So what do you do when you’re all alone on a Saturday night in Naha? Find a raibu (live) izakaya (pub) where you can eat small plates of local delicacies while listening to live music:
I figured I’d end up going to Wa-no-Ichi one night. After two nights of economizing with takeout sushi from the supermarket, I decided to treat myself to local pub food. I’d been to Wa-no-Ichi before and liked the atmosphere (built out of a quonset hut) and food (“Okinawan” food with a twist and decently priced, although they make up for that with a “table charge” — ¥300 — and a live charge — ¥500). I had jiimaami dofu (a soft peanut flavored tofu), umi budou (sea grapes), mozuku tempura (because John Purves, whom I visited today, said I had to), gurukun (a popular local fish) age (deep fried), and goya beer:
It was all good.
Before that I spent a couple hours visiting with John Purves and his wife Rachel Stevenson at the Kin Town Community Center.
The town was holding a “Culture Festival” and John and Rachel had works on display: Rachel had a website on her activities in and take on Kin, while John had a jointly authored translation/interpretation of an 18th-century text by Sai On about “the secrets of forestry” that’s going to be published in The Ryukyuanist next month. Do check out Rachel’s lovely website and download John’s article once its posted on The Ryukyuanist website.
Continuing backwards with my day, I lunched in Mihama (more precisely, in “American Village” i.e. American Strip Mall). I wanted to take some photos of this America-themed destination for tourists as much as for the Americans at the nearby bases. It’s changed a bit from 10 — even 5 — years ago. For one, my favorite cafe is gone, taken over by a Freshness Burger franchise. Big bummer, because I wanted my usual grilled chicken panini and latte there. I settled for souki (pork rib) soba instead.
It’s only getting bigger too, with a “phase two” opening soon:
For the most part the area is harmless and rather silly, although there are bars where trouble has occurred before, such as the rape of a Japanese woman by an airman from Kadena AB in the parking lot several years ago when I lived here. Rachel mentioned that at least in Kin — site of Camp Hansen, the base of the three Marines who raped the schoolgirl in 1995 — there is a midnight curfew in effect for all American military personnel.
Speaking of American military personnel, today’s plan was to do base-related things besides American Village. I was going to go to the spot along Kadena AB’s perimeter where you can see over the fence onto the tarmac and watch jets take off and land, but I was running short of time. That will be on the agenda for tomorrow. Time was short because before getting to Mihama I wanted to go to Kakazu Park, another base-watching spot, this time offering a view (but a bit distant) of Futenma, the Marine Air Station that you should know about if you’ve been paying any attention to the news of President Obama’s visit to Japan yesterday. The “base realignment” mentioned centers on transferring Futenma’s functions elsewhere — where elsewhere is the sticking point. The U.S. wants to move it to a heliport up north in Henako, the locals there don’t want it. Secretary Gates (whom I’m NOT liking) basically threatened Japan (Okinawa) with a no deal to move 8,000 Marines to Guam unless the Henako facility is agreed to. It’s pretty much a mess and I imagine nothing substantive will happen for a long time. In any case, back to Kakazu. The observation platform dedicated there in January 1964 is one of my favorite pre-Reversion sightseeing spots in Okinawa. It’s this (now worn down) globe with slices taken out (for viewing on the separate floors) and a spiral staircase going up the center.
Note the chasm between Okinawa and mainland Japan, suggesting a true separation between the two — that surely must have been intended, but by whom? Was the design under American direction? I don’t know nor do I think I can find out. There’s graffiti inside the walls and it’s clear that kids hang out here — there were three (junior?) high school guys just sitting around talking when I got there.
The view of Futenma is better had at several other spots in Ginowan, including the upper floor of Okinawa International University, which abuts the base, but from Kakazu you can appreciate the vastness of the base with respect to the city of Ginowan, which is donut shaped because of the base at its center.
Finally, backing up to the morning, I spent part of that at the Ujizome Kumiai (trade union) Center gallery on tiny Senaga Island in Tomigusuku to score some sugar-cane-leaf-dyed items, especially a tapestry for my new study. And that I did, plus a few small items for the family. Ujizome is a special dying process done with sugar cane leaves and it renders beautiful bright (and dark) greens, as in these tapestries (not my photo; this is from another gallery website):
I did NOT get a goya motif, which might surprise you. I actually went looking for the sugar cane motif pictured near the center here. They didn’t have it, but instead, another caught my eye because of the modern angles done in shades of green. It has a flower motif at the center, a gettô, which I need to research because Rachel immediately recognized the name from a local song that she says is always sung at memorials. The clerk at the Kumiai had some cut and dried geto she showed me when I asked about the flower motif. I photo of it now won’t do it justice. You’ll see it hanging on my study wall once I get back….
UPDATE: Info on gettô, or Alpinia zerumbet. It’s in the shell ginger family and its leaves are used to wrap rice balls in (the store clerk actually told me that part). That probably means they are used to wrap food offering at tombs on memorial days.
