Diving at Maeda Point (& we had our camera!)

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To us, gorgeous weather on a Friday (when I don't get called to sub at AEIS) means one thing is on our minds - SCUBA diving! Fridays bring only a reasonable crowd size at Maeda-misaki, Okinawa's most popular shore diving location, since it's not a full-blown weekend day off work for the average diver. So that's where we went & we had a fully charged camera in tow! Upon entry in the water we decided to go north (right) towards where we saw the huge Loggerhead turtle during our previous Maeda dive (4 April). No turtles this time around. Instead, we saw gorgeous examples of the usual reef suspects & a couple of oddballs (having the camera sometimes makes us slow down & really look at things). Shortly before the end of the long dive (63 min), the 166 photos we'd taken (which have been reduced to only 97 decent enough shots) had exhausted the battery in the camera, just after we saw a particularly gorgeous lionfish. All in all, a pretty good dive that would only have been better with a few more unique sightings.

Restaurant: A Yummy Yakitoriya in Ginowan

Our good friends, the Wheelers (links to their blogs at right), finally were able to take us to their favorite yakitoriya (restaurant that specializes grilled meat on a stick) in Ginowan, near their abode. It was super yummy & we're very happy that we were with them, because it was not designed for we illiterate types. We wouldn't have found it, for one thing, being pretty much a nondescript place on a fairly crowded street (let's just say that we were happy to discover nearby parking). And we definitely wouldn't have been much for ordering, considering the menu had no English & no photos (gasp). We'd have been falling back on our trusty word, used in similar previous situations - "soba??" And this was NOT the place for that dish (although they probably had it, considering we were still in Okinawa).

Instead, we were privileged to sample some yummy chicken on a stick as well as onigiri (rice balls) wrapped in nori (seaweed paper) with mentaiko (for Masayo & Josh) & miso (for Betsy & Aaron) & a few other delicious dishes. But one of the highlights was what at first appeared to be simply a small grilled fish on a stick. It was, however, not just any fish, but a PREGNANT fish on a stick. The belly full of fishy eggs had cooked together into a solid form (reminiscent of a hard-boiled chicken egg yolk... kind of sort of). Both Betsy & I were slightly unsure what we were in for as we were told about this particular dish, but we both ended up quite liking it. And each fish disappeared completely into our very happy bellies!

And while the service wasn't super quick (a small price to pay for well-prepared food, right?) we only ended up canceling one dish when we decided to move on to the Wheeler pad. And we're still not sure how in the world the final bill ended up only being 750 yen per person. But we sure did get our money's worth!

Mazda Laputa

Mazda Laputa Ok, this is probably the craziest in terms of the "I can't believe they called a car that!" factor for we Spanish language enthusiasts. However, it's not quite as common as the others we've posted so far, but I spotted one in a parking lot yesterday while I was driving home & immediately pulled over to snap a shot of it with my phone.

From Auto Models

Permítame pedir disculpas de antemano por publicar esta imagen con palabra ofensiva. Pero creo que esto es la mas sorprendente (o chocante) de todo nombre de modelo de auto en Japón. ¿Que quiere decir exactamente? Yo pensaba que cada automóvil en el mundo estaba a la venta al precio bueno. ¿Que hace a este modelo tan especial? Por lo menos no imprimen la letra "p" en grande ni con espacio entre la "a" y la "p." Así que podemos pretender que en realidad no dice nada ofensivo.

Restaurant: Thai Thai - even better than we hoped!

After a day spent checking out the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & the nearby Omoromachi area of Naha with Aaron, we were quite ready for a good dinner after picking up Masayo from the airport. We wanted a place with good food & a comfortable environment so we could hear all about Masayo's week of adventures in Korea & Kansai.

So we chose a place that we'd heard few but positive things about & that we'd identified as serving a much favored cuisine-style of ours, Thai! Even though the torches weren't burning we had no trouble finding Thai Thai on Highway 58 in Naha. We had heard that the interior & layout of the restaurant were decorative & intriguing, but as we entered, we realized just how true that was. On the ground level was a signature red welcome mat beside 2 elaborately carved statues & we quickly saw that the restaurant itself was on the second level.

As we ascended the staircase, the decorations only became more & more elaborate & shiny. It was like we were entering a wholly different culture from the modern urban Japanese & Okinawan industrial scenery of downtown Naha. We were now entering a lavish southeast Asian environment. It seemed as though we needed to be riding in atop Asian elephants perhaps.

And as we stepped into the main floor of the restaurant we beheld just how shiny & ornate the decorations could be. We were literally surrounded by decorations, on the floor & ceilings & walls. From elaborate stone dragons rising out of the floor to the glass & polished metal that gleamed & glinted in almost every direction we turned, the restaurant is not without an eye towards ambiance!

As we followed our host towards our seating arrangements at a much slower pace than he, of course, as we marveled at the scene we had entered, the thoughts on our minds turned towards excited curiosity as to which of the elaborate & ornate seating styles we were heading towards. Would it be the elevated cylindrical barrel-shaped structures that had short step-ladders leading up into them? Or perhaps somewhere among the very bright & shiny glass-filled booths with high translucent seat backs, quite reminiscent of cathedral design? We began to hope more & more that the food would live up to such lofty standards being set & would bring as much pleasure our hungry stomachs as our eyes were getting.

But as we proceeded past those, we wondered if perhaps we'd get to climb down into the sunken tables set beneath the cylindrical barrel structures. They looked like they were better suited to a couple rather than our party of 4 adults, but they still looked fun. As we strolled past, we soon saw our destination. Several ornate metal lamps hung suspended from the high ceiling in front of the dark red walls of a very elaborately decorated (surprise, surprise) small & cozy room with plentiful cushioned seating for 6-8 along the 3 enclosed walls & 2 free-standing round wooden tables whose position we could freely adjust as we preferred.

We were already thrilled at our selection of dining establishments & we hadn't even looked at the menu, much less tasted the food yet. We felt like that was cause for a silly & celebratory photo. After we had made our appetizer & entree choices (from English menus, by the way; always a welcome luxury for us 2 illiterate gaijin) & communicated them to the server, our shrimp spring rolls came out very quickly along with a tasty spicy thai sauce & creamy Japanese mayonnaise-based dressing (for those that might possess a less spice-enthused palate). Oishii! We were suprised & delighted that each 400-yen plate included 6 large pieces.

Even before we had finished our spring rolls, our entree selections began arriving. Being curry lovers, we had assumed that a 700-yen portion of Thai green curry would not be enough for us all, so we had ordered 2. To our delight, that resulted in more than enough for us, especially including the 2 rather large bowls of white rice that accompanied each. The cashew chicken stirfy with bell peppers that Aaron & Masayo ordered was delicious & looked much better than did the photo on the menu (it's so hard to predict which things will look better & which won't). The 4th entree was the most disappointing, their version of the signature Pad (Noodle) Thai dish. It wasn't awful & the noodles were the right texture. It simply lacked much of any tasty flavors, although we did overlook a spice tray that was brought out with it (we prefer a professional to spice our dishes). Instead it was only salty & a bit overly so. Still, it wasn't awful, just disappointing, probably the reason that we neglected to snap a photograph. On the other hand, the Chinese steamed meat-filled dumplings that Masayo shared with us were delectable & only missed being captured by the camera due to the speed at which they were promptly devoured. ;-)

I'm not sure we can recall the last time we had such tasty food in such a gorgeous setting for only 1050 yen (approximately US$10.50) each! We WILL be going back to Thai Thai again

Nissan MOCO

Nissan MOCO Another gem for our Spanish-appreciating readers!

From Auto Models

Estoy de acuerdo que la forma del vehículo en verdad se parece a algo de la nariz. Pero para usarlo como el nombre del modelo de auto? No estoy tan seguro de que es la mejor idea.

Mitsubishi MINICA

Mitsubishi Minica

From Auto Models

This is pronounced the way a New Englander would describe a small automobile. "It's a mini (-ature) cah!"

Honda That's

Honda That's

From Auto Models

I feel like Honda needs to finish the statement. That's WHAT?! What is it?!!

Honda LiFE

Honda LiFE

From Auto Models

It may be small but it's as serious & important as itself. I'd bet my life on it. And you thought car-buying wasn't a matter of life or death. Well, that's life!

First Dives of 2008!

We FINALLY found time & motivation to get ourselves back under the water again for the first time since Josh's siblings were here over the Christmas holidays. And it was also the first time that Betsy & I got to try out our new (to us) BCD's that I bought from people on eBay. Unfortunately, not all of our gear was ready to go. I didn't remember to think about the underwater camera's battery until too late to charge it. And, sure as Murphy's Law, it only came on long enough to tell me it was dead. Our good friend Aaron was a bachelor for a week, so he was free to come get in the water for his first time since earned an Advanced Open Water certification on Miyako-jima a couple of years ago.

The day was overcast but the East China Sea looked calm from our apartment, despite East/West Caution sea conditions. We heard that visibility in the Sunabe area wasn't great (particles, not surprisingly). So we chose Maeda Point for our dive site & what a good idea it turned out to be. Since it was Friday, it wasn't slam packed like it tends to be on weekends, although it was active, especially with tour groups of snorkelers. Our first dive at low tide took us northeast (with the coast on our right) & visibility was excellent, considering the sun was mostly behind clouds. The highlight was definitely the HUGE algae-encrusted Loggerhead Sea Turtle that came swimming by us (in the same direciton) with a couple of Lampreys in tow while we were only in about 35 feet of water. It was about arm's length away from Josh on his right side when he first saw it & watched as it passed him & then Aaron & Betsy just ahead. We followed it for a while, but despite the fact that it was in no hurry to get away from us, we couldn't keep up for long. We're pretty sure it's the largest we've yet seen in the wild. Aside from that, it was mostly an exercise in examining the usual suspects of trumpet fish, puffer fish, anemone fish, Moorish Idols, banded sea snakes, black/blue/yellow nudibranchs (the most common coloration in our Okinawan experiences) and a host of other reef fishes. We did inspect a very colorful scorpion fish (with bright pinkish orange highlights).

As we entered the water for our 2nd dive, we noticed that the skies had darkened a bit & the air had cooled, which we soon learned was also true of the water. We chose to head southwest (with the shore on our left) towards the deeper reaches. We spent a little time poking around inside the crevices & cave-like areas in the rock & coral. In one, Josh spotted some pretty colorful shrimp that he REALLY wanted to be photographing in addition to admiring. We also saw quite a few color variations of some really gorgeous nudibranchs & several more scorpion & lion fish. We spotted a well-blended stone fish on one ledge in the dramatic coral walls. By the time we finished the dive, we were ready to stop shivering & get dried off.

Mitsubishi Pajero

Japan has some rather interesting automobile model names that they (wisely) do not export to Western lands. Today's gem is one that Spanish speakers can only truly appreciate. It's actually a very popular model among the SOFA-status (US military) community here, mainly due to the fact that it's an SUV, a favorite form of American POV. So we see (& smirk at) this one quite often.

Mitsubishi Pajero

Los de habla hispana posiblemente estarían un poco sorprendido con este nombre de modelo que suena un poco.... bueno, decimos "equivocado":

From Auto Models

Sí, en verdad dice [Mitsubishi] "Pajero" pero en inglés el nombre pronunciamos con la "j" vocal (come la "ll" española), así que no estamos diciendo con voz audible esa palabra ofensiva en conversación. Pero les aseguro que en nuestros mentes estamos sonriendo grandemente cada vez que lo vemos!