Mini Moon Part Ni

About an hour and a half from our home is a little bit of paradise known as Okuma. There are beautiful beaches, jetskis, golf, go-karts, food, entertainment, and excellent margaritas. There is also one private cottage on a private beach that is booked for months in advance. Way back in April, my thoughtful hubs reserved the cottage for our mini moon. Way to go hubs! We went jetskiing, swimming in the ocean, and read on the beach... it was perfect!


Driving our golf cart up to the cottage


Ai Beach cottage!


The view from the driveway. A beach just for us!

Our very own cottage!

Our pod shower with 8 jets; Hubs on the bed.

It was so peaceful to see the waves crash against the rocks; Seamas loved the beach!

I can't believe we get to live here!

Picturesque sunsets!

Happy mini mooners!

Sunset from our deck.

Hubs and the beautiful sunset!

They had these wonderful hip hop dancers perform one night. They did a whole Michael Jackson tribute!

Then we listened to a Japanese Beatles cover band while sipping margaritas.

On our drive home, we decided to take a detour and visit Cape Hedo - the northernmost point on Okinawa.

The waves crashing against the cliff is a sight to see.

He loves living here; No clue why there is a large bird there.

The detour home took over 2 hours so we stopped at the cutest little place for some caffiene - Hiro's coffee farm! They grow their own beans and make a fabulous cup of coffee!

There were lots of pretty flowers...

...and chickens!

I can't wait for our real honeymoon now!

Mini Moon Part Ichi

Labor day weekend was our "mini moon." We weren't sure if/when we would be able to take a honeymoon since Ryan took off 2 weeks to fly back to the States for our wedding, so way back in April, my adorable hubs booked us a private cottage at Okuma (that's part 2 of this saga). He could only get two nights since it's booked for nearly a year, so we decided to turn the long weekend into our mini honeymoon and pamper ourselves a bit.

We started mini moon by traveling to the south of the island to see Okinawa World - a tourist delight of all things Okinawan. We went mostly to see Gyokusendo Cave but we enjoyed the Eisa performance, glass blowing exhibit, liquer tasting, and pottery village.


Stalactites and stalagmites in the caves.


There were bats, bugs, fish, and um, crazy rock formations in the cave.

Glass blowing.

We passed on the Habu sake and got pineapple liquer instead.

Just a couple of shisas playing around!

Later that day, we got massages and then went to a fabulous teppanyaki restaurant named Jam. Jam is an amazing steak and seafood restaurant where they cook everything right in front of you. Since we were celebrating, we got the couple's special which included filet, sirloin, and lobster. It came with curry soup, salad, vegetables, bread, garlic rice, sherbert, and jasmine tea. YUM! Everything was delicious and it was well worth the drive up to Onna.

Welcome to Jam!

My tropical "Shisa" drink; curry soup in a heart shaped bowl.

Steak and lobster dinner

Mini mooners!

Okinapa

Ryan and I loved wine tasting in Napa 3 years ago, so we were excited when we heard we could go wine tasting in Okinapa (get it...change the N to a W and you get...OKINAWA!). Who doesn't love a chance to dress up and try new kinds of wine while noshing on gourmet food? Okinapa is a biannual gala held at the Butler Officer's Club. They had wine from all over the world - Japan, Italy, France, Germany, and yes, even Mondavi and Arbor Mist came to represent California. We tried to steer clear of the wines we could easily buy on base and instead enjoyed vintages from Italy and Germany. Though Ryan's favorite Chianti was already sold out, we bought a few bottles of Sangiovese and some German Reisling that I loved.

One of the wine tasting tables; an ice sculpture.

Ryan rinsing out his glass before trying another wine.

Ryan enjoying the mini crab cakes!

Kanpai!

Obon

Reason 263 that we love living off base in Japan? Eisa dancers performing at night during Obon! Obon is a holiday that Okinawan Buddhists celebrate enthusiastically. They believe that their deceased ancestors return home during this time so to honor them, they eat, drink, and Eisa dance! Eisa is a traditional Ryukuan dance that is performed with drums, rhythmic movements, and cries of "Ei Ya Sa Sa!" Last week, while Ryan had to be in bed by 7pm to wake up early for the range (he shot expert...again!), I ran outside with my camera when I heard the drumming begin. Wealthier families pay the Eisa dancers to play in front of their house for their ancestors and then offer the dancers refreshments like chocolate, Awamori, and watermelon (which goes for about $10 here!). Luckily, the Obon dancers returned nearly every night and Ryan and I followed the procession with a new Japanese friend on Saturday night. I even got some video!

I particularly enjoyed watching the little boy in green shorts. He was on beat and even knew some of the moves!

Here's another video of some of the dancers. The man dancing on the right is actually American!