Europe

Ok, so I am horrible at posting to my blog. I guess it doesn't really matter, since I don't know if anyone even reads it... However, I like it and I guess in the end thats all that matters.

In February Emily and I decided to go to the UK. We bought the tickets last minute, and only made one hotel reservation. It was fun and exciting to go on a whim, however, in the end I think we decided we would plan out our next trip.

We flew into London Heathrow... After standing in line at customs forever, we finally got through and headed to the rental car counter. Only there wasn't a counter for the company I had reserved with? After much frustration, and a few telephone calls, we found out they weren't located at the airport, as my reservation said, but rather they were located off site, which required a bus ride, which we had to pay for, at 8 Pounds each. I don't think so, we canceled that reservation and were able to make another one with Avis right there at the airport. We got a tiny little Fiat with a stick shift.

I won't go into the entire Trip, I will just post the highlights. First we made a few discoveries, one was that Wales is a really cool place, and we should have spent more time there. We found Tintern Abbey on the side of a windy road, this place was way cool. It was a Cistercian Abbey built in the late 13th century. One of the coolest parts of this stop was that Emily and I didn't plan it at all, we came around a bend in the road and saw it and we were both speechless. While we were walking around inside the weather was kind of overcast a drizzling. There were some crows flying around and cawing off in the distance, giving it a very magical effect. It was something straight out of a fantasy land. We used the rest of that day to make our way up the coast to Caernaforn. Here we went to a really cool castle, Caernaforn Castle. What I really liked about it was that it was not very commercialized. Emily and I were free to roam the castle as we pleased.

Ireland, well don't go to Cork. We went to Irealnd and had a pretty good time, minus the drunk IRA members we met in Cork. Dublin was a very cool town, and of Course we had to go the the Guinness Factory. Surprisingly however that wasn't the highlight of Dublin. Rather the Highlight was the library at Trinity College. That is were we had a chance to see the Book of Kells and its older predecessors.

Well that is all I have time for now. Tune in next time to see pics from the Highlands of Scottland and York Minster!

Thanksgiving 2006

Wow, It sure has been a while since I put anything on my Blog. I guess I have just been wrapped up in life. Emily and I are getting ready to head back to the states. We are going to miss Okinawa a lot. Today we shared thanksgiving with our friends and our Okinawa Family. Emily's friend Hisano, and her family came over. Emily truly out did herself today. Not only did she do it all on her own, she made a meal that was outstanding. Look out Mom, you have competition!!! My Contribution was mainly limited to the turkey. Since our oven in the house is not very big, and since Emily need room to bake other goodies, I took the Turkey to my office kitchen, and cooked it there... It came out really tasty, thanks to Emily's preparation. This day has made me stop, as Thanksgiving normally does and as it should do, and think of the many blessings that I have.

FC Ryukyu

A while back in early September, while Tom was still here, we had a chance to go see the Football Club Ryukyu (FC Ryukyu) play. It was a little warm out, but there was a nice breeze. It was a good game, and it was fun to watch it with Tom. I am glad to say FC Ryukyu won this game. They are working very hard to build this team, started in 2003, to compete in the Japanese national soccer league. It is looking as if that will happen.

Why I love Japan!

So, there are many things about Japan that I love, however, this is just one. Last night Emily and I went to Sunmarina hotel to see Hisano-san's show. She did a great job as usual. When we got there, of course we were late, we sat at a seat in the back off to the side, that didn't have a table, and it wasn't really setup for drinks. A little while later, I went to the cashier and ordered two drinks, for Emily and I. As you read the next part, remember that in Japan there is no tipping! The guy I ordered the drinks from offered to re-seat us so we would have a table, but I didn't think it was necessary, so I declined the offer. I told him where we were sitting, and asked him to bring the drinks over. I went back and sat down. A few minutes later, prompt service, he came over with the drinks and asked if I wanted a table brought over. As I was telling him it wasn't necessary his partner came walking up behind me with a table, and set it down for us to put our drinks on... Remember there is no tipping no incentive for this treatment, other than to do their job well. I love Japan! And to boot, since we go there often, we even got a discount!

Ishigaki 2006; Ishigaki Gyu!

In Japan there is beef, then there is good beef, then there is really good beef, then there is Kobe beef, then even better than that (in my opinion) is Ishigaki beef. Emily and I went to a cattle ranch for dinner. This ranch has a restaurant in the middle of it, however, you have to drive by all the cows before you get to it. Fortunately I was able to sneak Emily in the side so she didn't have to look at the cows before we ate them. If you look closely at the picture to the right you can see some of the cows! We ordered the first order and started cooking it Yaki Niku style. I tasted it and... There has only been one time I have cried over food, until now. It was soo good I sat back and my eyes watered up. I have never had beef so good. For Pete and Tom, it was Kobe x 2. It was unbelievable. I went to bed that night a very happy man... The next day, still dreaming about Ishigaki Gyu, Emily and I went to Ishigaki Kumamoto, AKA Ishigaki Yaki to look at pottery, and to discuss some business ideas. We ended buying a coffee cup as a gift for Hisano-san's father, and a serving platter to show off in the states. I absolutely love this pottery I think it is so beautiful, and it amazes me that only 30% of the attempted pieces actually come out like this. From there we went up to kabira bay where they make black pearls. We were sad to leave the Ishigaki, especially as we had to return to real life. However, we were happy to see our little Molly girl.

Ishigaki 2006; Taketomi-jima.

After our trek into the Jungle, we decided to take a ferry to a quite little Island called Taketomi. Taketomi jima is a very small island that has mostly traditional houses on it. It is a great way to see what traditional Okinawa used to look like. We rented some bicycles and rode around the island, again very calm and peaceful. This picture is of us infront of an actual thatched roof hut. This is not what most houses look like, most houses use the red tiles. This was just very unique! We had a very relaxing and fun time peddling around this tiny island and taking in all this sights. It is refreshing to be somewhere so quite, where the pace of life is so much slower. It gives you time to think and reflect on life. While we were riding around I saw a unique shisa adorning the roof of one of the many traditional houses and had to stop and get a picture. As we were heading back to the return the bikes, It started raining... Luckily we were almost back to the shop, so we didn't get too soaked. It was actually kind of fun to ride the bike in the rain. We took the ferry back the the main island, got changed and went out for Ishigaki Gyu!!!!!

Ishigaki 2006; Miyagi-san!

Since this trip was at the end of a business trip, one of the guys I work with was with me. His name is actually Satoshi Miyagi, or as is polite to call him Miyagi-san. I couldn't believe it when I first got here in 2003, I was working with Mr. Miyagi!!! Anyway, Emily and I went out to dinner with him at a Garlic restaurant the night Emily arrived. The food was very delicious, but its a good thing Emily and I are already married, our breath was kicking!!!

Ishigaki and Miyako 2006.

About a year ago I had a chance to travel to Ishigaki and Miyako islands for work. During the trip I took some vacation, and had Emily join me in Miyako Island. The picture to the left is from 2005. We stayed at a Minshuku (Japanese Inn) and had a grand time getting to know the other guests and the owner. We toured the island and saw as much of the beautiful ocean as we could. There is not a lot to do on Miyako, however the island and the water surrounding it are breathtaking.

Well, this month(Sep 06) I had another chance to travel to Ishigaki and Miyako. This time I decided to take Emily to Ishigaki. We stayed at another Minshuku, however, this time we were too busy to really spend much time at the inn talking. As soon as Emily got off the airplane we hopped in the car and started driving around the island. We eventually made it to Kabira bay. This bay is breathtaking. Every time I go to Ishigaki I go to this bay, and every time I see it I am amazed at the beauty. Unfortunately the weather was overcast so the colors are not very vivid. Oh well, not too bad for 6 days after a Category 4 hurricane...

The day after Emily arrived we took a ferry to Iriomote Island, and took a boat up one of the rivers into the jungle. The boat let us off, and we hiked into the jungle to a beautiful waterfall. The hike wasn't that far, however, since this was planned at the last minute, Emily wasn't really expecting a hike. I wont say Emily whined the whole time, because I think she stopped whining once to take a drink... Just kidding Hunny Bunny ;-) Anyway, we had a great time, even though the weather was kind of overcast. The Waterfall itself was gorgeous, however, there were a lot of people, so it was difficult to really take it in in peace. That night we went to a Yatai (outside Izakaiya). It was very peaceful, and because it was on the roof of a 7 story building, you could look out over the city and the harbor. I really enjoyed the quite, and the calm breeze.

Peter Swimming Hiji Falls?

So I took my best friends Peter and Tom to visit Hiji falls in northern Okinawa. This is a beautiful place, but you have to hike a little bit to get there. When we got to the falls, Tom, and I convinced Peter to swim out to the falls. Not a big deal, oh yea, did I mention Peter can't really swim!!! He does ok, however, he usually sticks to doggie paddling. Well he managed to make it out there and then I swam back and got this picture.

House Guests

WOW! It sure has take some time to recover from being a tour guide. We recently had some house guests, and we showed them all over the island. First we had Emily's cousin Tara and her boyfriend Will come and stay for a week. We had a good time with them and I think we wore them out with running all over the place. During their visit we went the Orion Beer fest (see the article below) we all had a great time.


The day after Will and Tara left, my best friends from back in the US, Pete and Tom, arrived. Pete stayed for two weeks, and Tom stayed for three weeks. It was really cool having them here and being able to show them the island. They had a chance to see all the things we love about Okinawa, Our Friends, the food, the night life, everything... We had a chance to go to Zamami island for an overnight trip. We took the ferry with our Friend Shota-san, and spent the day at the beach. That night we Bar-B-Qued, and had some yaki soba. Then a whole bunch of people showed up and we stayed up talking drinking and cooking well into the night. One of the guys, Oshiro-san, who is a prominent figure on Zamami, brought over some fresh fish and then Bar-B-qued it... It was great. We had tuna necks, they were huge, and all he cooked them with was some salt. Oishi!!! Trust me when I say it was nothing like canned tunafish... HA! Anywho, the next day we got up and headed back. The rest of that week we tried to run around and do last minute things with Pete and Tom. Kobe beef!!! We were sad to see peter go, and we hope to see him again soon. Tom stayed on for another week. It was good having him, however, after a month of guests Emily and I were ready for some sleep. As it got closer for Tom to leave, Emily and I were getting more tired, Sorry Tom! We had a last couple of good nights, and Tom had a really good night apparently because then he... THE INCIDENT!!! HA! (inside joke) Anywho, we were sad to see Tom go, but were not sad to see the car part he bought gone!!!

Eisa & Beer

Our favorite time of year, the Orion Beer Fest and Okinawan Eisa Dancing. This year Emily's Cousin and her boyfriend are visitng us, so they got a chance to see what all the fuss is about. We started them off Friday with a nice dinner and Suguru-san's show. Then next day (sat) we went to the Eisa fest then we went out to Mods to see Namiko-san. As is tradition after Namiko-sans performance we went out to an Izakya for an Otskarasama party. Since we had the beer fest the following day we decided to call it an early night and took a daiko home at about 3:00 am.
The next day Emily went with Hisano-san to get her yukata (Okinawan Kimono) put on. Hisano-san's aunt was the only one that knew how to put them on, so Emily and Hisano had to have her dress them, HA! Then we met up with Shota-san, and Chika-san at the festival. We had lots of fun, great food, music, people, and of course BEER! This was the first time Emily has worn her Yukata. This is the Yukata that Shota-san and Hisano-san got for her as a present. Hisano-san and Chika-san were just as excited as Emily to wear their Yukatas. It was such a beautiful sight to see them together having so much fun and getting along so well with no barriers. No concern for appearances, just good friends having a good time. I wish everyone could have chance to see how life can be when people put aside their differences and just embrace each other and life. Shota-san and I of course had to wear our Jimbes. We had worn them to the beer festival in 2004, before Emily had moved to Okinawa. It brought back a lot of great memories for us. And this year we made a lot of new ones. I will always remember Emily and her friends, my Okinawan women.

After the beer fest we walked to Martin's Irish Pub for some Fish and Chips and Guinness. As if all that was not enough for one night, Tara and Will wanted to sing Karaoke, so of course we couldn't refuse :-). Emily blew me away once again. She got up and sang Hana Mizuki. WOW! To hear my (shy) wife, sing a Japanese song, in a Karaoke bar, it brought tears of pride to my eyes. Hisano, and Shota-san were also very impressed. Okinawa-Ken dai suki desu. To see more pictures of my beautiful yukata women, click on the link to the left "Our Pictures".

Kokusai Okinawa

Okinawa, the Champaru culture that it is, hosted an international festival this past week. It was mainly a festival for children with lots of plays geared toward a younger audience. Emily and I volunteered to help out. Emily speaks Japanese really well, so that was her talent, and I like to hang out and talk to people so that was my talent. We were dubbed "Okinawa Goodwill ambassadors". We ended up spending time with a group from Sweden, from Thursday thru to Sunday. They were a great bunch and we had a lot of fun. I especially had fun showing them many different sides to the Okinawan/Japanese culture. Of course we also interacted with a bunch of folks from other countries. We took them out to an outdoor Izakaiya, then we went and sang Karaoke. They had a lot of fun singing. They were all very open minded and willing to try just about anything. We had one particular adventure that stands out in my mind as a prime example of why Okinawa is so great, and why it is what it is. We took them all out to Martins, the Irish pub. As we sat there I stepped back and took a look at the situation. Here we were, a group of Americans, Okinawans, Swedes and French (truly amazing), all sitting together in Okinawa Japan, in an Irish pub, drinking Irish beer, and speaking Japanese, English, and Swedish... a very unique experience for me! Emily and I would love to come back next year to help out again. We never did get a group picture, so I took the pictures we had from when we went to Martins, and combined them. The couple to the left is Yoko-san and her Husband David. They live in Paris. Yoko-san is Okinawan, and speaks French, English, and Japanese perfectly. On the right is Bengt, Me, and Stalle. They were lots of fun, and had a good sense of humor, they both spoke English very well. The center picture is Hisano-san, Emily, Tuve in the front, and Ylva in the back. Hisano-san is Emily's best friend in Okinawa. Tuve and Ylva, were both from Sweden, and both spoke English very well. What a great group.

Maeda Point

I had another chance to jump in the water. I want Diving again with my buddy Dave. This was his last chance to dive this year on Okinawa. We didn't want to go to Maeda at first, since we have done it so many times. However, the weather was acting up so most of the other dive sites were too rough. We got to Maeda and it looked pretty calm. We walked down the stairs, felt like hundreds, and got in. We went down, out, and to the right. We swam along and were having a good time. We decided to head for the cave. We got to the cave and swam in. As we swam in it was pitch black, luckily I had my flashlight with me. The picture to the right is a pic that Dave took of me with my flashlight about to enter one of the caves. We made it in and had a look around then headed back out, stopping along the way for me to explore a tiny little shoot off of the bigger cave, It was way cool. We then went back out to the ocean, and as you head out of the cave, you see the beautiful blue of the ocean. It is breathtaking, which is really strange, when breathing underwater. Anyway, we started to head back and went through some other cool little caves.
We found a lionfish (poisonous of course), Dave got really close and got some good pictures.
Then, as Dave swam ahead, I was looking at a fish. As a started to follow him, he was across a crevice from me. I was looking at him and swimming in his direction when I caught out of the corner of my eye a school of fish. I thought at first it seemed like a large school of fish. Then I realized it wasn't stopping, the school of fish kept going and swimming by us. It was like being on one side of the train tracks and looking at a friend on the other side as a very very long train goes by. I stayed where I was watching in utter amazement as these thousands of fish swam by. The school of fish must have lasted about 3 or 4 mins. It was like nothing I have ever seen. There must have been 50 thousand fish or more... The picture to the left here is a picture that Dave took, I can only assume that the light on the bottom is the reflection of his flash off of the fish. I can't wait to go diving again. To see more pics click on my Dive Buddy's picture like to the side or right here http://www.flickr.com/photos/scubaholic/sets/72157594158523874/

JCG

To recap, the Typhoon that was heading our way hit, however, it had lost its momentum, so no real damage. We stayed up and watched the Ger V Por game, well at least I did. We got a few hours of sleep, then got up and went to see the FC Ryukyu Game. We were exhausted, so we took a nap, got up at about midnight, and went out to see the World Cup Game. I was glad to see Italy win, I felt they deserved it more. Plus with Zidane's Red Card, they really showed they had more class. Anywho...

Emily and I had another action packed and fun filled weekend. We started Friday, by staying in since we were so tired from the past months activities. Then Saturday we went to Mods and saw Namiko-san play. She is awesome, and I am sure Emily will write all about it.

After Namiko-san at Mods, we went to Martins, yet again. In the picture from left to right is Shota-san (of the B-trippers), Hisano-san (was with the Rubies, now sings alone), Emily and me of course, then one of the best musicians in Okinawa, according to Shota-san. The guy on the end is just another friend, however he was very drunk... We didn't drink too much since we had an early morning planned. We did however stay out much longer than we had planned. We wanted to go home early at about 2:00 am, however, we didn't call it quits until everyone else went out to eat at 4:30. We made it home and crashed...

We had a unique opportunity to go out with the Japanese Coast Guard on an Open House. We went on board one of their ships then went out to sea. They then did an exercise. Basically it was a boat rescue. They had a helicopter fly over a smaller boat, and lowered a rescuer onto the boat. They then hooked a line from the helicopter to the boat, and lowered another rescuer and a stretcher to the boat. They rescued the people in need of help, and sent everything back up the line. It was very impressive, especially since we were moving foreword the entire time. Emily and I got a picture with the mascot, a sea lion...

Late Night?

Since our BBQ got canceled due to the typhoon we decided to have a typhoon party instead. We then stayed up to watch the Germany V Portugal game. I guess we can't all be night owls...

Arrgh, Dar She Blows!!!

Here comes Ewiniar the first Typhoon of the season to head our way! I tend not to get too excited over these, since everything on the island is made of concrete. However, this one looks like it might go right by our side of the island and they are predicting wind of 100 knots (115 mph) or greater! We were planning a BBQ, but it looks like it will turn into a Typhoon Party instead. If it actually comes up here, often times they change direction randomly, Emily and I will make our ritual venture out to Toguchi Beach and see what the surf looks like. Last year there were two Okinawans surfing in the Typhoon charged waves. We will post some pics if we get anything exciting. Our island is the one circled in red below.

July 4th Weekend

After out trip to mainland I had to go back to work for a week. Then I had a four day weekend for the 4th of July. Our weekend started when we went out Friday night to see the B-Trippers play. Then we stayed and watched the Deutschland V Argentina Game... GO DEUSTCHLAND! We stayed out late, however, I got up the following morning to Go SCUBA!

SCUBA Diving with my friend Dave. We went to Hoshu and Hoshukita. Hoshukita (toilet bowl) was a blast. Emily and the dog even got in the water, a little. We saw a bunch of cool stuff, a few nemos, a sea snake, a tons of fish.

Then we went to Hoshu. Here we almost killed ourselves. We saw a lot of cool stuff and explored a lot. Then we entered a tunnel... The tunnel was a little tight, but not too bad. Once we got in and could see the exit, we saw a school of lion fish guarding the exit. Lion fish are poisonous, and you can get stung just by touching them. Dave tried to scare them off by blowing air, and waving, but it wasn't working. We couldn't turn around it was too tight. Then one of the fish swam to the left, and opened a hole. We both swam through avoiding the fish and everything else... What fun!

Sunday we went to the 24th Peaceful Love Rock Festival. We saw the B-Trippers, Jet, Jupiter, a Led Zepplin Tribute band, and of course Kween! We had a blast, and spent the whole day with our friends. Hisano-San, Saki-san, and Emiri-san Kawaii Desu ne? It was a scorcher of a day. We sat in the sun for the B-trippers for 20 mins, and then had to retire to the shade. However once the Led Zepplin Band came on we couldn't control ourselves and had to get up and dance with the crowd. Emily even came down into the pit. Oh yea, the rock fest is held at the Ginowan town all purpose arena, and one of the purposes is bull fighting. SO, when I say pit, it is because you have to go down from the seats into the open area in the center. After led zepplin, one of our favorite bands came on, Kween. They are a Queen tribute band. They do a really good job, and they really do rock. However, the lead signer is a little bit overweight, and yet he still wears the skin tight white jumper suit, so it is kind of funny as well. Of course afterwards, we went out to an Izakya...

Monday I got up to go diving again! Probablly not such a great idea, as I had been out in the sun drinking beer all day the day before, and had stayed out late the night before. Dave and I made it to Onna Point. That was an adventure in itself. We had to use the truck to get back there. Once there we had to snorkel out a ways to get to the dive site. We had a great dive, and again saw lots of critters, not much in the way of deadly encounters, which was fine with me. I did see a cool see slug that was White with Blue stripes! I wimped out on the second dive though, which turned out to be a smart decision. When I got home, Emily made tacos, I ate two and passed out...

Honshu

Tadaima!!! So, I recently returned from a 6 month business trip. After flying in from the US, I was exhausted. I was met at the Airport by Emily, who took me directly to the bar to meet up with Shota-San and watch the Japan V Australia World Cup Game!!! Unfortunately they lost, but I stayed up and we watched the US V Czech... and they lost as well. Needless to say I was wiped out. I spent the next few days recovering and getting ready to head up to Honshu (aka Mainland Japan).

Emily and I went to Tokyo, Kyoto (the old Capital) and Nara (the Oldest City in Japan, and the original capital). Tokyo was fun. There was a lot to see, however, we only had a chance to glimpse a little. We took a bus tour in the morning and then used the trains the rest of the day. Emily wrote about most of this in her blog ( http://emiriinoki.blogspot.com/ ) so I wont reinvent the wheel here. I will say the the Shibuya Crossing was something else. I also really enjoyed seeing the old temples. I have a new appreciation for the Shinto religion, and I defiantly enjoy the Japanese attitude towards peace and harmony in nature...

Towards the end of our trip we went to Nara, and were visiting Todaji Temple. Emily stopped to feed Bambi...

Middle East

Well as I had said before I had a chance to travel to the middle east. I made it to Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, and Qatar. While there I stoped in and saw Petra in Jordan and the Pyramids in Egypt.
Petra, a site built by the Nabataeans around the 6th century, was also used in the Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade... For more pics of me in the middle east visit our pic site at http://www.msnusers.com/EmilyandDave/jordanampegypt.msnw

Beginnings, Ends, and Beginnings!

I arrived on the shores of Okinawa in Dec of 2003. Emily, my wife, arrived Nov of 2004. Since then we have fallen in love with the island. When I first arrived I met Shota-san, who quickly became my best friend, and is like a brother to me! Through Shota-san we have met lots of other people, Jun-san, Arita-san, Kazushi-san, The B-trippers, and JET!!! Emily has worked hard to learn Japanese and has made friends with Hisano-san, Chika-san, and Namiko-san. All the people we know are musicians, and quite talented at that! We have traveled to Miyako Island, and Emily made it up to Mainland recently. We both are starting our Blogs together and we will detail all our adventures so far, and the ones to come.
For now, I am stuck in Tampa, FL, pining for Okinawa. My plans for the future are still up in the air, but I seem to be leaning to heading back to school. I simply need to find a school I can afford, but Emily has told me "I will not do your homework", so I guess it is up to me to pick a school. My time away from Emily has not been all bad, I have gotten a chance to travel to the middle east and see the Pyramids. I look forward to getting back to Okinawa, and then getting out of the Military and traveling the Globe...

Our Story

Well Emily started a Blog so I can't let her be the technicaly savy one in the relationship. Where to start?

Well this is us. So far its Emily, Me, and of Course Molly!

We live in Okinawa, and we plan to travel as much as possible in our lives. This is the begining of our story.