All posts tagged: okinawa

Diving with Hiroshi

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I’m not diving this weekend but was able to sort out a few more shots from recent dives. Here’s Hiroshi my dive buddy of many years with his camera rig. ( Note the correct use of buoyancy control so that he hovers in the water rather than clambers over the coral. ) And here’s another shot of the fantastic ball of Silver-stripe round herrings that gathered at Cape Maeda the last couple of weeks.

10,000 Person Eisa – Kokusai Street, Naha, Okinawa

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I went down to Naha on Sunday to check out the 10,000 person eisa dance. Surprisingly, the festival begins around 1pm, which unsurprisingly means it was oppressively hot and humid. Parents and leaders of the various groups were trying to keep all the little kids cool with wet towels and drinks but most were looking pretty weary. I pottered around for an hour, met up with some friends, then slunk off to find somewhere cool. This particular Englishman (and his mad dog) have learned to stay out of the midday sun.

Zamami to Naha, Sabani Boat Race

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On June 30th local teams raced their sabani boats from Zamami Island to Naha Port. The day before I stowed away on a yacht for a ride out to the keramas, and got a few pics of the boats on the day of the race. Haven’t spent much time on sailboats before, but we had glorious (perhaps a little too sunny) weather all weekend. Camped on Zamami on the Saturday night, then at 6AM we were back on the yacht for the race. Using both wind and muscle power, the little sabani turned out to be much faster than our boat. I got a few pics at the start and then we made our own, very leisurely, way back east to mainland Okinawa.

Boroga Beach, Miyako

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Perfect beach, perfect pool. Sometimes we are faced with tough decisions. Unfortunately, the reality was that on that day, I didn’t have time to swim in the pool or ocean. I was too busy checking the price of parking, noting down amenities and working out how to geo-tag the location. I’ll be back…

Maehama Beach, Miyako Island

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Dawn at the gorgeous Maehama Beach on Miyako Island. A long stretch of soft white sand in front of the excellent Miyakojima Tokyu Resort. I’ve spent the past couple of months updating the Okinawa and Kyushu chapters of the Fodor’s Japan guidebook. A lot of the job is the somewhat mundane, but necessary, checking of phone numbers, prices, times and distances. However, the morning  I site-checked Maehama Beach was always going to be a good day at the office.

Genki Oba-chan

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Okinawan women not only have the longest life expectancy in the world, but the extra years are usually healthy, happy and productive. The reason is more nurture than nature, so eat your veggies, get some exercise, cherish your friendships, and remember to smile.