Orion Beer Festival

I know, I know, I'm such a bad blogger!  Well, here goes the first of a few updates...

Last month, we went to the Orion Beer Festival, which was held at Koza Athletic Park in conjunction with the All Okinawa Eisa Competition.  The Eisa dancing was amazing, but the real characters were at the beer festival...

The star of the event...Orion beer!

Yes, that man is wearing a beer hat.

The Hubs with Okinawa's local Orion beer!

By the end of the night, there were fireworks and massive beer cup towers!

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!