Okinawa Part 1: Castle and garden on Naha

After spending most of my time on the Goto islands and in Nagasaki-ken i really, really wanted to get out and explore more of Japan this year.  Poof!  My wish was granted and my first big "seeing Japan" trip was fantastic!  I got to explore the many fabulous island of Okinawa with some great friends and just enjoy the leisure of travel. 

We headed for the islands on a Saturday morning and traveled most of the day; Fukue (my neighboring island, which HAS an airport!) to Fukuoka, and Fukuoka to Naha on Okinawa island.  We stayed the evening in Naha at this fantastic little hostel and spent the next day exploring the main island and enjoying the slow life of another island. 

Our first big sight seeing adventure was the Shuri castle ruins and former Ryukyu islands emperors home.  These grounds were very spread out and contained many old buildings and relics which helped us visitors to take a peek into what life might have been like back then.  This woman (yes, we think this is a woman after much debate though) was exhibiting a traditional Okinawan folk dance for the crowd of tourists.  It is quite possibly the s  l  o  w  e  s  t dance i have ever witnessed.  Painful and beautiful at the same time and she was accompanied by traditional shamisen players.  A nice peek into the past.

The castle itself was home to 10 or so emperors of the Okinawan islands, which were back then their own little entity and not technically part of Japan.  So while these people are proud Japanese people, their history is rich and separate from those of mainland people. Red was prevelent in the decor and since then has kind of taken on a regal quality in my mind.  Everything at this site was painted and draped in red.

This is the outside of the main house of the emperor.  The area where these folks are standing is where armies used to gather to get orders from the emperor himself. 

Living quarters and spaces where the emperor would recieve guests. 

we took the usual route, so as to not upset all of the castle guides who stood watching people file through.  this was a tight operation and something like 100,000 people come through this castle each year.  pretty awesome and pretty over the top.

the white girl is with me! surprise!

this is the emperor's throne.  Quite ornate seating and nice and glossy, just like the Japanese people like things!

Kanji above the throne.  Im really sorry, I dont know what this says.  Make something up that sounds good to you!

this is a model built to show what the area once looked like when armies gathered in the main courtyard.  (picture of the outside of the building above)

So after our sojourn in the ancient life of royalty we decided to get outside for awhile and see what other tresures Naha held.  We found this garden (Japanese style, of course) and got lost in its pleasures for awhile.  It was the perfect was to end a zenful day and enjoy sunset.  The little windows here were so fantastic and the details everywhere were just stunning. 

i will just let the scenery do the talking for a minute now.  this was really such a lovely way to spend some time and a great way to connect with Japan and its natural beauty.  these are for mr. bird and my mom.  you were both there with me while I wandered through here.

I followed this little old man through the garden for quite awhile.  He stopped to talk to me about the mosquitos and to remind me that the garden would close in twenty minutes.  I think he liked me, and I know I liked him.

ohio again...

Ohio!

just had to capture the sun over the mountains to the east while i was walking to work this morning.  gotta say that i do love this place a little more each day. 

...and then there were two

so it turns out that there was possibly a nest near the school of these little ones, because my colleague (kariminie sensei) caught another one while we were out watching sports day practice on the baseball field.  he surprised me with it when we came in for a quick water/air conditioning break.  too cool.  kariminie sensei is one of my favorites.  he is also my neighbor and reminds me quite a bit of my father, and i have told him this, so he likes to call me his daughter and takes great care now to see that i am well and happy.  he was all for me taking these two back into the wild.  he gets it and i like him.

by the way, these two are roaming free in the mountains of naru as we speak.  just another day in japan.

always interesting

this is my new friend.  his/her japanese name is yamakagashi.  i have no idea what this means, but something about living in the mountains for sure.  it was roaming around in the hallway near the bathrooms but still inside so it caused quite a stir.  i heard a scream outside and then most of the staff went running out to see what it was.  i came when i realized that they were all inspecting something.  this snake was that something and the poor thing was trapped between a footlocker and a wall.  with help from a few teachers who werent afraid of it we got it into this PET bottle and now it is sitting on my desk awaiting its return to the wild after school.  we will take a bike ride to the other side of the island at miyanamori park and i'll let it be on its way, but out of the way of people who are eager to kill it.  this is a baby and it is a poisonous snake, so i see why they are eager to be rid of it from the school area, but it has a reason for being here just as we do, so i want to let it get back to whatever it should be doing.

you just never know what surprises are going to arise during your days on this island.  it seems that one must always be ready for anything that could happen.  it is times like this that i wonder what the people on the mainland would do in this sort of situation, or rather, if something like this would ever happen to them at all?

im so glad to be here with this snake on my desk bringing all of the teachers in the building by to see it when it is crawling up the sides of the bottle. 

on my way to okinawa this weekend for a week of vacation.  the weather report at this minute is looking like we may be having a typhoon while we are there.  this could be very interesting and proves to be an adventure for sure.  photos and stories to follow.

hope all of you are living and dreaming happily and in good health.

beth

simple is best

i have a new favorite bike route that i have been taking for the last few nights.  its getting dark here now fairly early, around 7:30, which is just about the time that i usually head out for my ride. 

the way is easy enough, and just in case you ever make it here i will let you in on how to find heaven on a bicycle here:

take the main road out to the west side of the island.  locate the big dipper above the mountains and follow it until it disappears behind them.  turn around.  follow the sea wall and the lights reflecting in water below back to the place where the main road splits to the back road.  you're home.

with so much else to make life crazy i am so grateful for moments of simplicity which make perfect sense.  moments that force me to relax and enjoy the stillness that life can bring when we dare to breath deep and listen for it.

namaste friends

horse head

i think that i may have mentioned in a previous post at some point the way in which japanese people can be kind of, well, rude.  except it isnt rude at all, and they certainly dont see it as such, but it is just for them stating the obvious i guess.  i am still getting used to this and upon being the recipient of this honesty it still surprises me and makes me laugh every time. 

it happened again about five minutes ago.

tanaka-san came into the staff room and sang my name out, as only she does "bess-chan! o-bento!".  this means that she wants me to come to the office and order my lunch.  i grabbed a 500 yen coin from my desk and followed her into the office.  this was our first meeting of the day and so naturaly she checked out my attire for the day and asked me how i was feeling.  fine fine fine, all was good i answered as i scribbled my best kanji on the paper and ordered my bento.  i looked up at her and smiled and all of a sudden she said "horse head" to me and motioned to my head.  i thought about it for a second and then realized that she was referring to my hair, which is piled up on top of my head with excessive heighth today.  no, i didnt do this on purpose, and if you know me you know that i never really give my hair-do for the day much thought or effort, in fact todays hair-do was done as i was walking to the bathroom to brush my teeth i think.  i didnt use the mirror or redo it after checking　it out.  it was out of my face and out of my way, whatever.  she said it again and this time i laughed and tried to explain that i wasnt going for the horse head look but just didnt care.  she seemed to like it and so i smiled and tried to accept this strangness as a compliment of sorts.  a good laugh if nothing else, right?

this is kind of the way here.  i have had more people point out red eyes from allergies and such, bags under my eyes after restless nights of no or little sleep, my tan arms (GASP!!!!) and other minor physical things about me which seem out of sorts to them without even considering it would be rude to mention to me as it would be back home.  can you imagine walking up to your ONLY foreign co-worker and saying to them "wow look at how dark the circles under your eyes are!" or "you have a horse head today!".  seriously cracks me up and i dont even know how to respond except to laugh now.  just their way.

**as a side note here, i will mention upon having recently returned from the US and experiencing culture shock there, that japanese people on the whole are VERY polite when it comes to daily everythings, MUCH more so than anywhere i have ever been in the states.  their politeness and consideration for everyone here is ingrained in them and has been and remains a core of their culture here for centuries.  how on earth did these little "rude" comments slip by?  i have no idea, but perhaps that is what makes them even funnier to me now. 

horse head.  i will laugh about this one awhile. 

ohio gozimasu!

this is the friendly little guy who brittney and i woke up to waiting right outside her apartment for us on sunday morning.  i accidentaly walked through its web but it was okay i promise!  about the size of my palm and so beautiful.  had to share it with you all, (wink wink mama mel!)

and say good morning!