Blogs from Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, Asia - page 2

Naha Tug of War Today there was an annual Tug of War competition in downtown Naha. Because I decided to go to church, I wasn't able to attend the festivities but here's some information I found online about the event. Although the article is a few years old, it gets the basic facts across as to what the event entails. East meets west in great tug-of-war By: Bill Charles Date Posted: 2006-10-07 Website: http://japanupdate.com/?id=7138 A world record stands in the balance Sunday as the 35th annual Naha tug-of-war unfolds in downtown Naha. Tens of thousands will join hands trying to move a 40-ton rope in the great Ryukyu Kingdom Festival Tsunahiki, an event that first made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1997. The rules are simple; an estimated 25,000 men, women, ... read more

Scuba Diving - Diamond Beach and Malibu Beach Since today was a holiday, I spent my free time diving. Only two dives today. One at Diamond Beach and another at Malibu Beach. We only saw 1 ray but no sea turtles today; however, there were tons and tons of pufferfish. I had fun trying to catch all of them. I'm pretty sure word has gotten around the fish community that I like to make the pufferfish blow up with water. "Oh no...here comes Kim! Swim away!" There were porcupine pufferfish, blackspotted pufferfish, and black saddled pufferfish. I had never seen porcupine pufferfish huddled together in groups just floating out in the open away from the coral reef so I took a few pictures. I also snapped a rather good photo of an anemonefish. While swimming along ... read more

Scuba Diving - Sea Turtles at Onna ToiletBowl I dove this afternoon at Onna ToiletBowl and it was awesome! The tide was coming in so the water looked a bit rough but my dive buddy and I decided to go in anyways, and everything turned out fine. We dove down to between 50' and 60' for the entire time and right before we were about to turn around and head back to the entry point, we saw a sea turtle munching on some of the plantlife found on the coral. Unfortunately, the turtle decided to turn its back to me so most of the video is of its rear end. Nothing comical happened though, unlike the incident my grandmother experienced with a moose who decided to turn its back and take a dump right when she ... read more

Yakiniku Viking I went out to dinner with a good friend of mine to a restuarant called Yakiniku Viking tonight. We had fun grilling up our food on a griddle centered in the middle of our table. I ate several different cuts of beef, chicken, squash, cabbage, several types of vegetables, rice and had melon soda to drink. Yum. Here's some more information on Yakiniku-style cooking/restaurants: General Overview Yakiniku (焼き肉 or 焼肉), meaning "grilled meat", is a Japanese term which, in its broadest sense, refers to grilled meat dishes. Today, it commonly refers to a Japanese style of cooking bite-sized meat (usually beef and offal) and vegetables on gridirons or griddles over flame of wood charcoals carbonized by dry distillation (sumibi, ja:炭火) or gas/electric grill. In North America, China and Taiwan, Yakiniku is also referred to ... read more

Eisa Festival Every year in Okinawa there is an island-wide Eisa Festival. Eisa is an Okinawan ceremony that entails dancing and the beating of drums in prayer for good health and a good harvest. Originally, the ceremony was performed to welcome and console the souls of one’s ancestors during the Summer ‘Bon’ season, but has evolved into community celebrations. A friend and I went to Kokusai Street where an Eisa Festivals was taking place. We arrived in the late afternoon about an hour before the event was to conclude, yet the streets were still packed with dancers and spectators. There were performances by both children/young adults and adults. The older dancers were still going strong but the younger ones looked tired. It was really hot out and they were constantly performing their dance segments for nearly ... read more