okinawa hai!

CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FILLMAN Skip Front I am pregnant with my first child, and was very excited when I stumbled upon this store, Skip. It’s right in American Village and I couldn’t believe I’d never been inside before. When I walked in, the first thing I saw was a toddler size t-shirt with a huge [...]

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We aren’t certain we are getting this info to you in time!  But on the off chance that some stores are still offering these, we are adding it now.  We will be sure to re-post it late in December again… CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH PHILLIPS Fukuburo Toys R Us Since childhood I’ve loved the excitement and [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY LAURA COSTA Joy Balloon Birthday Joy Company provides balloon decorations and so much more. My favorite thing about Joy Company is not just the quality of their work, which is great, but it is the kind and loving owners. Islaine and Maulo, also known as Alex, make the company so great. They love [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY ERIN SCHALK Koza Gate Pottery In my case, finding Koza Gate Apartment, a combined boutique and art gallery, could be best described as a happy accident. Earlier this summer, I had agreed to meet my friend and Japanese teacher there for a private lesson and good conversation. As with many storefronts in Okinawa, [...]

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Swap Clothing CONTRIBUTED BY MEGAN PARKER The concept of swap shopping is simple and genius: take what you don’t need and trade it for something you do! It’s a great way to recycle, save money, and even meet new people. If you like any of these things, swap shopping might just be for you! The [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY MONETTE EAMES Living in Okinawa, we’ve often read some awkward sounding phrases on shirts that made us go, “Huh!?” Sometimes it almost sounds like poetry in a way. Or sometimes, reading certain food descriptions on a menu made us wonder what really is in the food. Other times, we come across a store [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY SARRA MCMILLAN I love shoes. Who’s with me? Before coming to Japan, I agonized over the shoe situation that would await me; I’d be in a county filled with the most adorable footwear, none of which would ever adorn my (average-sized, thank-you very much!) feet. Luckily, upon arriving, my obsessive worrying manifested itself [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY HEATHER GELORMINE I don’t want to alarm anyone but THE HOLIDAYS ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!  *ahem* (I think my panic and unpreparedness are showing.)  Unless you’ve already put in your order for our fabulous 2011 Okinawa Hai calendars, you may still be scrambling around, looking for local gifts for all those special [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY JOELLE YAMADA "Sell so much, your kids think they are next."  – Advise from financial wizard, Dave Ramsey  With PCSing looming large on the horizon for us, I've begun to spring clean.  Or, well, cleaning has very little to do with it, I guess.  It's more a purge and discard sort of process. [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY JEANINE CZUBIK Last week on a drive up north to “see what we could see”, my friend and I spotted Ryukyu Tribes – with this artistically refined pig:   I am no longer fazed at seeing pigs in Okinawa: from the Puma sneaker brand styled Shisa shirts to the real skinned pig’s face [...]

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