My aunt drives this car branded as "Naked". Do you think that name would fly in the U.S.? In the SOUTH? Never. I asked why it's named Naked: because the bolts to attach the car panels are visible on the outside, which you can see if you look closely at the panels.

It seems that most of the cars on the road in Okinawa are very small. In fact, we used two cars to bring my mother and me to and from the airport. We had 3 checked bags, only one was a beast, the other two were small to mid-size. I think there were fears of weighing down the cars too much with an additional 80-100 lbs. of luggage. Below is a photo of the car we rented, a Toyota bB. Boxy, quite nice, roomy.

Now that I'm home, I still have trouble remembering to use my left hand for the turn signal. In Japanese cars, the turn signal is on the right side of the steering wheel, which is on the right side of the car. I told my daughters, when the wipers go on and it's a sunny day, you know Mom thinks she's driving in Japan again.

the water store

This is where you buy your water. The lady in the blue apron will fill the bottle you bring in, a liter costs 20 yen. When we first arrived in Japan, my aunt brought us 4 liters and told us she got a deal: 20 yen per bottle. I asked my cousin why didn't they use the Brita or Pur system, since the water tasted about the same. She said that she didn't need as much water as a family, she goes through a 2 liter bottle a week. Every store and restaurant is so neat and tidy. The clerk wiped every bottle dry after filling and before giving it to the customer. Smile, make eye contact, bow, many many thank you's.

observations at the mall

If you always took your shoes off when you entered your home or someone else's home, wouldn't it stand to reason that you'd want some cool socks to wear? The Japanese have cornered the market on socks of every kind. 

How many candy and toy vending machines do you need?

There's a party in your pants when you wear these.

Okinawa marketplace

Here are some photos I took while in the Okinawa market, I would guess, a few miles of aisles like this to shop. I wouldn't doubt that you could get whatever you could dream of in this market.

Those banjo-looking instruments in the red cases to the left are samisen, a Japanese stringed instrument. My grandfather played for me often when I visited 32 years ago.

Food!

That fish fella on the left is what is left after they cut all the best parts of the fish out for sashimi. The head and back spine are then chopped and a fish broth is made. This fish stew was a favorite of my grandfather's, and my aunt ate it whenever it was available when we dined out. 

Presentation is everything. The darker fish were actually a bright blue, but because I'm such an amateur with this camera, I didn't take the photo at the right setting. When I passed this display though, it was eye catching!

This looks like wood and feels like wood, but it's actually dried fish fillets. Once dried, they are shaved, not unlike wood with a plane, the shavings are called bonito and are used to season broth.

This market has high end and low end. I thought this store sign was amazing.

Cute little purses. I'm always looking for ideas that I could possibly make myself.

day nine

We arrived home last night around 9pm. My mother updated her suitcase collection while in Japan, so that we'd have some space to bring back the extra loot we accumulated while in Okinawa. We left with 3 bags, came home with 4, plus an extra carry on. Going through the bags after getting home was like Christmas. My cousins sent gifts home to Katherine and Jordan, we had gifts for Bill, my Dad and the girls. Not to mention the Shisa and other Okinawan treasures that we brought back. My aunt gave me a set of rice bowls, beautifully decorated. She also gave us chopsticks and 4 wood soup bowls with lacquered red inside.


Flying to and from Asia makes for a long trip, we had a 4 hour layover in Tokyo. This is us, exhausted and taking a break in a little bar. We ate gyoza and I had beer, delicious beer and fried food. 

One of the few photos my mother took.

day eight

Today, I took it easy, left the lodge late and returned the rental car. Ended up at this nice little French cafe in the beach tourist district near Okinawa City called Onno. It was the first time I have had bread since I arrived, it was delicious, all of their baked goods were baked in a brick oven. Kumi took me there, she had her favorite dish, pasta. A true Japanese-Italian -- I took the liberty of sharing with her how wonderful spaghetti with meatballs is, and the subsequent meatball sub that you must have the next day. I realized that I am missing my usual diet of food in the U.S.

The rest of our day was spent shopping for things that I missed along the way. We ended up at this mall. a 4 or 5 story huge building with everything from groceries to fine clothing and novelty shops. (I will post photos later.) Now, I realize it seems stupid to shop at a mall when you're half-way around the world, only to go to a place seemingly similar to what you have at home. This mall was similar, but actually so different. Along the wall was a bank of a hundred little toy vending machines, like you see at our own malls, except there are so many to choose from! Also, the Japanese are really into socks, there are so many cool socks out there! I believe it's because their custom is to remove their shoes before they enter any home, and of course you want to see something nice on your feet when you remove your shoes, right? 

Well, this isn't much of a post, I'm sorry to say that it's time for me to go to sleep, early day tomorrow. Thanks for checking in while I've been away, I've really appreciated everyone's comments. I do plan to continue to share as I go through my photos. I'm thinking I'll have a flicker page or something with detailed captions -- don't hold me to it -- but I'll definitely share the observations I've made. 


Love you all!  Connie

Toilet in a convenient store bathroom.
Could it be said any better?

day seven

First of all: I'm ready to make the long trek home. I miss my family so so much!

Yesterday we went to an Okinawan market in Naha City, the place where my grandmother would shop. I was hopeful for a true taste of Okinawa here, sans tourism, but that's silly. 

What I've really wanted, like always when I travel is enjoying my take-along-hobby: seeing the architecture of the area. I learned that most of the buildings in Okinawa were destroyed by the war so there's really not a lot of "old" to see. There are several U.S. military bases throughout the island and the American way is pervasive. For instance, at the market I saw these shells of scallops and oysters with broiled cheese on top and this market was not next to a base. Cheese is not something that the Japanese EVER had in their diet. For those of you that really know me, you are more than aware of my dairy allergy (I'm sorry that I go on and on about it sometimes). Seeing those cheesy delights disturbed me, am I not in my birth country where everything available to eat should be perfect, even prescribed, for my body? Other cheesy sights: The Karaoke House served cheese pizza. I frowned. Am I jealous that I can't eat cheese and my cousins can? Yes, I am.

We went to the harbor in Naha for lunch today. We had soba noodle soup, fish soup and squid tempura, Aiko had a hunk of fish head (something left over from when they cut the sashimi). We sat at this teeny set of table and chairs that would fit Katherine and Jordan's 10-year-old bodies perfectly. Needless to say, my 6' self is quite gargantuan compared to the general population here. Not even the men are very tall, very few at least. Well, now that I think of it, Hiroke was tall and so were his 13 & 15 year old basketball playing sons. So there are exceptions. Anyway, the lunch was unfussy and delicious, the squid tempura… I'd have that any day over calamari. The squid meat was thick yet not rubbery like the ring calamari. Oshikata! (it was delicious!)

After lunch we drove to this Okinawan market place. It's like they enclosed several alley ways between lots of buildings in the city. It's a place that looks like it just grew and grew until you didn't know your way out unless you were there from the beginning. Lots of bargains, everything from souvenir t-shirt shops, Japanese pottery, food. My Aunt stopped at a little place and bought 2 small bottles filled with a refreshing "healthy drink". I learned it was a mixture of brown rice, white rice and a special Japanese dark brown sugar (it has a distinct flavor) all blended together to be a thick, tan, viscous liquid. The bottle looked like a small version of an old-style milk bottle, so the viscous drink came out easily, albeit very slow.

One store we walked by sold fabrics and accessories for kimono. Y25,000 for a roll of kimono fabric, that's about $337 for an approximately 20 foot long roll of fabric that is 14 inches wide. The fabric is beautifully designed and printed, for all of you color geeks out there like me, you would just want to have it in your possession, it wouldn't matter what you did with it because it's just so exquisite.

Aiko, Mother and I are driving the 60 minute ride back to Koza now. I packed my laptop so that I could type my experiences while on the road. We just passed through a toll booth and the female attendant was so polite as she took our ticket. Many of the service oriented jobs are filled by people in perfectly fitted, very clean looking, colorful uniforms -- and they usually have a hat or visor to go with. The woman took our ticket with both hands out like she was accepting a divine gift from us, while rattling a long line of gratitudes to us, in the most cheerful of voices, strong inflections of kindness and happiness combined. Most of the clerks of any store I have been to make a special point to notice you are in the store, they make eye contact, and if they don't say  irashe mase (ee-da-shay ma-say) which is "welcome", they tip their head down as they close their eyes. So polite.

My cousin Kumi and I are supposed to go out tomorrow for a while. She is very tired, and I don't blame her, we all are! She has done so much for us during our stay. She arranged a reasonable priced rental car for us, she has taken us so many places, drove to and from every where, even arranged the party that we had last night. My Aunt also has been so lovely, she left Nago, a city about an hour north of here for the week to stay with her daughter, Kumi, so that she could be closer to us for the week. And also, my Uncles, Aunts and many of our cousins have gifted us to no end.

Lastly:

day six

Yesterday we went to a museum in Naha City, the permanent collection held Lacquerware. Some of it dated back to 1600's. I was amazed at the shapes of things they made, one being a version of the modern day thermos. It was an octagonal shaped box, it had a 5" base and it gradually got wider at the top to about 10". It was made of wood and with a complicated handle and lid, and the entire thing was lacquered in red. Sitting beside the wooden box was a metal pot with a small spout and it was covered in a cozy made of padded muslin. No photography allowed in the museum, bummer. This was my favorite piece, next to the medicine carrier, which I won't even begin to describe, it was fairly complicated. 

The museum was situated next to City Hall. How many of you have seen a City Hall that has a "lion-dog" -- the Shisa -- as it's main feature of adornment? This building was huge!

Beginning. 

Middle. 

End.

One of my favorite things about being in Okinawa is the food. Even though I love Japanese food, the presentation is even BETTER! I'm convinced that the novelty of presentation makes it so much more enjoyable. So here's a photo of our lunch yesterday at this hip little restaurant in Naha. My Aunt Aiko chose this restaurant, and we met her three daughters there. The food arrived in these stacked hexagonal boxes with a lid and a small covered cup of miso soup. When the food arrived, each person nestled their hex-bowls together like honeycomb and began eating one of the 7 items contained in these boxes. There was okra lightly steamed (which I usually would pass on) it had a bright green color. Remember those little seeds that are perfect round balls inside of okra? Well these seeds were bright white and the okra was sliced at a diagonal. I was told the okra was picked very young, keeping it super tender. Two of the boxes were divided in thirds, the okra shared space with steamed pumpkin, the kind of pumpkin with the dark green rind, and then a salad. Another box had rice, cauliflower and eggplant. Now, let me tell you about this egg plant, I don't like egg plant and I never eat it in the U.S., it's just too slimy for me. This egg plant was different, it was tubular, cut down the middle and chopped in 1" sections and steamed. When I turned it over, it looked like a snake! Really, before the eggplant was steamed, they scored the outside of it diagonally both ways. It looked like a snake!!! Now there's two reasons why I wouldn't eat it, but you know what? I did eat it, I ate the okra and everything else. I'm in Japan and I want to experience all this stuff because I know it's vastly different from what I have ever known. And the eggplant and okra were okay, not amazing, but not at all like what I have experienced in the U.S. So, I'm glad that I tried it. 

After lunch my Mother wanted to visit some relatives since this is her home city. We drove for 15 minutes, stopped and visited for 10 minutes, got in the car and drove another 10 minutes, stopped and visited for another 15 minutes, got in the car again… you get the idea. We did this for about 5 places, and I was exhausted. Not only physically, but also mentally. Each stop meant that I had to remember the basic Japanese greetings, which I am sure I'm not saying right. I do say 'do mo ari-gato' (thank you) a lot. Hi, means yes, or okay. I say that a lot too. Anyway, it's a mental gymnastic adventure saying the right Japanese words at the right time, remembering to make eye contact, bow slightly, always smile. We went to my grandparents home after all the visiting, this is where we stayed during my last visit 32 years ago. My grandparents are deceased but my uncle now lives there. I took a short "eye/mind" rest on the tatami mat floor near the shrine. Much needed -- I knew I had to gear up for the evening party at the Karaoke House. 

So there was a party held in our honor at this Karaoke (Kah-dah-oh-ke) House. My cousin Hiroke (He-do-kee), about my age, has about 8 of these businesses. It's a big building with about 30 rooms. Each room has banquette seats along 3 of the walls, and several tables and banquette seats throughout the middle across from those tables. Then, of course, the big flat screen tv and these cool iPad looking things that you program the songs you want to sing to -- and don't forget the microphones. They are big and silver, definitely designed to give you the feel that you are there for a performance. My Uncle Naoshi sings beautifully and he took Karoake quite seriously. Most songs were old Okinawan songs that really brightened the hearts and faces of the older people there. A Beatles song made it on the list, a test from my cousins to see if I'd bite, but I regret to say that I did not have the mental stamina at that time of night to perform for everyone. 

Attending the party were my aunts, uncles and cousins (the Noha family) and my grandmother's sister's very large family, the Tokashiki family. Fortunately, I've been a Herrell for 19 years now, I'm used to this type of gathering. Actually, I never realized I had a big family! I wish I could have had Bill here for a little "overwhelm-the-inlaw" payback. Food was brought in by servers, and if we wanted more, we just called from a phone by the door. Tea, juice and coffee were flowing, but no alcohol!  If you get caught drinking and driving in Japan you can get fined heavily, like $5,000 and I don't know what else. Anyway, we ate a lot, and visited and sang, took a lot of pictures and I shared a slide show I put together on my laptop. At the end of the evening Hiroke got on the mic and wished me well, was glad I made it back after 30 years, and hoped I would come back again. It took another 45 minutes for everyone to clear out. Since my grandmother died several years ago, the Noha's and the Tokashiki's do not get together too often and they decided at this party to make sure they met once a year for a reunion. Now I have another excuse to come back. As we said our goodbye's, I was amazed at how respected and loved my mother is, and consequently me, by our family here in Okinawa. She is viewed as kind and cheerful, her family adores her and genuinely misses her. I learned that my grandmother was an excellent cook and everyone preferred her cooking to anyone else. My grandfather was considered an honest man, to a fault. Both were so respected and my mother said that their goodness reflected on her and perhaps she didn't deserve it. I pondered this… her goodness reflects on me and I hope I can do the same for my children and husband, and anyone else I am close with. When I hear of friends taking trips with their mother or father, I hope they can experience a new perspective of their parent and learn even more of what there is to love about them.

day five

Today, we went to this historic village that showed how the Okinawa people lived 300 years ago. It was cool, and the homes were beautiful. Open, large timbers… even the cooking area was so logical in the way it was set up. While there, they had a gift shop and I found the Shishi I wanted. Made of pure Okinawan clay, and created by a local artisan, with the artists stamp on the hip of one of the Lions. I bought them, after being encouraged the night before by Bill that I should get find a set to bring home. The Shishi originated in China as lions, but the Okinawan's have made it their own, creating a "lion-dog". It's a very specific icon of this part of Japan. I am learning that Okinawa is so different than the rest of Japan, giving me much reason to be proud of having family from this part of the world. Okinawa is to Japan as Hawaii is to the U.S.

One of the homes we visited in Yonogushiku had a modern day version of this "shrine" looking cabinet wall space. When we arrived my mother's cousin's wife lit some incense and placed in a bowl in the center of the shrine. Everyone took a moment to pray to this shrine. My mother told me they pray to their ancestors, thanking them for being there and to watch over them while they visit.

day four

Friday Mother, Aunt Aiko and I went to Nago, which is a northern city on Okinawa. It was pretty as we drove up to it, it sits on a bay, and the road curves around to meet the city situated at the North end. We were so hungry as we arrived, since it is about an hours drive north from where we were staying. We went to this little mom and pop restaurant nestled in a little cute neighborhood. I had tonkatsu, mother had a bitter melon dish, and Aiko had tofu. The food was delicious and really hit the spot. I have some fun photos of us sitting in this tiny place, it had about 6 tables and 2 traditional kneeling tables. The TV was blaring, I notice that every place we visit, no matter how frugal it may seem, has a flat screen TV -- we are in Japan, the land of advanced electronics! So this little restaurant was no different. Here's a few pics of us at the restaurant.

We headed back to our hotel, but stopped by a beach on the way. If the sun was shining, it would have been picture-perfect beautiful. Black jagged rocks poking out of azure blue waters, buff colored sand. I picked up some beach coral for the girls and myself. We traveled on and stopped at a little pottery and glass arts village, the work there was wonderful. Everything is so expensive with 74 yen to the dollar. I often can't justify buying things when I realize it ends up being $70 and $80 in one swipe. It was at the pottery village that I decided I must have Shisa, a pair of ceramic lion-dogs placed on the left and right of doorways and gates to symbolize protection of a person's house. See the gate photo in an earlier post, it's a good example of shisa, pronounced shi-sah.

how not to dress on base

This photo was taken at one of the air bases. It's the bottom half of a full page flyer posted in one of the stores on base. It talks about the acceptable ways to dress (the top part of the flyer), and the photo I took shows the part of the flyer showing the "unacceptable" ways to dress. I thought this was so interesting, since most of the people I see daily in the U.S. are wearing clothing shown as unacceptable.

day three

It's day three and I'm free of the jet lag. Yesterday was a full day and it was full of new experiences. Highlights: Renting a car and driving on the left side of the road in the right side of the car, visiting the country side of Okinawa's south side of the island, eating a fabulous meal in a hilltop restaurant and going to a fabric store that had TONS of cool Japanese prints.

I think this is going to be a long post, so here goes:

Thursday we caught up with my cousin Kumi and Aiko and went numerous places:

--got our rental car. This was a much anticipated and quite nerve racking event for me. I wanted the freedom of having our own wheels, but I did fear driving on the opposite side of the road on the opposite side of the car, with the turn signal and wiper handle switched. But you can never know what it will be like driving like this until you try it. And then you realize that it's not that hard, you just have to pay very close attention, especially when making turns and being on small streets where there are no other cars. When we were on small empty neighborhood streets, I had to be careful to not wander to the right side of the road, a natural inclination.

--had lunch at a very nice hotel restaurant at my Uncle Osamu's invitation. My Uncle Naoshi was there with the 4 of us (Kumi, Aunt Aiko and my mother). We arrived at this posh hotel on the top of a hill overlooking the city of Naha and the ocean, the interior lobby was white lacquer and blond wood. We entered the restaurant where one wall was floor to ceiling glass windows. Beyond the window was a lovely zen garden: Japanese maple trees, and beautiful foliage of all sorts. The main garden floor was covered with various sized paths and tonal colors of pea gravel, you could see that a rake was carefully pulled around artfully placed large stones to make a ridged/lined impression around the stones.

Our meal was lovely, in front of each of us, a single large tray was placed. There were small portions of all sorts of food in decorative dishes of every sort. A basket with a large handle, a footed plate, compotes, small footed egg bowl, covered bowls, shallow plates, long narrow small serving dishes shaped like leaves. The dishes were different colors and textures, the food was each so decoratively beautiful, hot and cold, crunchy and soft, bright and muted. There was a carrot that was carved into a maple leaf and a piece of kombu seaweed folded and tied into a small knot and placed in a small covered bowl of broth with other interesting shaped food items. I had the best sushi grade tuna I have had in my life. It melted on my tongue. Thank you Uncle Osamu. (see photo)

--Kadena Air Force Base, mother wanted to pick up some "American" gifts for family and friends we would be visiting. American gifts, I am told, are a very nice gift to receive in Japan. Mother bought 10 fluffy Martha Stewart cream colored bath towels, and she included the towels with other things she brought from the U.S., like a small kitchen towel and a vacuum packed package of coffee.

--Yonogushiku, my mother's childhood home from where she moved away when she was 6 or 7. This little area of Okinawa is located on the South side of the island, it's not country like I think of country though. When I think of country side, I think vast fields and fences with very little architectural structure except for a barn or two. Here, Yonogushiku was a little village jam packed together, 50 houses or so, and between all of these villages we drove through, there were businesses. The density that Japan is known for is apparent even in the remote islands.

My grandparents are from this area, and we stopped about 4 places, mother giving her gifts away and getting caught up with everyone. My mother is extremely generous and you could tell that everyone was so happy to see her and her 6 foot tall anomaly of a daughter. One of our relatives, a cousin I think, had a chicken/egg business. The coops were filled with 8,000 chickens, all Red Star chickens. I actually had some eggs from this farm for breakfast that day and the yolks were the most orange I have ever eaten While there, we also saw my Uncle Osamu's small patch of land that he was practicing his new farming hobby on. Apparently many family members were surprised at this move of him buying land here, since he has been a city boy for a long time. But now as he nears retirement, I guess he's no different than some of us, and wants the peacefulness of the country too. (below is gated entrance to a home we saw in the countryside neighborhood.)

By this time, it was getting to be around 5 or 6 in the evening. We made a last and most wonderful stop, a fabric store in Naha. I didn't expect to be so lucky to shop here so early on the trip. But I was traveling with a quilter and a seamstress (my mother and my aunt) and I should have known better!

After the fabric store we took home my cousin Kumi and my Aunt Aiko and used the GPS in the rental to get us back to the base. We got to bed by 9:30, I was exhausted. Today we'll head up to Nago to sight see and visit Aunt Aiko's home.

arrived

After much anticipation, I am finally here in Okinawa, Japan with my Mother, Suzie. We left Atlanta at 9:20 Monday morning and basically followed the daylight until we landed in Tokyo, about 4:30 pm Tuesday Japan time (short layover in Chicago). After arriving in Tokyo, the darkness came, and that overwhelming feeling of being really, really tired. Along with that came the inability to think with any clarity, wishing there was someone at every turn telling me the next counter to go to. That would have been so helpful since we had to go through customs, get boarding passes for the flight from Tokyo to Naha City, even find a noodle bar and order food. (See the cool map responsible for making me think I was in an Escher-like world).

My Uncle, 2 Aunts and 3 cousins were there to greet us at 12:30 in the morning -- and what a warm welcome! Everyone had something to give: flowers, 3 bento boxes full of delicious sushi (I thought of my friend Sonya Ko), groceries to fill our kitchenette where we are staying, even a cell phone on loan from a cousin so we can call freely back and forth without the worry of racking up expensive minutes on my U.S. phone. Then they took us to our cozy lodge, a small hotel on a Marine base (thanks to my father's 20 years of service in the Armed Forces).



Tonight we dine out with my cousin Kumi. Time for a short nap and get myself in rally mode for the rest of the evening. Karaoke anyone?

a little vacation time

In a couple of days I'll be leaving for a trip to Okinawa, Japan, just me and my mom. We'll be visiting her side of the family that I haven't seen since I was 13!