Blogs from Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, Asia - page 4

Scuba Diving - Maeda Point and Onna Today was the 4th of July but instead of doing the traditional BBQ at the pool, I went out scuba diving. My first dive was at Onna Point. We literally had to drive off-road to get to this dive spot. We were all glad that our cars didn't get stuck! It was really nice outside but extremely hot. Once my wet suit was on it seemed like it took me forever to get to the water. Unfortunately, we didn't see a ton of fish. The water was really clear though. The dive lasted about 40 minutes and then we decided to try Maeda Point. Maeda Point was awesome! If you come to Okinawa, go diving here. I saw a TON of different types of fish. It was great! Even ... read more

Bios on the Hill This Saturaday I went up to Ishikawa City with some friends from church to visit a nature resort called BIOS on the Hill. After driving around for about 1 hour and 30 minutes because we couldn't find the location, we managed to see some signs directing us to its location (all in Japanese of course). Luckily Bernard could read Japanese or else we would have never found it! Bios is the Greek word for life. There were lots of different plants, animals, and insects to be seen here so the name was very fitting. The main flower featured in the park were orchids. Many I have never seen before so I took lots of photos. This park has the greatest number of orchids in all of Japan so it was a really ... read more

Japanese Beverages (2) I had been biking all day and after my water bottle went empty I started buying drinks out of vending machines. There bottles were only about half the size of a normal soda can. 1.) Mixed Nacter - A combination of grape juice and nectarines. Wow! It was tasty. I think it only had 23% juice in it though...so it probably wasn't very healthy. 2.) King of Mango - The best drink I've had since coming here. I bought it at a Lawson Station (like 7-Eleven) and popped it open as soon as I walked out the door. It was gone within a minute. It was a bit thicker than just regular drinks as there must have been mango puree in it. This company also makes a drink called "King of Grapefruit" which ... read more

Okinawan Folktales - Kijimuna ----taken from http://www.chicagookinawakenjinkai.com/Folklore%20Pages/Kijimuna.html Okinawan Tree Spirit Other names: Bungaya On the island of Okinawa grow large banyans called gajumaru, no doubt special trees because they are said to be inhabited by the kijimuna — mischievous, fairy-like spirits that are easily the best known creatures in Okinawan folklore. They are about the size and shape of a little boy, and like so many Asian folk-creatures, they have red hair, which may or may not cover their bodies. Also like many other yokai, the kijimuna are associated with mysterious fires. Sometimes they are seen wandering along beaches and riverbanks accompanied by ghostly flames, and sometimes they try to steal fire from paper lanterns and run off. While they are tree spirits, the kijimuna are adept fishermen, although they are su... read more

Random Observations Okinawans are extremely patient and have a very relaxed way of life. Nobody is ever in a hurry here (except the cab drivers and Americans). The highest speed that you can drive on the island is 60 kilometers per hour (roughly 37 miles per hour) and not a whole lot of people speed. I've rarely heard anyone honk their horn either. I was at Kokusai Street this afternoon and tried to take a picture looking down the road from a crosswalk. However, I didn't realize I was blocking one of the lanes. After standing their for about 20 seconds, I realized what I was doing and quickly moved out of the way. Why'd it take me so long to figure out I was blocking traffic? Nobody honked! If that happened in the US, somebody ... read more