Hotel New Century Okinawa

... the one hand, this is a very beautiful place with friendly people and very nice, warm weather. The culture here is indeed more laid-back and is noticeably different from the mainland. People just act different here yet it is still Japan. On the other hand, this is a somewhat sad place where the weight of history and the hideous events of nearly a century ago still linger in the hearts and minds of the inhabitants. In addition, the resentment over the continued U.S ...

... was only completed during the early 1990's. This was another interesting spot to take in. Okinawa was for centuries influenced by both China and Japan. Before becoming a vassal of feudal Japan, Okinawa was largely a vassal of Imperial China. The influence of both cultures can be seen in the castle -- there is definitely lots of Chinese influence here from the layout to the colours.<br><br>The Gyokusendo Cave was another stop along the way. Unfortunately I don't ...

... next couple of days as we go on two guided tours. One will be up to the north end of the island to an aquarium and a pineapple farm. I am sure that once we get outside of Naha City that we will see the true tropical paradise aspects of this island. We will also be spending some time outside of the city on the south of the island. There is a lot of World War Two history here as this south end of the island is ...

... a stunningly hot day and the indoor area was air conditioned. After Shuri Castle, we went to Kokusai street in Naha City. This is a palm-lined street with tons of small souvenir shops, with a surfer atmosphere. I picked up quite a few gifts here! My favorite purchase was a red coral necklace for myself. The store's owner was so happy to see me for some reason that she gave me free shisa keychain. Riley was getting restless, so ...

... other fish was definitely a favorite. There was a diver in scuba gear cleaning the inside of the glass, so that was funny. Riley did not particularly care for the exhibits, but she did like running around.<br><br>Outside, we visited the turtle pools and the manatees, which were interesting because they were spacious and had cartoon character mascots (like most Japanese advertisements!) Our next stop was the native Okinawan village ...

Well, so after Nanna (Manna) left we were sad to realize that was the end of our visitors for awhile. Next came New Years. We celebrated with some new friends to bring in the new year. Since we couldn't do the New York count down we did a count down with the Japaneze. We got a chance to do some deeper exploring of some of the old places we've been ...

Wow! So much has changed since I last blogged. First off we had Trevor's birthday and Ava's 3rd birthday. We will have her kid party next weekend. I got a part time position as a health and PE teacher at one of the middle schools on base. I was really excited, but at first a little sad it is only part time. Then I thought about it and realized I get the best of both worlds. I get to be ...

No new pictures yet, sorry. So It's only mid point of the week and already this week sucks. Well not all of it, yesterday Noah decided he wanted to use the potty and he didnt want mommy in there so he shut the door and kept me out. Of course i kept checking on him but when he finaly let me in, he had pooped and peeped in the potty! I was so excited. Hopefully he makes a habit of this. On the down side of this week, I took Noah to the doctor on Monday ...

Well, we finally made it after long flights from the east coast! Our hotel room that we stayed in, before we got our house, was small but we made it work. After a few days, we got a car and were able to travel around. Our first travel was to the Zoo. It is amazing how close you can ...

... oikea amatöörimoka, ei hyvää päivää! Päätettiin nimittäin näköjään jättää kaikki matkashekit sitten himaan! Oujee, juuri näin! Ei se nyt silleen ole ongelma kun Visa vinkuu ja Mastercardi maukuu, mutta kyllä pikkuisen ottaa pattiin turhaan vaihdella niitä ja maksella vaihtomaksuja! Kannattaa aina tehdä himassa tsekkauslista tarkkaan, mutta eihän tälläiset vanhat "reissukonkarit" sellaisia tarvi? Eihän?? :-) Nyt mietiskelen tässä juuri ennen lähtöä, että miten toimia ...