Japan Australia: Kyoto Japan

Kyoto (京都) is one of the must see places in Japan on any trip. With more than 2000 shrines and temples, Japan’s former capital is considered the home of culture and history in Japan. The absolute minimum amount of time you should spend in Kyoto is two days but more is highly recommended to fully experience what the place has to offer.

(Click on the post title above for more)

Mike's Ryukyu Gallery: Today is Sanshin Day in Okinawa and the Islands ar...

Mike's Ryukyu Gallery: Today is Sanshin Day in Okinawa and the Islands ar...: March 4th is Sanshin No Hi (Samisen Day). That's a day of celebration all over Okinawa. The sanshin is known as a samisen, to some folks....

(Click on the post title above for more)

Futenma move still best: U.S. admiral | The Japan Times Online

A top U.S. naval officer told Congress Thursday that the plan to relocate the Futenma air station within Okinawa "remains the best option."

(Click on the post title above for more)

Question? If the other stories are true and only the III MEF command element and the 31st MEU are to remain on Okinawa while the rest of the Marine units are to be moved to Guam and elsewhere in the Pacific, why would they need to keep a Marine Air Station on Okinawa???

I mean I know that Congress people are dumb! i.e. Nancy Pelosi but, this is really-really stoopid!

Black-faced Spoonbills enjoy sunbathing at Tomigusuku.

A high-pressure zone over the Okinawa region on February 14 brought blue skies and a summer-like day. A temperature of 26.5 degrees was recorded at Hateruma and on the Iriomote Islands, and in Naha it was 25 degrees, the sort of temperatures normally experienced in late April.

(Click on the post title above for more)

Mike's Ryukyu Gallery: Limited Offer: March Maddness Sale of Mikes Ryukyu...

Mike's Ryukyu Gallery: Limited Offer: March Maddness Sale of Mikes Ryukyu...: FOLKS DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME SPECIAL OFFER ! Most times rednecks like us don't make this much money in ten years. ...

(Click on the post title above for more)

A Japan Photo per Day - Hina Matsuri Dolls and a travel tip

Today in Japan takes place one of my favorite celebrations, Hina Matsuri - the Doll Festival. Today, the families with young daughters are displaying a very special set of dolls (hina-ningyō), praying for their daughters to be healthy and happy. The Hina Matsuri doll set can be displayed starting at the middle of February, but according to the tradition, if the set is not wrapped at the end of the festival, the girls will marry late…

(Click on the post title above for more)

Slow golfers to receive yellow cards | The Japan Times Online

NANJO, Okinawa Pref. — The Japan LPGA Tour has decided to use soccer-like yellow cards for slow play to avoid confusion caused by verbal warnings.

"Slow play has been a big issue in recent years, and we concluded it's better to show a yellow card for problematic slow play than to explain,"

(Click on the post title above for more)

Mike's Ryukyu Gallery: Friday Photos: Stained Glass in Okinawa From A Safer Angle...

Mike's Ryukyu Gallery: Friday Photos: Stained Glass in Okinawa From A Saf...: This photo was taken going in to the Okinawa International Orchid show in 2012. The camera, a Pentax K5, was mounted on a tripod and a shutter release...

(Click on the post title above for more)

A Japan Photo per Day - Beautiful Inari Shrine in Matsumoto

One of the most important shrines from Matsumoto, the Jorinji Shrine, is located just 5 minutes walking distance from the JR Matsumoto train station. But when I visited, right next to it, my attention was drawn by a smaller, but really beautiful Inari Shrine, one of the most beautiful I’ve seen until now.

(Click on the post title above for more)

We love Koza - people come together in former GI town

On February 7, Koza-loving people participated in the Second World Kozanchu Festival, held in Gate Street in front of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa City, which until April 1, 1974 was actually known as Koza City. Kozanchu (people of Koza) came together in the streets of Koza, with many participants enjoying the night in the unique Koza atmosphere, tasting a diverse range of ethnic foods and drinks such as apple gratin, spareribs and awamori, against a backdrop of music such as samba.

(Click on the post title above for more)

A year on: Tourism shudders in quake-hit Japan

The earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 killed almost 20,000 people and laid waste vast tracts of land and property. Yet that disaster pales in comparison with the fact that Tokyo is long overdue for a massive earthquake of its own.

With upward of 35 million residents in the metropolitan area, Tokyo is both the financial and the political capital of Japan, as well as the home of the Imperial family. A mega earthquake would not just level the metropolis, but cripple the country for decades to come.

The last time Tokyo was hit by a major earthquake was in 1923, when more than 100,000 died in the Great Kanto Earthquake.

(Click on the post title above for more)

Report: 10K Marines Would Remain Under New Okinawa Plan | Military.com

The United States will keep the core of its expeditionary force on Okinawa as part of a new agreement with Japan that will see a reduction in the number of Marines on the island, according to the Yomiuri newspaper.


The decision, reported Thursday following U.S.-Japan negotiations in Tokyo, means the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the command element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force will not be moved to the U.S. territory of Guam or joint bases in the region.

(Click on the post title above for more)