Nago Cherry Blossom Festival

by Jessica // January 29, 2015 // No Comments

Hello friends, hope you all are having a wonderful week. I must say it feels like spring here, and with all the flowers blooming it definitely looks it, too!

This blog post is about a little road trip we took last weekend to the northern part of the island that is known for its lovely cherry tree-lined road that takes you up Mt.Nago. The 53rd Nago Cherry Blossom Festival is from January 31st to February 1st, but the trees have already started to bloom. The cherry trees require cold temperatures to come into bloom, the pink blanket created by the trees moves slowly south from the northern mountains in one or two weeks. It is believed that the blooms represent the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It was a great day out with the kiddos, and I look forward to visiting again next year.

They had food vendors along the way selling traditional dishes and a few American favorites for the kiddos.

Yummy french fries and hot dogs!

This was soup or soba with pigs feet and what appears to be an esophagus, I’m glad Cole chose the other bowl, I don’t think I could watch him eat that.

On the way to the top of Mt. Nago there was a rest area with a shrine and locals selling oranges.

The Festival at Mt.Nago this weekend is expected to attract 200,000 visitors, with parades, street dances, and stage entertainment. It’s worth the drive this weekend if you haven’t already checked it out.

A little Japanese translation for fun.

Cherry Blossoms – Sakura

Cherry Blossom Viewing – Hanami

Mountain Cherry Tree – Yamazakura

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post, and thank you for your support. My little blog is starting to grow little by little, and I couldn’t do it without your subscriptions.

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Jessica

The Local Antique Shop

by Jessica // January 14, 2015 // No Comments

Hello friends, hope you all are well and enjoying the new year.

Today’s blog post features pictures from a local Chinese antique store, The Oriental Place, that a friend and I visited last week. This local shop has been in business since 1999, and offers original antiques from China. The prices were reasonable, they carry anything from one of a kind porcelain, small unique gifts, up to large furniture pieces. For the ladies stationed on the island they will open their shop for coffees or business meetings, and offer information about their beautiful Chinese antiques.

Hope you enjoyed taking a look at this lovely Antique store, all the intricate carving and colorful painted furniture are amazing. The brushes you saw in a few pictures that look like old shaving cream brushes are caligraphy brushes, they are a great affordable gift idea, I’d never seen these until moving here. If you are in the area it’s definitely worth checking out. They also offer gift cards, perfect for a friend or family member, they are available starting at $25. Their website is www.orientalplaceokinawa.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/orientalplaceokinawa.

Thank-you for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Jessica

Our First Christmas in Japan

by Jessica // January 6, 2015 // No Comments

Our first Christmas in Japan was nice and quiet, we shared a wonderful dinner with new friends. Thank-you family and friends for all the cards and packages sent our way, it helped ease the sadness of being away from my family. It’s always exciting to go to the post office this time of year, you never know what Santa might bring. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with loved ones.

This post I just wanted to share a little trip we made the day after Christmas to Itoman, for the 16th Annual Itoman Peaceful Illumination, to see their beautiful light display. Itoman is about an hour from our house, on the southern tip of Okinawa. They had thousands of twinkling lights in various colors decorating the entire facility. There were many food and game vendors to enjoy, much like a fair back home. The aroma of fried foods made it hard to resist, but Cole and went with a cabbage and vegetable omelet, it was quiet tasty. They even had fresh made donuts and cotton candy to satisfy your sweet tooth.

My silly bunch, never a dull moment!

Fresh donuts with a variety of toppings, yum!

I didn’t get all of this in the picture, but it said “PEACEFULL”, I’m sure it made all the Americans smile.

The meltdown has begun, see the joy on Ava’s face, must have been all the sugar.

The people here are very polite and helpful, which makes it easier when ordering food or trying to get directions. It’s a great learning experience for the kiddos, we’re soaking up as much of the culture as we can while we are here. We enjoyed our trip to Itoman and hope to make it back again next year.