Keith Graff « GaijinPot Blog Network: Japan’s best blogs

Keith Graff's Posts

The Okinawan Rain Kami-sama: November 5th, 2009By Keith Graff; My good friend Mike, who’s lived on Okinawa for decades, has a theory! It goes that whenever the Okinawan’s plan a party, the weather will hold off for as long as the event is scheduled for. Now by party, I mean festivals. Okinawa could easily be described as the island of festivals cause no matter » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

A recipe for fun: October 13th, 2009By Keith Graff; Weave forty plus tons of rice straw into a rope and make it a little over two city blocks long. Because of its size and to keep it from blocking traffic, you’ll have to divide it into halves. Once everything is in place, go ahead and invite 250,000 or so of your closest friends and » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Shine on Tsukimi Moon: October 6th, 2009By Keith Graff; I always used to get this mixed up when I was a kid. I always thought that the Harvest moon was the big full moon that’s always seen in the month of October. What I later found out is that tradition dictates that the harvest moon is actually the full moon closest to the autumnal » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

The Tomori Lion: September 30th, 2009By Keith Graff; It can be seen both inside and on the cover of several books about the battle of Okinawa. Some of them show only the solitary stone lion, perched on a knoll that is completely barren of vegetation. Other pictures show army artillery observers hunkered down beside it and directing fire against enemy positions. It is » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Hajisui no to: September 17th, 2009By Keith Graff; On the northern outskirts of Nago city along a mountain road is a small stone monument marked by a lone sign along the highway. Many travelers who go this way in a hurry to points elsewhere will pass it right by without paying it any mind. Being nothing more than a stone obelisk on a » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Okinawa’s forgotten village!: August 31st, 2009By Keith Graff; Higashi Son could easily be described as Okinawa’s forgotten village. It’s so remote that it is often left out of many peoples plans to go out and explore the northern half of the island. There isn’t even one convenience store from any of the major chains to speak of and very few gas stations should » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Naha Ichiba, an experience for all five senses: August 13th, 2009By Keith Graff; Virtually every tourist who visits Okinawa will make the compulsory pilgrimage to Kokusai (international) Street just to walk around and browse all the tourist traps along the way. Many westerners will stop at one of several McDonald’s restaurants along the way just to look for the subtle cultural differences in the menu. Still others will » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

A Step Back in Time: July 30th, 2009By Keith Graff; Okinawa has many tourist attractions but I think that if you want to see the real Okinawa, some of the best places are the out of the way holes in the wall you just can’t see from the main highway. Sure you’ll have to do a little research and hunt a » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

Eisa for the fun of it: July 15th, 2009By Keith Graff; Those of us who live on Okinawa started to notice something going on back in early June. Perhaps it was the rhythmic beat of the drums in the cool evening air. On some occasions, maybe you heard the occasional sound of chanting or singing accompanying it. If you braved the heat » Continue Reading; CommentsComments

God’s Sacred Grove: June 30th, 2009By Keith Graff; What if God came down to Earth one day and told you that he would grant you just one wish? What would you wish for? Many cultures have myths and legends of God or some other spirit being coming down from on high and granting wishes to mere mortals such as » Continue Reading; CommentsComments