Kin-cho Town has delcared itself as the official “Taco Rice Town.”
Taco rice, symbolic of Okinawa’s champuru culture, was created in 1984 at Parlor Senri, just outside of Camp Hansen. Popular among American Marines and locals, taco rice became part of Okiawan cuisine. In November 2010, Kincho received the Guinness World Records for making the world’s largest taco rice, weighing 746kg.
http://www.kin.cc/downloadkinfiles/tacorice.pdf
http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/article_photo/44998/
Night rainbow, Lunar rainbow, Moonbow, space rainbow. There are many names you can call it. Gekkou （月虹）is a rainbow produced by moonlight, usually faint and appears white to the human eye. This incredible natural phenomenon which is believed to bring happiness was observed by the Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory on January 7th, 2012. What a beautiful start for the New Year!
The Article about this news on Okinawa Times in Japanese: http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/article/2011-12-08_27054/
Susumu Higa’s “Soldats de Sable (砂の剣）”was nominated in the Prix du meilleur album section of the 39th Angoulême International Comics Festival held in France next year. Although Higa shows some mixed feelings since this work was created over 10 years ago, he says he is honored to be recognized by the international community. Continue reading
Founded as a part of Discover Okinawa Promotion Project for Island Tourism, DOR39 collects and displays photos, videos, and other media from voluntary participants with the purpose of sharing their island experiences and bringing more visitors to 39 islands off of Okinawa. For more information, here’s an article from Ryukyu Shimpo in English: http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2011/12/08/4034/
“Edonobori – The Spirit of Ryukyu –” won the Social Communications Prize at Japan International Short Film Festival, also known as the Eibunren Award run by Japan Association of Audiovisual Producers Inc annually.
http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/article/2011-12-01_26729/ (in Japanese)
When I attended the 5th World Uchinanchu Festival (which happened to be my first taikai), I was surprised with the Okinawan diaspora, especially the ones who went to places such as Zambia, Sweden, and of course, New Caledonia. Here’s news about the recently built Okinawan House from Ryukyu Shimpo in English: http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2011/11/24/3846/
The Japan Urban Design Institute recognized the Village Road Route 1 footlights of Tonaki Island with the Block Division Prize of the 1st Public Design Award.
According to an article in Okinawa Times, the village first started to set footlights from 2000 to 2005. The 152 lights along the 765 meter long road create a magical atmosphere, illuminating the coral stone walls and Okianwan red-tiled roofs under the starry sky. Tourists who stay in the traditional houses can enjoy the nature safely at night, thanks to the hearty footlights. Continue reading
To celebrate the 85th year of the Brazil Okinawa-Kenjinkai, the Kenjinkai and the Okinawan Cultural Center of Brazil cosponsored a live concert of Begin, one of the most popular Okinawan band hailing from Ishigaki Island.
http://www.saopauloshimbun.com/index.php/conteudo/show/id/6427/cat/105
The Bangkok Post featured an article about Effective Microorganism balls, known as EM balls, sent to Thailand to ease flood disaster on November 14th.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/266116/building-a-better-ball
Question: Who developed EM balls? Continue reading
The Taiwan Sujio, or the beauty rat snake, is yellow-ish oliver colored with small and cute, black eyes (some people even keep them as pets). They’re not poisonous but considered as dangerous alien species because they feed on birds and small animals which threatens the ecosystem and biodiversity in Okinawa. The Ministry of Environment Naha’s Regional Office said they will pay 10,000 yen in exchange of the snake until March 10th, 2012. Continue reading