The Japanese Holiday of Obon

On Saturday night Jason and I heard drums and singing. Turns out that the local Japanese were celebrating the holiday Obon. Obon is a Buddhist holiday honoring the departed spirits of one's ancestors. They believe that at this time each year, their ancestors spirits' return to visit. Throughout most of Japan you would see "bon odori," traditional folk dancers. But in Okinawa, the "eisa" drum dance is performed instead. Quite interesting and cultural!

This particular dancer was really interesting. He was very serious about his dancing/drumming. You could tell this was something he took great pride in.

The men pictured are playing the traditional Okinawan instrument "sanshin." It is very similar to a banjo. The body is covered with snake skin.

Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony

Today Jason and I participated in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. It was our second outting in the area, and it proved to be just as enjoyable as the aquarium was last weekend.

Below is our tea master. Before we enter the ceremonial room, we all need to cleanse ourselves. Here she shows us how to properly do so. First we must cleanse the left hand.

Then the right hand...
She watches on as Jason washes off.

Then it's my turn...

I also cleansed my mouth (which was optional).

When we first enter the ceremonial room, we are suppose to take notice of the banner hanging. The banner is prepared especially for us by the tea master.

The tea maser shows us the banner.

Then we bow to the banner as a sign of respect (not worship).

Next we are given napkins and utensils.

The tea master watches as the apprentices serve us. First they serve us a pastery. It sweetens the pallet for the bitter tea.

Our tea master shows us how to properly hold the bowl (tea cup).

Below Jason bows in appreciation of being served tea while I sip my tea.

Both of us enjoy the tea.

Proud to show off our empty cups/bowls.

Us in front of the scroll which wishes us hope and prosperity.

The tea master and her apprentices

Me sneaking in with the apprentices

Okinawa Aquarium and Nago Pineapple Land

On Saturday we FINALLY got out and did some sight seeing! Jason loves aquariums, and Okinawa has the second largest in the world (second to Atlanta's aquarium).

So one great thing about the Japanese people is that they LOVE their cameras as much as I do...and they like to document their travels as much as I do...so it's EASY to find someone to take a good picture for us. :)

Amy getting ready to see some turtles and other sea life...

Here you can see traditional Okinawan Shisa Dogs. The Japanese believe that one dog captures evil spirits, keeping them away while the other dog is open to good spirits to enter.

Jason liked this one. He said it had personality.

OF COURSE we had to have our picture taken in the silly cutouts.

Amy playing with the animals.

Jason enjoying the tanks.

Just keep swimmin, just keep swimmin...

-Dori

Duh-na, duh-na, duh-na...

-Jaws

I wouldn't be smiling if there wasn't 2 feet of glass between me and that shark!

Great lesson in camoflauge

God certainly is creative!

Jason enjoyed watching the faces the manarays made as they slid up the glass.

Two whale sharks in this big, beautiful tank

Even Jason fits inside this shark!

AAAAHHH!!!! I'm being eaten alive.

Okinawa has the largest manarays in the world....way cool

The aquarium is right on the ocean, so they pump the salt water directly into the tanks from the Pacific.

Manatee are cute, but not so fun to watch when they're being lazy. However, this particular one put on a show for me. Scroll down to see...

Keep watching his fins...

Keep watching...

One last one...

He WALKED around the entire tank on his fins. It was hysterical. Don't know why he didn't just swim.

The dolphin show- not quite as good as Sea World, but still entertaining.

And the dolphins were very entertaining.

After the aquarium, we decided to cool off with a sweet summertime treat...pineapple from the Nago Pineapple Park.

For posterity's sake (that's the reason I give every time I make Jason pose at one of these silly things)

First you ride through the pineapple fields in a pineapple cart...

Here we are in our pineapple cart

They get your mouth all nice and juicy as you see the different types of pineapples in different stages of growth.

Then at the end we got to taste all kinds of pineapple goods- wine, jelly, cake, pie, chocolate, and the list goes on. Of course we had to bring some fresh pineapple home with us too!