JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

One of the more pesky things about owning a bar on Okinawa is the constant interference of special interest organizations – the tourist groups, hostess bar owner groups, musician organizations, etc. Even if you are just trying to run a small but pleasant “Mom and Pop” type place, there is always someone trying to get you to conform to their image of what the place should be. (Which usually this means in a manner that is more beneficial to their own interests.) The problem with these types of organizations is that they want to control every aspect of what YOUR business is about!

Earlier this week Taki and I finally had the opportunity to visit the new marine exhibit at Expo Park. It opened a little over a year ago, but we wanted to wait for the “newness” of it to wane so we wouldn’t be “sardined.” I hadn’t been to the park since the ’80s and this was quite the surprise. The size and array of Okinawan specimens, well, just totally “blew me away!” The dolphin show was a cute outside break from the semi-packed marine museum. But the most enjoyable feature of this park is the café. There a person can sip a beverage while sitting “face to face” with the marine life. It is as close to scuba diving a person can get, without facing the claustrophobic anxiousness. Outside, in the ample park grounds, there are numerous creative displays of botany and shisa art. Other than the ongoing shrieks of amazement from bus loads of school girls, this “tourist” site is very well organized and worth the long drive up north.

Outdated search engines!!! Content is supposedly a key element, which means keeping the information current. Yet, it seems many search engines don’t keep up-to-date site listings in their data bases. Many of the new engines list pages that don’t even pertain to 2004, let alone the past month or week!

It’s always sad to see a person take a destructive path in life. This is especially true if the person is a colleague or peer. Unfortunately, when some people reach the pinnacle of their careers, it changes them in a way that makes it virtually impossible to continue life as “normal” person. This can be true in the Okinawan rock ‘n’ roll world. Recently, a local ‘70s rock music icon showed that he is unable to function in life as an everyday person. Since this was part of a destructive antisocial pattern he has chosen in the past ten years, the news media was quick to jump on it. His actions and the manner in which it was covered by the media tend to present a negative view of the overall Okinawan rock music scene. What the media fails to divulge is that this particular person has not really been active on the local music scene since the early ’90s. In addition, there are many local musicians who have been able to make a living in the music field without being antisocial and/or self destructive. Almost every day of the week a person can find some local venue presenting live rock music being performed by talented and conscientious musicians. But, I guess that’s not news

Taki just informed me of further confirmation of New Year’s Eve plans by a Japanese television network to air an event on Gate 2 Street this year. If this were about promoting the music scene of Okinawa, it would be great. (But that is not what this is about.) If a network wanted to air the real Okinawan music scene, all they would have to do is have a remote TV crew go from venue to venue. Everywhere bustles on New Year’s Eve. The organizers of this event, once again, are showing poor judgment. The main entertainment for this “special” is, once again, Orange Range. The fan base for this particular J-pop group consists of a very young audience. The venue they have chosen to hold the event at has an after-hour consumer base that usually ranges in age 20 and older! (Although, on occasion, some rock ‘n’ roll loving, cola-sipping, older teens can be found in the vicinity.) If the organizers really want to reponsibly air such a youth-based special from Okinawa, they should choose a more appropriate venue.

On Okinawa one of the more difficult subjects to adjust to as a foreigner, or more specifically an American, is the animosity towards the subject of alcohol. We own a bar, there’s nothing wrong in that. But there has to be some sort of responsibility in the fact that others may not comprehend the negative affects of alcohol and “fun.” Alcohol is so prevalent in Japanese society that I have seen a “little league” baseball team fund raiser being promoted by pictures of the elementary school team on bottles of awamori, the Okinawan version of sake. Although the law states no one under twenty can purchase alcoholic beverages, it isn’t uncommon to see children of various ages run to the local store to pick-up alcoholic beverages for their parents. I get quite the evil-eye when I disallow minors to purchase such beverages for their parents at our bar. My view on the subject is if someone has to send a child to get their beverage then maybe they really don’t need it.

On Sunday, Taki and I went to a charity event in Ginowan. The event was a culmination of various traditional-style Okinawan music and dances. One of the participants was an American friend of ours that had joined a dance troupe about six months ago. Similar troupes from the island voluntarily gathered for the charity event. We knew about his participation in the local culture, but had no idea he what was to spring on us. With the local style of dance, there are female as well as male parts. So, the last thing we expected was our friend to suddenly appear fully decked-out in a female role – make-up, wig, and all! Although his golden-colored fans were trembling, he was great. Another part of the event that was extremely enjoyable for me was when “senior” local citizens, up to age 85, performed a Cuban-style samba with impressive agility. Over all, the performances were what the locals would call “tottemo tanoshi! If you ever get the chance, I would recommend attending one of these types of events.

It is so annoying when a person can’t hold their liquor, explodes all over an entrance to or the bathroom of an establishment, and doesn’t inform anyone! How hard is it for someone to let the facility’s personnel know that there was an accident and a mess that needs to be cleaned? Nobody wants to see or smell that kind of slop when they are out to enjoy an evening of music.

Okay, this really doesn’t have anything to do with Okinawa. But, one of the things that brings joy to someone’s life when they live so far away from family for an extended period of time is finding-out that one of thier siblings has done an extraordinary job with a passion. If you are into scaled-down model ship replicas, you will get a kick out this site – Prince de Neufchatel . Good job Bro!!!