Shisso in Okinawa

Okinawa ...... birthplace of Karate!! Kiomi was right ..... Okinawa provided! Haisai .... this is a typical Okinawan greeting, very sing-songy and sweet ..... similar they say, to Hawaiian Aloha. It is a string of about a hundred and fifty islands, trickling into the East China Sea, forming the bottom of Japan and almost running into Taiwan :)!! Most are not inhabited. I am on a little cape near the middle of the main island of Okinawa, with the small village of Onna nearby .... clean turquoise water to cool off in, not a hint of traffic, not a city in sight ..... green tropical jungle as a backdrop ..... perfect. So much for my cultural exploration of Japan :) Okinawa is famous for the longevity of it's citizens ...... not too hard to figure why. No city pollution, a less harried lifestyle, plenty of fresh produce, plucked from their own gardens, fresh fish weekly but most importantly, a happier attitude ..... a way way more friendly one than that of the Japanese of Tokyo. Happy is good :)

It was a relatively peaceful serene week in Okinawa ...... although there were many families around (it is holiday time in Japan after all) ..... happy sounds of families reconnecting, spending time together playing, (I got bopped in the head many times by errant beach balls, emitting giggles from the little ones......Japanese children are just so darn cute!!) ) is a delight to be around. I was the only non Japanese on the flight to Okinawa and again the only non Japanese at my hotel. This was a first for me on both counts!!! ..... a bit strange but I adapted quickly ..... giving my vocal chords a break all week! A typhoon rolled/blew in on my second day ..... the hotel hunkered down, boarding here and there and everyone stayed in their rooms or in the closed off lobby area, until it blew over ..... the sky was totally gray, sideways rain pelted relentlessly for hours, the wind howled eerily, knocking branches off the palm trees ..... quite a mess by the next morning. Typhoons, I learned are common on the islands during the summer months :) Actually, it was quite something to experience within the warmth and safety of a hotel, well prepared for these storms .....I have always enjoyed a good thunderstorm and decided then and there that I will head to Tofino on Vancouver Island next year, for their legendary winter storms :) I will "ink" that one in!!

The next day, I had a call from "Kiomi concierge" from Tokyo ..... someone had turned in my camera!! It was sent via express post to Okinawa, all wrapped in bubble wrapping, gift boxed .... unbelievable!! The universe must have liked my "let it be" attitude :)

As interesting as the external journey may be when traveling, the inevitable internal one is what becomes most interesting & illuminating! I have had opportunity for many quiet times to ponder, reflect, review. The issue of living in a city versus a smaller, more nature based locale keeps resurfacing ..... I guess I am just not much of a city dweller. Perhaps if one had no choice, we adapt and create a home with serenity wherever we hang our hats ..... I think that is what the Japanese do in their concrete world, with all the lovely little gardens on their balconies and perhaps in their homes as well. I think the key ingredient is nature ..... somehow, weaving it into our lives .... something living, that can be cared for.. It is quite telling about me, how in every home I have lived in, I have plants or a vegetable garden or fresh flowers for a dining table. Out for a morning walk in Okinawa, I chanced on a very spry elderly lady weeding and cleaning out a flower garden ..... I was tempted to ask if she needed help ..... Good God, I am missing weeding!!! :) But it is missing family that is as intense as things get ... I am moving into my fourth month away, the longest by far that I have ever been away .... There are so many days that I just want to go for a long family hike in the mountains, or enjoy a nice dinner with Brian, Sarah, Tim, Rob ..... with Dexter leaping for leftovers! My nomadic spirit has taken a bit of a beating as I move into my fourth month away.