A note on Okinawan history

Before I go off to explore mainland Japan in a few weeks, I thought I would try to visit some of the main sites on Okinawa.

Okinawa Prefecture is technically comprised of hundreds of islands known as the Ryukus. However, it was 1879 before the Japan annexed the island chain and dissolved the Ryukyu kingdom which had reigned for hundreds of years prior. The palace of the kingdom is (was) in Naha, the capital of present day Okinawa. Over the past weekend I got to check it out. 

Most of the Shuri castle was destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa (1945) but there has been quite a bit of reconstruction, as well as preservation of what remains. The estimate is that the castle was built around 1320 and acted as the center of the Ryuku kindom for ~500 years.

The castle is just outside of the city in Naha and reminds me of many of the other sites I've been meaning to visit here. There are always signs pointing off of the highway to significant local sites...most of them I  obviously won't be able to go to. But still I am going to make an effort while I am here.

That being said, I've been told mainland Japan is very different from the "island life" on Okinawa. More exploration soon!

On another note, I've been really busy with work and grad school applications. It seems like the weeks are flying by and I am running out of time to get everything done (and to see everything here :P) Can't complain too much though, reading papers on the beach isn't a bad deal.

Visitors

I'm really excited to have my Mom and step-Dad visiting this weekend! Its interesting how you start to think of a place differently when you're in charge of showing someone around. Seeing Okinawa a bit through their eyes has reminded me of some of the things I was surprised by when I first arrived but have since gotten used to. For example, the village announcements. The town of Onna  plays music and announcements( atleast I think they're announcements, but they're in Japanese so I'm not 100% sure on that) every morning and evening. I forgot how startled I was by this at first. You'll be talking to someone outside and suddenly music will come blasting from the nearest telephone pole...

But otherwise, its been really awesome to explore with them and to see some of the sites I have not made it to yet myself. (Tomorrow's Itinerary = castle exploration)

We also went out to breakfast this morning at a hawiian pancake house. So good. I am mostly putting this in for any future OISTers out there, you have to go. Especially when your kindof craving some, lets say non-japanese, and not dry cereal bfast. Paanilani pancakes is the place to be.

I will leave you with this pancake picture.

Enjoy

Exploring Taipei

Being honest, Taiwan was not very high on my places to visit during my time in Japan before I came here.  It was really the interns who where at OIST before me who got the idea in my head. The flights  from Okinawa to Taipei is actually shorter than those to Tokyo (and less expensive), and US citizens don't need a visa...sign me up! Unfortunately there was a typhoon sitting offshore most of the weekend and there was pretty constant rain, but we still managed to fit a lot in.

I think I can break down the weekend into two categories:

1. Food
2. Tourist sites

The food scene in Taipei is going strong. I liked the way one person described the city to me--where as in other cities young people will go out for a night of drinking, in Taipei they will go out for a night of eating. The city is famous for many of its night markets, they open around 6pm but don't really pick up until 9 or 10 and are open until 2! Depending on which market you go to there will be different things, some have food as the main focus where as others will include more shopping stalls. Either way they promise a lively environment with lots of street vendors (even on a rainy night!) 

We made it to two of the larger markets while we were here (Shilin and Raohe) and tried things from, what seemed to be an amped up crepe sandwich (see picture) to a variety of fried sea food, and topping off each night with bubble tea. 

Grilled redbean, crepe, sandwhich? (whatever it was, it was tasty)

Mochi balls--there was a very long line for these--not sure it was worth it, but definitely interesting and seemed to be a local favorite

Of course, the food scene isn't entirely about the night markets. We also ventured out in search of the best dumplings, seafood, and hotpot. 

I didn't even know where to start...

If you're looking for food in Taipei, you will inevitable come across Din Tai Fung. While heavily visited by tourists, I would say it actually does live up to its reputation. After all who wouldn't like Michelin star soup dumplings. 

Last food picture I promise. But hotpot was also a good choice.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way, we did spend some time exploring the rest of Taipei and some of the surrounding areas. With four days total in Taiwan we spent Saturday and Tuesday in the city and took day trips to some of the surrounding areas on Sunday and Monday.  Even so, with so little time for an entire country, we definitely ended up sticking to a lot of the typical tourist stops

Even though I know virtually no Chinese, with picking up on a few things it was very easy to get around. The transportation system is really good and very easy to figure out (sorry Boston, it still has the red, green, orange, and blue lines--but it is way better than the "T") and we easily caught buses out of the city to some of the top places we wanted to go.

Starting in Taipei-- Probably one of Taipei's most prominent landmarks is Taipei101.  Despite my best attempts, the photo cannot really do it justice (+ clouds) but it is indeed a very tall building.

Taipei 101

Some of the highlights of the city were liberty square plaza which is home to the National Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall, National concert hall, and National theater, as well as numerous surrounding gardens. 

Garden in liberty square

Chaing Kai-shek memorial hall

I am also very glad we made it to the National Palace Museum. The museum has a collection which ranges over 10,000 YEARS of Chinese history. Between ancient scrolls and paintings and 11th century B.C.E pottery, getting a real glimpse at some Chinese history was really amazing. Maybe part of it is because I grew up in Boston, and most of our museum's focus is on the past 400 years, let alone the past 10,000...

Guardian lion at National Palace Museum

On our two days outside of Taipei we visited Juifen, a town north of Taipei, which supposedly the Miyazaki film Spirited Away was based on. An old mining town, it is built into the mountainside near the coast. While it has definitely embraced the tourism boom since the movie's release it was still awesome to wander the steep, narrow (crouded) streets. The rain was relentless while we were here, but still a good day.

Embrace the Poncho!

And to top of the weekend we explored Yangmingshan National Park

Stairs

More stairs

No but seriously it was pretty awesome :D my pictures didn't really turn out though. 

Overall I am very glad I made it to Taiwan! It also inspired me to plan some more trips, so more on that soon. 

Taiwan!

Hello from Taiwan!! I am here for the long weekend and have been enjoying getting lost in a new local. From the night markets to visiting Jiufen (the town Spirited Away was based on, for any Miyazaki film lovers) it's been an awesome two days here! A longer post to come when I am back in Japan next week and can share some pictures. --until then--Tori

First month

This week marks one month of being in Okinawa. It does feel like I have been here a while in that I feel completely settled into my routine here, but at the same time I can hear the clock ticking.  I realized this when I studied abroad in Australia as well, the point when I no longer feel like I'm "traveling" but rather that I live here. BUT I am still trying to remind myself that there is still so much I have planned on doing here and time will go by too quickly.

I spent some time during the past few days planning upcoming trips. As I mentioned before I am flying to Taiwan next weekend and have a trip to mainland Japan in November coming up as well. Larger trips aside though, I got my International Drivers Permit last week, and I am ready to explore Okinawa more. (Note to any future co-ops/interns at OIST, I thought I would be able to get around Okinawa on the public bus and by bike but if you can, having your IDP is the way to go. OIST has cars you can sign out for FREE and driving on the left side of the road is not as terrifying as I had thought it would be).

This weeks explorations included:

A return trip to Chatan (American village) where we stopped by an arcade. Considering my "arcade" experience consists of  chucky cheese as a five year old I completely floundered compared with the local pros.

We also went snorkeling a few more times (I wish I had an underwater camera) but highlights were an eel, a puffer fish, and a venomous sea snake :O

We're supposed to get hit with a typhoon on Tuesday so I'm going to enjoy the sun while its here :)