January 1, 2010

Itoman Peaceful Illumination Festival

Happy New Year One and All!
A new year and a new beginning...and a resolution to try to update this blog on a slightly more regular basis!
(it wasn't until I really looked at this picture that I realized just how SHORT I am becoming! Matt simply towers over me these days.)

On New Year's Day we went to a Shrine then down to Itoman's Peaceful Illumination Festival. The boys were less than thrilled, but humored me with me need to "see some holiday lights" before the holidays drew to a close. Itoman is located in the South part of Okinawa, not an area we have spent much time so getting there in the dark was interesting!

Even the weather cooperated to lend the to the Holiday Spirit- it was FREEZING! (for Okinawa standards anyway!). I had on two jackets and both the boys were glad for their sweatshirts...and Matt was wishing he had heeded my suggestion to bring pants along.

The lights display was beautiful, if small by American standards. We were even treated to the rising full moon to add to the display.

Here is what the website says in regards to this festival-
"This event sends out to the world Okinawan's prayers for peace in the form of 600 thousand miniature light bulbs being lit in Itoman City, where the Battle of Okinawa saw its end. Join the prayers at the "starlight wink" every night at 8 o'clock, where all illumination is turned off once and lit back again. "
We were there when they turned off the lights- I didn't know why until reading this...we just heard lots of Japanese then the countdown. Pretty cool when they turned the lights back on.

This part of the park was the "Under the Sea" part I guess- the blue lights were the top of the water and the sharks and boats where underneath.


The vertical lights were gorgeous- like walking through a jungle of lights!


David and I had fun playing with the timed exposure. Matt just stood around freezing.


Here is David at the end of the tunnel of lights.

There was entertainment too. Fun to watch, but cold just to stand around (yes, we are pansies here in Okinawa- it was probably about 55 degrees and we were chilled to the bone!)



The green houses were open so I made the boy s go through those with me. They were good sports...maybe because it was slightly warmer then outside! The day lilies were beautiful and very fragrant.

Here are the boys with their new friend! Matt found him in the gift shop (while he was trying to stay warm) and we just couldn't resist him!

Matt smiling like the Shisa

David giving the "Shisa smile" a go.

Matt and David are in the middle of this picture- see those dark blobs? That's them. I asked them to strike a pose and this is what I got.

Taiko Drummers at Chili's Fest 2008

November 1, 2008

David and I ended up back at Chili's Fest Saturday evening. Matt was meeting a group of friends at Kadena to watch a movie so Mike, David and I decided we would watch the movie too (rather then drop him off, go home, then turn right around and pick him back up.).

All was well through the previews- then the movie started. "Traitor"? I thought the movie was supposed to be "Tropic Thunder"?? We didn't really even check before going in- we went off of what Matt said they were watching. Turns out it was Traitor, which was not a movie David and I wanted to watch (the other kids didn't either, but they stayed anyway). The movie theater folks were nice enough to give us vouchers and David and I went back down the street to Chili's Fest.

We arrived just in time to watch the Taiko Drummers. This was a great group and they put on an awesome 45 minute show.
The drummers put their whole body into drumming- it wonderful to watch.

He is one of the guys who whistles. The whistle was loud enough to be heard clearly over the drums- pretty impressive, if you ask me! He was off the side of the stage and the only reason we could see him was because we were on that side. It was interesting to see how they whistle- the knuckle of their forefinger in the mouth and the rest of the fingers spread across the face.
On YouTube, there is a good example of the whistling (starts about 20 seconds into it). The singing is similar, but different than what we have heard so far here. example of whistling during taiko drummers
or cut and paste: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=C4-WRSKx6mM&feature=related








This lady had a contagious smile- you couldn't help but smile while you watched her!










Many of the performers were young- but all were energetic.





At the end they invited the audience to come out and join in- even on the huge drum on the stage. Everyone had a great time.


The shisa dogs roamed the crowd, gobbling the unawares...
Here, one of the Shisa performers head off-stage.

After the show, David and I wandered backstage to watch the group gather up and load their stuff. The leader of the group saw us and motioned David over to the Shisa costumes. He took David's camera, arranged the masks, shooed away the people behind him and took a few pictures. So nice! I was very touched! We had been trying to stay out of their way as they cleaned up, but he saw that we were interested in the masks and took it from there. That is so typical of the people here.

After the show David and I hung out while we waited for Mike and Matt be done with the movie. The singer Ashanti was performing next so we thought we would catch a bit of her (even though we didn't really know who she was). Unfortunately, she was running 30 minutes behind schedule. I had a perfect spot just off the stage- but was bummed when they announced "No Photos". You could use your phones to snap photos, but they threatened to stop the show if anyone took pictures. My camera is not exactly inconspicuous so I didn't even try. It was apparently a "Contract Issue" that they do not all photos. Not sure why the photos are such a big deal, especially with the phones and iPhone taking such good photos these days. We stayed just long enough to watch her opening song, then left.

Chili's Fest 2008

Sunday, November 1

Today we went to "Chili's Fest 2008" on Kadena Air Force Base. Although we intended to be there just for an hour or two, we ended up staying most of the day.

The original draw to the Chili's Fest was the $5 for unlimited rides. Now, most of the rides are for little kids, but they did have the Bungee Trampoline and Rock Climbing Wall. At some of the other festivals, it is $10 just for one time on the Bungee Trampoline. We went right after the festival opened at noon and even then had quite a wait. I stood in line for the Bungee while the boys did the Rock climbing.

Here are Matt and David ready to go on the Rock Climbing Wall. Matt wanted to race David to the top...
Matt is going, going, Gone!












David was laughing and having a hard time getting past this section of wall.





After the rock climbing they moved over into the Bungee Jumping line with me. I left them there and Mike and I got in line again so they could jump a second time. It was taking over an hour to get through the line

Here Matt is getting ready to Jump. They adjust the colored bungee bands depending on the weight of the person jumping. David was not that thrilled with the Bungee jumping (the harness really bothered him), so I took his turn the next time through. Fun, but a lot more work than it looks! Unfortunately, as an "old person" (over 35 years old), I was not allowed to do any flips.



Here we are after Matt and I jumped- Matt was giving me a hard time because I got to jump longer then he did. (HeeHee!) Each jump is supposed to be 3 minutes long, but I was already jumping when he got strapped in, and when he got off, I was STILL jumping! I don't know if my jump was long, or if his was just short. (photo compliments of David)



The reason we ended up staying so long is the drawings they were having. Everyone age 13 (sorry David!) and up received a drawing ticked. About every 45 minutes they did a drawing. They were giving away some very cool things- ipods, cameras, ipod docking stations, Coach purses. Of course, you had to be present to win. The teen-agers were in a seperate drawing. Matt was hooked- and they drew the number before his and after his, but alas, not his. He was bummed! SOOOO close so many times. Was still a fun day just relaxing, having lunch at the bowling alley and people watching.

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.