JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

Here it is the beginning of a new year. If all goes according to the information we have been fed, construction on the new Music Town facility will begin within a few weeks. The construction actually starts with the destruction of a large area of buildings in the Gate 2 Street and hostess bar (Nakanomachi) sector. Gate 2 Street will be losing one of its historic facilities that in the ’70s housed Condition Green, one of the three bands classified as Okinawan Rock that made some headway on the Japanese market. The building is now the site of Hideaway, home of the mosh pit. (Also, on the agenda for destruction are Club Red, Shooters, Take One, Good Times, etc.) I don’t know if Hideaway owner, James, has plans to replace the mosh pit with a new one at one of his other facilities. The Heavy Metal regulars still have a couple of facilities available, such as nearby 7th Heaven and Fujiyama’s, in which to enjoy that particular genre of rock music. As far as the construction time frame, we’ve been told it will take approximately two years. So this year will mark the end of a part of Gate 2 Street that I have known since 1973. This event, in its own way, seems to epitomize that familiar saying “out with the old, in with the new.”

Happy New Year!!! If you’re new, this is a blog to share life on Okinawa as seen through the eyes of a foreigner who arrived in 1973. The experiences are of everyday life. Well it seems that the neighbor that I mentioned in the October 27th post was quite obsessed with obtaining a new pipeline. We just received a notice that the replacement pipeline will be placed down the center of the semi-new seven year old road right in front of our house. Which means destroying and repaving the road again! The approximately 100 meter job is suppose to take ten days. Let’s see how many land survey markers get paved over this time. In fact it is very common for roads to be laid and torn-up for new pipelines on a regular basis over here. Okinawa is a land of constant road construction. And each time smooth semi-new roads end up becoming so full of defects that it feels like riding on a bucking horse when a person is driving on them. As I said before, over here Murphy’s Law becomes a norm and gets taken in stride.

People who think they are so special that they try to instruct other people to ignore a business’ staff members. This is particularly true when the owner has stated that the facility policy is to treat all customers on an equal basis. Staff members are following the instructions of the facility’s owner/manager. When a person thinks they are above the requests of staff members, they are displaying a lack of respect for the owner and members of the facilty. This behavior is not exactly what I would consider to be an action of a friend!

Here it is the end of another year! Anyone who has known me long enough knows my two heros are George Burns and Ziggy. This year I decided to start taking pictures of the S.K.p Bonenkai Bash. Well sure enough, Murphy had a hand in the results. Somewhere down the line the film got damaged. But being used to these kinds of things happening, I took the opportunity to learn how to create a flash animation and embed it on a web page. The flash animation can be viewed here. Once I get some free time, I’ll just have to clean them up. Have a Happy New Year!!!!

Sometimes people’s comments can be quite amusing. Take a person who thinks that a facility should go by the “no rules” system. This is one of the most ridiculous suggestions a person can give a business operator. Just imagine what the consequences of such a move would be. And when the comment comes from a woman, I’m even more astonished! If someone really thinks rules established to provide equal treatment of all customers, consideration for the band and all customers, and the comfort and safety of everyone in the facilty are too many rules, than maybe that person SHOULD go to another facility. I doubt that you will find one that doesn’t have some form of safety catch, no matter what they profess as their operating system. Many night-time facilities are forced to use bouncers to enforce the rules, because SOME customers can’t control their own behavior! If someone sees this as excessive or “rude” (which covers a heck of a lot of ground) on the part of the club operator, than so be it. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but they are not entitled to perform behaviors that disrupt or destruct a business. Despite what some people try to profess, rock ‘n’ roll music is not a passport to idiotic behavior and the majority of rock lovers know it!

Well if the latest rumor I heard is correct, then not only did the organizers of the upcoming New Year’s Eve event fail to disclose full details to all of the street association members, they totally failed to notify or get feed-back from daytime business owners as well! New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest days of the year for some of those daytime businesses (and night-time businesses as well). By closing the street to traffic, the event organizers are preventing deliveries to and from those businesses. This is beginning to sound more and more like someone on a major ego trip forcing an unwanted event down all of the throats of many of the street’s more successful businesses.

Kudos to the organizers of the upcoming New Year’s Eve concert are due. They played the hand perfectly. If we are an example of the typical business owner on Okinawa, then their move to have an all day Japanese (J-pop) youth concert on a street that usually is consumed with drunken men was a good manipulative move. Not only do the groups that they sponsor get exposure on Japanese TV, but they have responsible people imposing stricter than usual regulations in an effort to prevent any possible mishaps caused by this ill conceived event. All the while they come off as the good fun-loving guys, who will not be held responsible for any consequences of their decision.
There are questions that arise from the organizers choice to proceed with the event, despite some common-sense opposition. Are Japanese businessmen so innocent and naïve minded that they think combining pubescent teens and an area renown for activities that have been accepted businesses since the Vietnam era (such as “buy me drinky” and “banana show” girls) is a good idea? Why weren’t all of the members of the street association told the full story behind the concert? The only thing discussed (or more accurately, crammed down their throats by persons who do not own businesses on the street) at the monthly meetings was the Orange Range aspect of the event. Even this met with opposition from the experienced owners of Gate 2 Street night-time businesses. If this an example of how business is conducted on Okinawa, give an inch and they take a mile, then is it any wonder that some people are not willing to even give an inch? Why should night-time business owners be forced to take on the role of policing youths that are only in the area because of activities that are the concoction of J-pop promoters? Why are they holding the activity on the street to begin with? There are several Okinawa City (Koza) outdoor arenas that are better suited for this type of activity. Every year several Okinawan festivals are held at those facilities. Could it be because this is an area where many Okinawan/ American couples have been successful in running night-time businesses (businesses that conflict with the plans of the city and tourism officials to run a financially profitable, youth-oriented music school and J-pop concert hall)? Speaking of city-sponsored businesses, whatever happened to the mega Korinza Shopping Center and event hall on the neighboring B.C. (Chuo Park Avenue) Street? And since the manger/promoter of the main act of this New Year event is based on that street, why aren’t they holding the event there? This event poses too many underlying half-truths and questions to make anyone satisfied with conducting the activity on Gate 2 Street, anyone other than those who will directly (or indirectly) profit off of it that is!

Coming from a culture where individuals are taught to fend for themselves, living in a “group” based society always leads to interesting observations and questions. In a previous post I posed questions concerning a Gate 2 Street situation. Another topic that pops into my mind as far as MY misconstruing local situations is – if a person or business has made it clear that they wish to remain an independent entity, why would a “group” constantly promote the appearance of anything other than that? Especially if the independent entity is, as the group would like everyone to believe, of no consequence. Why wouldn’t any group want a situation to be discussed openly and honestly? Could it be that former and ongoing situations have led to a lack of trust in the group by the public? And could it be that only through further deceit can the group continue to fight for its existence?

It seems every year there is someone who is dissatisfied with the path their life has taken. For some reason or another, the holidays only magnify the discontent. This year, one of those unhappy people thought they would ruin other people’s enjoyment by closing the bar entrance shutter. So when some regulars came to the bar to have a relaxing Christmas Eve, it appeared the club was closed. These childish and selfish grinches need to face-up to the fact that they are where they are in life because of their OWN choices, and no one else’s. If a person doesn’t like the direction their life is taking, they should do something CONSTRUCTIVE to change it towards a direction that better suits what they do want for life. And let those people who are satisfied with the choices they made in life enjoy it!!!