Kokusai Street and Perestroika

End the war!

by Pa Rock

Oh how I miss the sixties!

Cultural Explorer


Murphy, Valerie, Kelly, and I went into downtown Naha yesterday evening for a couple of hours of walking up and down Kokusai Street doing the tourist shopping thing.  None of our group bought much, but it was fun exploring.  We visited two salt stores - places that specialize in exotic salts from around the world - and I had a dish of salt ice cream from a street vendor.   Surprisingly, at least to me, salt ice cream is delicious!

There was some protest commotion going on along Kokusai, that included a rally at one end of the street, followed by a protest march, replete with a woman chanting from a car loudspeaker, the marchers chanting in response, and the occasional fists raised in defiance.  We originally saw nurses gathering signatures on petitions and assumed it had something to do with nursing or medical care, but there was some English-sounding phrasing coming from the loudspeaker and the chanting crowd that led me to believe the chant was "End the War!"

Nostalgia prevailed!

Okinawans keep the ugliest dogs - black and white mutts that appear to be mostly some terrier mix.  I stopped and petted one that an old man had on a leash, and the mongrel, hungry for attention, was all over me.  I told Kelly that I want a dog, and now I have this gut fear that she will show up with one!

I bought two tangerines from a fruit and vegetable vendor for a total of one hundred and two yen.  They were tart, tangy, and wonderful!   I also picked up some island art to put in Christmas packages while my friends roamed around a fish market.

A quonset shop on Kokusai Street

Our final stop of the evening was at Perestroika, a great Russian restaurant that Murphy had discovered during some of his earlier explorations in Naha.  I generally avoid eating out on the economy, but I had Beef Stroganoff and a side of garlic bread - wonderful!  I also had a piece of Napoleon cake for dessert.  (Not sure why the Russians would honor Napoleon of all people with a dessert.)  Murphy had some wine that was supposedly Stalin's favorite.  Kelly liked it so well that she ordered a bottle for her birthday next month.

Aside from good food, Perestroika also had a floor show - one female dancer who stomped and swirled among the booths and tables in a beautiful display of Russian folk and gypsy dances.  She performs Saturday and Sunday nights.

Daniel Murphy finds a friend on Kokusai!

A good night on the town has nothing to do with the town - and everything to do with the friends!

The Length of Torii Beach

The Lonely Fisherman on the Rock

by Pa Rock
Cultural Explorer


Friday was my day off, and after a necessary trip to the massage therapist and some unnecessary running around, I headed up to Torii Beach in the afternoon to enjoy the solitude and pick up sea glass.  I intentionally got there a few hours later than usual in order to catch a higher tide - and it made for a beautiful evening.  I walked the entire length of the beach - at least a mile or more.  And, oh yes, the glass was plentiful.

Sea Glass

Evening Peace on the East China Sea

Humidity

Italiano - Okinawan style!

by Pa Rock
Cultural Explorer

Araha Beach - Welcome!

Summer is closing in on Okinawa and so is the humidity.  I am certain in my own mind that the oppressive, moist air is the reason that the rattle in my lungs persists.  It almost makes me long for the "dry heat" of Arizona - a  land where moisture in the air generally meant that one or more of the morons in the trailer park - and Arizona is one, big trailer park - was taking a whiz out the back door.

Today I threw away four cake mixes that had followed me from the endless desert of Arizona.  All had absorbed so much moisture from the air that they literally felt like soggy bricks.

Extremes!

Nice apartments facing the beach

I have asked The Buddha to consider moving me to the piney woods of southwest Missouri or to the foothills of the Alps in northern Italy - someplace with four seasons and modest humidity.  I would also like the occasional thunderstorm with an accompanying lightening show.  And snow!  Oh how I miss snow!

A very nice (and expensive) Okinawan home

The ubiquitous hibisucs - they're everywhere,
they're everywhere!

But, as long as I am stuck here in paradise, I walked to the beach this afternoon and took a few pictures along the way.  Some are attached to this post.

The Challenge of Getting Anything Done on Okinawa

by Pa Rock
Cultural Explorer


Sunday, and it's raining.  The weekends on Okinawa seem to pull in the rains in much the same way as the moon pulls in the tides.  The weekend rains may not be welcome, but they are dependable!

I skipped the trip to Ie Island today, hoping to stay in and finally get this cold and hacking cough under control.  Of course, while lazing at home I got involved in a project that required a quick trip to Kadena Air Base.  I needed to get some documents scanned and sent out as an email attachment.  I began at the USO because they have an abundance of computers and that is where those arriving on Okinawa or preparing to leave general do their personal email.  Of course, they did not have a scanner - but the sweet lady behind the desk directed me on to the Base Exchange and told me where I could obtain the required service.

On the way to the Exchange, I stopped by the Officer's Club to cancel my membership.  While there I learned that anyone may apply for their card on the premises, but cancelling the aforesaid card required more patience and cunning.  The sweet lady at that information desk gave me a map to the building that I would have to find in order to cancel.  Of course, it was not open on weekends, and has very limited hours during the week.  But I will git 'r done - because I love bureaucratic challenges!

I found the Mail Center at the Base Exchange, and yes, they could and did scan my nine pages of documents at one dollar per page!    (Guess I will have to get a scanner - it wouldn't take long to pay for itself at a buck a page!)

I grabbed lunch at the Exchange food court - a cheeseburger from Burger King  - which was every bit as delicious as it sounds - and then headed off to the mini-mall close to where I work.  My purpose in going there was to grab a quick haircut, something that I normally do during lunch on a work day.  Lots of other men and boys had the same idea, so I sat and read a magazine on military history until my number (lucky 46) was called.  A haircut on base costs $7.80 which leaves just enough out of a ten dollar bill to tip the Okinawan lady barbers.  They really are a sweet crew, and always throw in a neck and shoulder massage as an added treat.

It isn't easy getting anything done here, but the people are nice (sweet) and the hassles are manageable.

This Week on the Island

by Pa Rock
Cultural Explorer


My youngest, Tim, and his beautiful wife, Erin, were supposed to be on Okinawa this week.  Their plan was to stay from last Saturday through this past Friday, and then fly on to Tokyo for a weekend in the big city.  But then the earthquake and tsunami happened, and plans changed.

Erin is pregnant and did not want to risk the weekend in Tokyo do to the radiation scare - and the airlines wanted as much to alter their tickets than they cost in the first place.  So now they have credits that are good for a year.

I miss my family terribly and wish that someone could visit, but that just doesn't seem to be happening.   The earthquake and tsunami seemed to take the shine off of Japan.  That's a pity.  Okinawa literally was not affected by the disaster.

But things happen for a reason, I suppose.  This week we had two solid days of rain, and I am suffering from multiple ailments - my shoulder pain remains, though it is getting better one month on, and I have had a serious hacking cough all week that is also finally starting to get better.  So all in all, it probably wasn't the best week for company.

Yesterday I went back for my second session with Robert, the massage therapist.  Just about everyone where I work uses his services, and I believe that he is the reason that my shoulder is finally showing some improvement.  I went to the gym later, but the treadmill aggravated my hacking cough so much the whole place began looking at me like I was carrying the plague.  I left after five minutes.

Today I had to get out, so I headed to Torii Beach where I bagged some sea glass and a few odd shells.  The beach was great - not many people,  and I was able to cough and spit at will!  Tomorrow friends and I have plans to take the ferry to Ie Island - the place where famous World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by a Japanese sniper.  There is an Easter Lily festival on Ie Island this week.

But the forecast is calling for rain...

Kiko and the Battle of Okinawa

by Pa Rock

Cultural Explorer



The Kadena Base Exchange as well as most other Base and Post Exchanges world-wide have annex areas on their property where local vendors lease stores and floor  space to sell their wares.  Last year I had shopped at one of these annex stores at Kadena and came away with some great oriental goods for holiday gifts.  A pleasant, older lady had waited on  me then.  Today when I went back into that same store to look around, she was again on duty.

The Okinawan saleslady was obviously somebody's revered grandmother.  She was stylishly dressed, and her white hair had strong hints of lavender and even a bit of pink.   She was puttering around dusting, but as I was her only customer and had already selected a couple of items to purchase, she quickly engaged in conversation.

Kiko told me that she was born on Okinawa in 1937 and had been eight-years-old during the Battle of Okinawa.  I already knew some of how brutal things were during the war for the residents of Okinawa.  They were subjects of the Japanese at the outbreak of the war, though Okinawa had been an independent kingdom for several hundred years and most did not really consider themselves to be Japanese.  But the Japanese brought its war machine to Okinawa in full-force in a final all-out attempt to keep the Americans from reaching the Japanese mainland.

Some of the worst fighting of the war occurred on this small island during the nearly three months that the battle raged.  Okinawan men were conscripted into the Japanese military, and their families were left to fend for themselves.  By the time the siege had ended, the island was decimated and the locals who survived were literally living hand-to-mouth.

Kiko told me that she was born in Yomitan City, a community about ten miles north of the present Kadena Air Base.  She had four brothers who were taken south to fight in defense of the capital, Naha, and of those four, only one survived the battle.  She said that she and her mother fled Yomitan, along with many others, and headed north to the larger city of Nago on foot.  She said they would walk all night and hide during the day.

Kiko said that after the Americans won the battle they began gathering up the locals.  She said that she and her mother were captured and placed in a large military truck and taken to a camp.  She was very scared.  When they arrived at a camp, the Americans tried to feed her, but her mother told her that she must not eat what they were providing.  She said one American tried to give her a chocolate bar, but when her mother stopped her from taking it, the GI unwrapped it and took a bite himself to show that it was okay.  Then, she said, her mother permitted her to eat the candy.

Kiko-san had a lovely smile and even managed to laugh a few times as she told me her war story.  She said that after she grew up she moved to mainland Japan for a few years, but finally came home to Okinawa.  Although at seventy-three she could be retired, she didn't want to be at home doing nothing.  Today she has two part-time jobs - one at the Kadena Airport, and the other selling goods and chatting with Americans at the Base Exchange.  She said that she likes Americans very much.

And I liked her!

A Night on the Beach

by Pa Rock
Cultural Observer

From Left:  Nefredia, Kelly, Daniel, Leni, Me, Valerie, 
Gary, Carolyn, and Ron

Friends and I spent yesterday evening strolling along Araha Beach, gathering for dinner at a Nepalese Restaurant, and then returning to the beach to watch a fireworks display.  The beach was packed with kids, sun worshipers, jugglers, and drunks who all seemed to fold into a  pleasant mosaic of humanity.   The breeze off of the East China Sea was far more intoxicating than the ice chests full of Bud Lite that the young servicemen and their tattooed girlfriends were toting up and down the sandy shore - but that is a type of appreciation that undoubtedly comes with age!

A local restaurant

Bartender jugglers on the beach