okinawa hai!

This post was originally published on February 16, 2011.  We’re pulling it out of the archives so that all of you may have the opportunity (weather-permitting!) to attend this year’s festival, which will be running through February 5th this year.  CONTRIBUTED BY MEGAN PARKER Sunflowers make the world a brighter place – and the sunflower [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY QUENTIN RICHARDSON Kyan View These two sites provide fantastic views of the southern coast as well as secluded snorkeling opportunites (given the sea condtions). Both sites are amazing places to take a loved one; however, kids need to be closely watched if present. Both sites can be visited en route to other places, [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY QUENTIN RICHARDSON Yanbaru Bird Yanbaru Front I found this spectacular place while looking at it from Cape Hedo. I was curious to see it close up and wanted to snap some photos of it. The problem was… finding it. My first attempt didn’t go so well. However, persistence paid off, as is often true [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY QUENTIN Kaya View 3 I found this spectacular place on my way to Cape Hedo. If you want to see how beautiful Okinawa really is, this is the place. It’s one of those spots where a photo of this place will convince anyone to visit! Kaya Hut Located above the northernmost tunnel on [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY QUENTIN RICHARDSON Urasoe Pano 1 Urasoe City Park & Castle Site is a massive network of observatories, walking paths and a large playground at its lower level. The park sits on a high hill on the border of Ginowan & Urasoe. It branches out in several directions and also includes nearby neighborhoods, cemetaries [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY EILEEN O’REILLY Snorkeling Thumbs Up Anyone who knows me knows that I am a control freak. I freely admit it. I won’t SCUBA because the idea of trusting that…machine…to breathe for me…nope. But I sure do love the fish and reef life here on Okinawa…so what’s a girl to do? Snorkel…where? How? Do [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FILLMAN My husband and I are pretty new to Okinawa and we went by the Schilling Community Center on Kadena AB to grab some good maps of the island. While we were there, I noticed a table full of drawings and giveaway. I dropped our names into a few of the drawings, [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY JOY BARNES As a “Florida Girl” I’ve spent much time around the water and in the sand.  I’ve collected pretty shells, an occasional shark’s tooth and even some beautiful sand dollars.  However, it wasn’t until I spent time on Okinawan beaches that I discovered sea glass.  Now, searching for sea glass has become [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY MELISSA MCDANIEL You’re probably aware that Okinawa is the home of nine sites designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and you’ve probably visited the biggies–Shuri-jo, Zakimi-jo, maybe Shikana-en Gardens. But what about that one on the map–the cave-like picture with the cryptic name? In our quest to see all of the nine UNESCO [...]

Read the full story

CONTRIBUTED BY CALYN PAQUIN If you live in the US, chances are by now you would have gone strawberry picking or your child might have gone on a field trip to do it. My oldest did 2 years ago and this year, my youngest got to do it on his field trip with his Okinawan [...]

Read the full story