15

Another perfect example of something really wild that would have gone totally unnoticed. This little shrine is right behing a garage and is barely visible from the road. 

14

Another picture from the north shore. It is probably the most beautiful part of the island. 

13

Here's the island's light house. I don't know the construction date, but I was told by my boss that the island put it up because cargo ships kept crashing into the island at night. 

12

This is one of my favorite pics from Daito. It is right near the east shore, and I think it characterizes the island pretty well. 

11

Here is my scooter. I think the picture speaks a thousand words: "I have learned the delicate art of driving blind." 

10

If I can remember correctly, this was the "Blue Darts Bar." We wanted to get a quick drink before we went out for the night and figured that a round of darts couldn't hurt either. As we walked through Naha, we saw an advertisement entirely in English for the "Blue Darts Bar." There was not one speck of Hiragana, Katakana, etc. When we went up the bar (it was on the 5th floor) this sign is what greeted us, "Japanese Only." This was single-handedly one of the most frustrating experiences in Japan. IF YOU DON'T WANT GAIJIN COMING TO YOUR DARTS BAR THEN DON'T ADVERTISE SOLELY IN ENGLISH! It was like they wanted to trick us into hiking all the way up the stairs... We joked about stumbling on a Yakuza hang out, but when we told a few Okinawan friends they told us that the "Japanese Only" sign was more likely to be directed at military personel than tourists.

9

This is one of those little things that usually goes unnoticed in Okinawa but is really interesting. In the middle of the Narumi Ryokan's foyer (this is where the islanders stayed for our last trip) is this dead sea turtle just hanging on the wall. Aren't these critters on the way to extinction? It's no wonder... 

8

Remember the first picture? This is after a few hours of drinking the Habu-Shu. What happened to my drinking hat? To Brett's? And what the hell happened to Craig?!

7

Here's Craig, Brett and myself sporting our drinking hats for our annual raid on Naha. On this particular night we are going to consume the Habu-Shu pictured below and it is in the bag that Craig (the one flicking you off) is carrying. This is the beginning of the night and we are all optomistic.

6

This is my beloved stray on the island. Since day one, she has been hanging around my apartment. Being the softie that I am for cats, I have also been feeding her since day one. The hysterical thing about this cat is that when I first arrived on the island my neighbor was trying to teach me the word for cat or "Nekko." I had horrible mispronounced it and called her "Nekku" which apparently means "meat." Think about it, I am in an asian country and for the past month and a half, I would scream "MEAT!" everytime I saw a cat around a co-worker or a boss to display my new found knowledge. I have since been corrected. I think "Meat" is a good name for a stray, don't you?

5

Here's one of my swimming holes on the north shore. There is really good pearl diving here.

4

This is the infamous Habu-Shu (snake venom sake) that many of you have already heard about. I thought I would put a picture of the dead viper up, so you knew I wasn't joking, ;-)

3

Ok, it's about 2 PM and I think I just cracked the photo dilemmas...

This me waiting to Sumo WRASTLE!!! If you have ever wanted to know what expression, "Holy Sh#t I am about to wrestle a bunch of Sumo Wrestlers who have done this thier entire lives and I have been only doing it for two months," is then look directely at my face... lol Look to entry number 2 for the results, ha ha ha.

Other than that, I had a deep thought today: "People's thoughts are dictated by thier language. Therefore people's conceptual abilities are both limited and bolstered by the very languages they speak." What do you think?

2

Success!!! I finally was able to get a pic up! Why I put it in my second entry, I have no idea...This is of me Okinawan Sumo wrestling this thiry year-old who has been doing Okinawan Sumo since he was four. It is right after a body slam; note the location of his face... ha ha ha...

I am going to regale you with a tale from last night. So the "Breese" had its one-year aniversary (sp?). It was the closest thing I have seen to a frat party in Japan. The one-room bar moved everything outside where there was a make-shift stage, and rows of tables. I would estimate that at least 350 of the island's 500 residents showed up to party. Beer and awamori flowed like water. Here were some of the funnier observations/moments during the night:

1) The band. These guys were hysterical. I have no idea where they came from and I am not sure if they were trying to be funny intentionally but they were. There was the lead singer, an older man who was either too drunk or too old to hit any of his notes quite right. He was really cool and played the sanshi really well. Then there was the drummer that I am pretty sure was cross-dressing. He totally looked like a woman in his Okinawan kimono, but when he opened his mouth to sing, Barry White took the stage... (After running into the band again at the airport, I can definitely say that this "cross dresser" was in fact... A WOMAN!!! Man talk about a Lola...) Finally, and this was my favorite, there was the back up drummer. It was a younger girl, who had her hair died in the most outrageous 80's "Rainbow Bright" combo. To compliment the wild do, she was playing a set of drum synthesizers!!! Not just any drum synthesizers, but they were konga drum synthesizers. So during the performances of all these traditional Okinawan folk songs, you would here this really out-of-place 80's drum beat in the back ground.

2) The deaf, old break-dancer. This guy was A-W-E-S-O-M-E. It started to pour in the middle of the celebration and we all found ourselves huddled under the one tent that the "Breese" had put up. As I mingled, I met this guy trying to show some of my co-workers how to break-dance. He looked like he was in his later fourties, and he was sporting two barely recognizable hearing aides. But this guy could dance. It was awesome. I have never seen anyone at age with that kind of body control. Not only could he dance but he was also a pretty accomplished mime.

3) I had made a pretty cool invention yesterday. My ghetto scooter has no headlight. This has been no problem so far. One night, I saw a locale riding around the island on his without his headlight on. I figured if he could do it, then I can do it and I have. The nights are almost always clear out here, and the moon is so bright, I find it is actually more pleasent to ride at night without a headlight. However, last night, it was totally overcast and the visibility was atrocious (sp?). What did I do? I took a flashlight and taped it to my helmet. Yes, tape. I had to laugh every foot that I drove. I was thinking, "This is one of the nuttiest things I've done."

Ok, I will try to put up a pic of my ghetto scooter....

1

Hey All! After much presuasion from here and home, I have decided to start up a weblog. As this is my first weblog, I will most likely be slow on the uptake. Tonight is the one year aniversary of a locale bar, "The Breese." That was not a typo, that is how is it spelled... Ok, well I will try to get some pics up before I head out for this bad boy!