Today, considering the weather was still cloudy, I went to visit a traditional Ryuku castle that Naha city, the capital of Okinawa is famous for. By just existing I managed to sweat the essence of my being out of every pore. By another brilliant coincidence, I happened to run into Susan, a woman who was staying at the same hostel in Yakushima, w...

Sometimes returning from a superb trip just takes your mind on a peculiar roller-coaster. You go from seeing so many new, interesting things to returning to the same routine. *** I spent the weekend in Okinawa, about 1,000 miles south of Tokyo. To call the main island beautiful would be an understatement as big as the horizon. I attended the BJ-...

Life Is Grand In Japan! This morning I woke up to sunny skies from the high rise family complex where we are lodging. Before I jump into today, I'm going to reflect on the last two days. It was wet and windy; however were able to get out into the city a little and shop. It seemed like NY with all the Indian store owners selling me Phat Farm and ...

NOTE: I'm compiling the days of the 28th and 29th together because it's all the same... me lounging, and enjoying this amazing part of the world. There is nothing like sleeping and/or waking up to the sounds of the ocean. I don't know what it is about it, but I find it to be easily one of the most relaxing and calming sounds in the world. After ...

A couple of weeks ago, my flatmate Bob and I ventured once more beyond the urban confines of the world's largest city. Not only did we leave Tokyo, we actually managed to get off Honshu, Japan's largest and most inhabited island. Thus I got to spend a whole week in Okinawa, the country's southernmost prefecture, and perhaps the one most challeng...

Yip, even made it to Okinawa! With Trace, Macca and a few others of the Kobe crowd. It was rainy season when we went though so never had the opportunity to see the island in all its glory....

I spent my last year in the Marine Corps living in Okinawa, Japan. I was 22 years old, married, and my daughter had just turned 2 years old. Like most Marines, you start off in the states and you end up serving your final year in Okinawa. Since I was married and I didn't want to reenlist and serve three years in Japan, I opted for a one year tou...