JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

These dolls were presented to me twenty five years ago as a thank you for dontating blood needed by a former coworker’s relative.

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Another example of the linens locals commonly used to transport parcels when I arrived in 1973.

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To the unknowing, at first this might appear to be a linen scarf. Actually, this type of linen was quite common when I arrived on island thirty-three years ago. Although the wrap was seen more often in a silken form used to wrap parcels for transport from one locale to another.

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Another bloom on one of our hibiscus shrubs.

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Here it is the day before T-Day 2006. The end of Novemeber is upon us and with it the end of the official 2006 tropical storm season. This has been an extremely mild season for the island. It seems the local old wives’ predictor mentioned earlier doesn’t apply this year.

Well, it’s November and that means time for a month full of street festivals. According to sources, Gate 2 Street will be closed to traffic most of this weekend for the Kokusai Carnival. This will be a two day event that is supposed to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, and around noon on Sunday, Nov. 5, and ending around 10 p.m. each night. I’ve also been told that B.C. Street (Chou Park Avenue) will be joining in on the activities this year (once again according to sources). Check with your island activities provider for further information.

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View brief video.

This is a house with traditioanl Ryukyu roofing that we came across on a road trip recently. There are several of this style of house in most areas on island, but they are a diminishing sight.

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This is a serving plate that uses a very popular earthy design seen in many ceramic works on island.

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This is another of the handcrafted ceramic cups, created by a local transplanted mainland Japanese artisan, that can be found on Okinawa.

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If you have kept up with the blog over that past, then you know we have one of the busiest local residential roads I’ve ever seen. It’s constantly being torn apart or invaded by construction and/or work crews. Here’s a look at how the road looked two weeks ago. Following the photo in Flicker are some other pics of the latest work being done.

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