C1 Gourmet Battle

The 6th Annual B1 Grand Prix Gourmet Battle was held in Himeji, November 12th and 13th. The B1 Grand Prix started to revitalize towns in local areas, and it has become one of the most popular events of the year. Thousands gather from across the nation to participate in the event, as exhibitors or visitors eating different kinds of B1 (cheap but delicious) food.

Now then, what is the C1 Gourmet Battle?

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Tour de Okinawa 2011

For all the cyclists out there, an exciting event will take place this weekend (November 12th and 13th) in Nago City. Tour de Okinawa, consisting of Citizen Road Race, Citizen Touring, and International Road Race, will not be your average bicycle competition, but it will hold tons of activities everyone can enjoy as the cyclists ride through the most beautiful parts of Okinawa. Unfortunately, registration ended September 30th, but I sure hope to write about this more next year. After all, I definitely cannot miss out on the mama-chari* and unicycle races taking place simultaneously. Continue reading

Tsuboya Yachimun Street Festival 2011

The 7th annual Tsuboya Yachimun Street Festival will be held from November 3rd (Thurs) ~ November 6th (Sun), 2011. Free pottery experience (lathe only) from 11:00 ~ 12:30 and 14:00 ~ 16:00 at Ikutouen (costs 1000 yen for firing), free admissions to the exhibition on the 3rd floor of Tsuboya Pottery Museum, bargain sales from 10:00 ~ 18:00 in all stores on Tsuboya Street throughout the festival. For events on specific days, Continue reading

The 11th Shouhashi Half Marathon

The 11th Shouhashi Half Marathon will be held on November 6th, 2011. Starting at Sugar Hall, runners can enjoy the scenic view of Shinzato Villa, Okinawa no michi Highway, and Nirai&Kanai Bridges while running. The half marathon (21.0975km) and road race (10km and 3km) are comfortable distances for novice runners so everyone can have fun.
For further information, click here:
http://www.shouhashi.jp/

Google English translation here: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.shouhashi.jp/

Okinawa Turkey-Day Attempt

This is an account of a Thanksgiving attempted in Okinawa. It was my first Thanksgiving to celebrate in Okinawa, Japan, and I wasn’t sure that sharing in the holiday rituals would be appropriate. After all, my Okinawa family by marriage did not understand the significance of the North American celebration, and had never tasted turkey. The typical Uchinanchu (Okinawa people) home came equipped with a kitchen without an oven; a stovetop fitted with a tiny broiler, incapable of cooking a roast, or turkey was the common appliance. Still, the U.S. Military bases, one of which I worked on, offered precooked turkey dinners with all the fixings. It seemed to me, a novel surprise for my Uchinanchu relations would be to partake in a traditional Thanksgiving meal, so I placed an order.

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