterized by dancers’ attire—a white headband (shiru saji) and a solid black kimono worn hiked up with black and white leggings. These dances had a vigorously masculine nature and frequently incorporated karate movements.

Boy’s dances, or wakashu odori, were often performed by boys about fifteen years old, just before their coming of age ceremony. Dancers wore bright red kimono and made flowing, yet still masculine, movements. Unfortunately, when Ryukyuan culture was forced to assimilate into the Japanese culture, the coming of age ceremony was done away with, and so the wakashu odori also disappeared. Today, only a few boy’s dances—such as kutibushi and binuchibushi—survive.

Elderly people’s dances, or rojin odori, were usually the first dances performed at the ukwanshin. Intended to represent ancestors dancing, the rojin odori were also performed to bring good wishes to guests.

Women’s dances, or onna odori, were performed by males dressed in bright bingata kimono and red tabi socks. Onna odori usually depicted a reserved young woman expressing her passionate love for a man. Among the more famous onna odori are amakawa, nufwa bushi, and tsikuten.

From Classical to Folk

Following 1868 Meiji Restoration and consequential disintegration of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the court-sponsored dancers lacked financial support and thus took their talents to new commercial theaters popping up in Naha. In these theaters, commoners were able to see the classical dances, which had previously only been performed for royalty and high-ranking diplomats. However, performances of the refined, precise movements of the classical dances evoked less than notable responses from the commoners. The dancers responded by developing zo odori, or popular dances. Zo odori reflected the daily activities of farmers, fishermen, and laborers in the community. The restrained and stylized movements of classical dances were thrown out, and dancers adopted vibrant and lively movements the conveyed a sense of freedom and happiness. These folk dances, or minzoku buyo, were performed at religious ceremonies and rituals that have been passed down since ancient times. Such dances included eisa and shishimai. To see classical Okinawan dances, visit the Urashima Dinner Theater.

Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan, consists of 57 islands which include the Miyako and Yaeyama groups, with the main island of Okinawa as the center. The only prefecture in Japan that is truly subtropical, Okinawa is a southern paradise where colorful flowers of the subtropics bloom the year-round. The sea that surrounds these islands has an emerald-green sheen, and the resplendent coral reefs are among the world's finest. These natural attractions have given rise to world-class beach resorts that cater to sun-loving vacationers.

Okinawa was once a kingdom of its own called the "Ryukyu" kingdom. During this regal period, the island thrived as a trading hub through active interrelations with neighbor nations. Okinawa is now a focus of attention with the restored of Shurijyo Castle reviving the glorious history of the Ryukyu Kingdom.(Scheduled flight service is available between Naha and Tokyo [ in 2 hrs. 30 min ], Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and other major Japanese cities. Ferry service is also available.)

Okinawa's Shuri Castle was the residence of the Ryukyu royal family for about 450 years, since the early 15th century, and shone out as a focus for a brilliant dynastic culture. The Seiden (Shuri Castle), above all, is its most important structure, as the site where politics and ceremonies were enacted with the King in attendance. Completely restored in November 1992, the Seiden stands imposinglyon a hill that commands a panoramic view of Naha City and East China Sea.

Iriomote Island of approximately 130Km in size, located in the west of Ishigaki Island, is the second largest island in this prefecture after Okinawa's main land. The most part of the island is mountainius area, over 90% of which is coverd with tropical and subtropical virgin forest, most of which is untouched jungle. The climate of Iriomote is much closer to tropical than subtropical. Overwhelmingrainfall creates tropical rain forest climate, and it has been said to be the last land of mystery in Japan, where world-class rare species of animals such as the "Iriomote lynx", "Serpent eagle", and "Semaruhakogame (turtle)" live even today. Just like the land, the sea around Iriomote Island has the underwater jungle of coral reefs, offering numerous diving spots that are second to none.

Okinawan dance can be divided into three types: classical dance, folk dance, and ethnic dance. Classical dance entered Okinawa from China during a period of flourishing trade. These types of dance were used to entertain Sapposi (Chinese diplomats), and they were even perfomed before the king. In contrast with the cheerful folk and ethnic dances performed by the common people, classical dance wasvery conservative.

Eisa

This traditional form of Okinawan folk entertainment is played throughout the island in Bon Festival dancing from July 13 to 15 according to the lunar calendar.

When you think of quintessential Japan, you’re likely to think of the charms of Kyoto, with its many tea houses, kimono-clad geiko, elegant shrines, and narrow alleys. On Okinawa, Kyoto’s cultural counterpart is Shuri, the former seat of the royal family of the Ryukyus.

While Kyoto may have been spared from bombing by Allied generals during World War II due to its cultural importance, Shuri was given no such bye. The area was (and is) located on an impressive hilltop, and this, combined with the fact that Japanese forces had turned the castle’s buildings into a barracks and constructed an immense network of tunnels and caves underneath them, made the area a prime target for Allied bombers. Most of Shuri was leveled during the Battle of Okinawa, and it wasn’t until years after the war that many of the buildings of cultural importance were restored.

But, despite the death and destruction, the heart of Shuri never died. Sustained by a hearty resident community, the area rose like a phoenix from the ashes to rebuild businesses such as Arakaki Kashiten (a family bakery that has made chinsko (Okinawa cookies) for centuries) and tile-roofed homes such as those seen along many of the neighborhood’s back alleys. If you look for it, present-day Shuri still has much of its old world charm. And while tourists may think that charm lies exclusively in the Seiden’s vermillion pillars, the gold leaf on the Shureimon, or with the tourist photo ladies treading softly underneath the weight of hanagasa and bingata kimono, locals know it lies with the hand constructed shisa, the narrow streets decorated with pots of flowers, and the neighborhood grocery stores where locals come to gossip.

Bingata is fabric with designs or patterns dyed in a typical Okinawan manner. The techniques involved in the dyeing processes are said to have been developed during the 15th century. The dyeing is performed in one of two ways: Katatsuke or Noribiki. Katatsuke means dyeing by the means of pattern pieces and Noribiki by the means of paste tubes. There are also two different colorations: vivid colorsand the indigo blue. Pigments and vegetable dye are used and applied to such material as cotton, silk or textiles woven from Japanese banana plant fibers to make the colorful Bingata. The dyeing used for the indigo blue bingata, however, is performed through a process called immersion.

Raw material: Silk, hemp cloth, cotton or textiles woven from Japanese banana plants' fibers

Locations of the principal manufacturers: Naha City, Ginowan City, Urasoe City, Itoman City, Tomigusuku-son, Tamagusuku-son

Items manufactured: Clothing materials, Kimono belts, decorative cloths

Okinawan lacquerware originates from the later part of the 14th century. The wood used is mostly from Deigo, flower-bearing trees commonly seen throughout Okinawa, and Egono-ki. Natural lacquer is used to refine the ware in the finishing processes, where the use of the bright red color is unmatched. The surface of the lacquerware can then be decorated in many different ways: gilded designs or picturesbrocaded. Decoration is also made by gold leaf, gold foil and by using shells.

Raw material: Natural lacquer, woods from such trees or plants as Deigo, Egono-ki, Japanese bead trees, Inumaki, Gajumaru and Japanese cedars

Location of the principal manufacturers: Naha City, Urasoe City, Itoman City, Okinawa City, Nakagusuku-son, Tomigusuku-son, Haebaru-cho

Items manufactured: Trays, bowls, tea caddies, nest of boxes and others

In 1682 three potteries, Chibana Wakuta and Takara-guchi, got together and set up a unified pottery at a place called Tsuboya. Items produced from the kilns here are called Tsuboya-yaki. Tsuboya-yaki are clasified largely into two groups, Arayachi and Jo-yachi. Arayachi denotes those potteries not glazed and large in size, while the latter includes those glazed having painted designs of Okinawa.

The raw material: Shimajiri clay, Kise clay, Kogachi clay, Ishikawa clay, Maeganeku clay, Yamada clay, Kina clay and Afuso clay

Locations of the principal potteries: Naha City, Onna-son, Yomitan-son

Items produced: Utensils for food and drink, bottles, jars, pots,ornamental lion statues

When tourists flock to Okinawa’s southern Yaeyama Islands during the summer, one of the most popular and coveted souvenirs they can pick up is a bottle of hoshizuna—literally, star sand. Small vials and bottles packed with star-shaped grains backed by garishly colored sand can be purchased from omiyage vendors on Ishigaki and Iriomote Islands, while the more adventurous can collecttheir own on a secluded beach on nearby Taketomi. Of course, the tiny treasures are misnomers, and each “grain” of sand isn’t really sand at all. Instead, these spherical bodies with spike-like protrusions are actually the exoskeletons of foraminifers—marine protozoa that once lived on the ocean floor.

A common folktale on Taketomi Island asserts that long ago, the North Star and the Southern Cross decided to bring life to Earth. When she felt prepared for birthing, the Southern Cross asked God where she should have her babies. Surveying the Earth below him, God pointed to tiny Taketomi-jima and told her to go to the south side of Taketomi, where the current was warm and slow. Southern Cross descended upon the island and gave birth many times in the nearby waters.

However, the seven dragon god of the sea soon became angry because Southern Cross did not consult with him or as his permission before giving birth in his ocean. Filled with wrath, he called upon a giant serpent to kill all of the babies. The giant snake did as he was told, and swallowed all the tiny star babies and spat their bodies back into the ocean. One by one, they washed up on the shores of Taketomi and transformed into star-shaped grains of sand.

In a nearby village on the island lived a kind goddess, who, when she found the dead babies, gathered them up. She placed them in her incense burner, and when the villagers came to worship her during a festival, the particles turned to smoke and billowed into the sky and the waiting arms of the Southern Cross. Their tiny bodies can be seen around her in the sky.

To this day, when the annual festival is held at Taketomi’s southern beach, the villagers stoke their incense burners with star sand.

Want a bit of star sand but can’t make it to Yaeyama? Several omiyage stores on Kokusai hawk vials of hoshizuna for as little as ¥100.