Shuri Castle Festival

October 26, 2008

One thing I'm noticing about Okinawa...they have a lot of festivals! I think there has been one just about every weekend since we've been here. Of course, the boys are ALWAYS happy to tag a long with me when I decide we have to check out the current festival! (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)


This weekend was the Shuri Castle Festival. Events went on all weekend, but we went down to the parade on Sunday. The parade was down Kokusai Street in downtown Naha. Kokusai Street is a major shopping area- not only the main street but off side streets and alleys.We made it downtown just as the parade was reaching our area (towards the end of the parade route). Finding parking is always an experience- this time we parked in an attended lot. You park the car- then give the attendant your key and he gives you a receipt. We left hoping the car would be there when we got back (it was) and that we understood what the rates were (we did- was just $4.50 for over 3 hours which is cheap for downtown). Since none of the streets have names (the major streets do, but none of the side streets are named), we had to be careful to keep track of where the parking lot was- it would NOT have been good to lose the car! We took a picture of the street we parked on- you can see how narrow the side streets are here.

This cheerful lady was announcing the beginning of the parade- given the 'microphone' she is holding, we were not sure what she was announcing for...a school project perhaps??This nice lady worked so hard to get a program of the parade to us. She was on one side of the sidewalk and we were on the other side. Every time David tried the cross, someone would step in front of him. Every time she tried to cross or hand over the brochure, someone blocked her. She kept laughing and trying. After several minutes David finally had to walk down the sidewalk, cross and come back to her. Who know it would be so hard to reach across four feet? Just a little thing, but she was so sweet for trying so hard to get the program to us. Of course, we couldn't read a thing as it was all in Japanese, but it was still nice to see the pictures.

The parade was wonderful- a riot of colors and culture. It was touted that this was a parade so we could "experience first hand how life was centuries ago...(it) presents the ancient Kingdom in vivid color, with resplendent costumes...a parade of kings, queens, lady's maid, men and even messengers dispatched from China turn back the clock of time..." All the participants were local Okinawans who volunteered.The parade would stop at the major intersections along the way and perform. Once they stopped, the crowd would come off of the sidewalks and surround the performers. Afterwards the crowd was quick to clear the road, but if there were a few stragglers who where a bit slow, parade officials were there to hasten their departure (nicely, but firmly).You see in this photo how the crowd is came around to watch the performers. This young group was energetic and fun to watch.

This group that came through was amazing- it was by far the biggest group of the parade.These ladies are apparently "Ryukyu Buyoh" and Kumiodori"- two of Okinawa's old court dances which are still being passed down from generation to generation.






These "clackers" were incredible loud...especially when there were so many being used at once. It was a very different sound, but mixed with the Sanshins it sounded wonderful!This is called a "Sanshin" (which literally means "three string") or "Shamisen" and it is a three stringed instrument which looks similar to a banjo. The body is covered with snake skin. It's illegal to export these to the United States if they have real snake skin on them but you can have them custom made with snake skin like material (but they won't guarantee the sound quality of the instrument if you do this.)





















I loved this guys robe- the stitching was beautiful!










These Fan Dancers were resplendent in their glorious red kimonos.




These guys could whistle like you could NOT believe- we thought it was a musical instrument at first- then realized it was them. We have never heard anyone who could whistle like this.

















This little guy was adorable- he was dressed just like the men hoisting the pole. He kept pulling at his mom- he wanted to be out in the street with the big guys!
























Here are some additional photos of various participants in the parade.



















All in all, a great show of wonderful Okinawa: people, culture, tradition and color.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2008

BOO!

This was our first Halloween with Matt and David passing on Trick-or-Treating..
Sigh. Passing of an era....


David and I did a QUICK carve job of a couple of pumpkins- we had to get in the spirit a little bit! We stayed outside and handed out candy to the steady stream of trick-or-treaters. We had heard we may not get many kids since we are up on the hill and out of the way...sure didn't seem like the case! I went through 5 or 6 bags of candy in short order.

Last week we went to the "Lester Labyrinth" (the Haunted House here on base). Waited a long time in line but had a great time. The boys and I went to the Kadena "Slaughter House" last night- had to compare the Navy verse Air Force haunted house. Sad to say, Air Force won hands down! It was great...and I am not even much into Haunted Houses. Lots of blood and gore, chain saws, scenes from "The Ring", "The Grudge", "Saw", "Exorcist"...all the horror movies....plus things coming out of the dark at you or jumping out screaming. All in good fun- but I had dents on my arm from where David was gripping it so hard.

Kokusai Street in Downtown Naha

October 26, 2008

While we waited for the parade to reach us and after it was over, we checked out Kokusai Street. We had been down there to watch the parade prior to the Naha Tug-of-War, but didn't get a chance to see any of what it had to offer.

To the left you can see one of the shopping "alleys". From the street here, there are lots of little side streets and alley ways. It is like a maze! You can see Matt and David on the right side of the photo- David is in a grey shirt and Matt is wearing a blue and white hat.

Kokusai Street is a major shopping area- not only the main street but off side streets and alleys. That was my hook to get the boys excited and out the door for the parade- "There's shopping guys!" (for those of you who don't know, Matt LOVES to shop-especially shoes and clothes)

David with one of the "cutesy" statues along the street.

There are tons and tons of shops - you could spend forever puttering around! Lots of interesting things to see! I could have spent a lot longer looking around.
This is what Okinawa Tourist Information says about Kokusai Street: "If any street qualifies as Naha's main street, it is Kokusai Dori (literally “International Street”), running 1.6 kilometers.... Nearby are the Prefectural Office building, Prefectural Assembly Hall, Naha City Hall, central police station, and newspaper offices. Kokusai Street itself is lined with banks, hotels, variety and clothing stores, bars and restaurants, tourist agencies and, of course, lots and lots of souvenir shops."

I loved all the colors and bright signs!




















Shi-sas (lion dog)
Along the streets, there are "Smoking Stations". They appeared to be well used! I have yet to see cigarette butts in the streets or along the sidewalk (except in areas heavily frequented by Americans). In general, the streets here are much cleaner then in the states. The Okinawans pick up their trash and sort the trash into the recycle containers while doing it.

This was one of our favorite shops we came across! This is "Habu Sake". It's not actually sake- it is awamori which is a stronger liquor created through a distilling process of rice. The worm at the bottle of tequila is bad enough...but a snake (or two!)?? It is believed to be a health drink here- to give better stamina. Here is an interesting article with information on Habu Saku: Stars and Stripes
They have a shop on base which carries this drink- we always have to stop and look. I just shudder to think of drinking any of this stuff! Ugh. Not to mention the price- even on base the larger jars are over $600.























This group of young ladies was there spreading some cheer during the parade!














Taxis are a common means of transportation- as you can see here from the lineup of taxis waiting for parade goers to head out.



This little guy was attracting a lot of attention! The best we could figure, the kitty was helping promote their sales of the flowers. That is one tolerant cat! He was just hanging out on the step stool, with his paws over the top. If we had seen this down on the wharf in Seattle, we would have thought they were panhandling, but that wasn't the case here.


Matt and David with one of the statues along the street.