Enough of Corona-virus Mudslinging

Bird has a Message

Migratory birds will soon depart the Okinawa islands.

Here's a Grey-faced Buzzard ready to fly north as winter comes to an end.

These birds live here from October or November until March when the weather gets warmer.

Home for them could be China, Japan or Russia.

 Taiwan sees the same migrants that winter in the Ryukyu Islands.

Where Would Be the Closest Destination?

With all the news out of Wuhan, China I decided to see if I could locate it on a map.

China would be the shortest flight for the migration of birds.

From Naha, Okinawa to Wuhan, China it's 869 miles or, about 1,400 kilometers.

Tokyo, Japan is 966 miles or 1,554 kilometers away from Okinawa.

Our feathered friends wouldn't have such a long flight if they headed over to China.

World Leaders and Politicians

Around the globe lawmakers from the left, right and middle, rant on the news every day.

They should stop ridiculing others and work together on this corona-virus problem.

Quit making up conspiracy theories and blaming foreigners for their problems.

Where's the Message from the Bird?

Well, I ain't a politician or world leader so, there's no sense in trying to act like one.

See, I just hope that bird flys to China and poops on their leader's head!

Chasing Lowly Manhole Covers

Somebody on Facebook Started It

 

 

A manhole cover from Chiba, Japan, I shared on Facebook got a comment.

It seems there's some group taking photos and adding Geo-tags to manhole covers.

 With a typhoon approaching, landscape photography was out of the question, for today.

But, high winds, don't have much effect on manhole covers,  So, off I went to shoot some.

Nothing fancy, just your every day, grungy and unpainted ones.

The handheld Garmin GPS was brought along to get latitude and longitude coordinates.

A dozen locations were documented, along the northern boundaries of Kin Town.

Just a few samples will be posted here.

The artwork on these sewer covers is pretty impressive.

But, we don't have any problems with people stealing them to decorate their homes.

Many other places, around the globe have manhole cover thievery problems.

Beijing, China loses about a quarter million manhole covers in one year.

The scrap-metal industry and, thieves, gobble them up.

It got so bad, they invented smart manhole covers to help catch the rustlers.

They began embedding GPS chips in them.

 And, when a manhole cover is moved, it notifies the authorities.

Bogota, Colombia was having 10,000 manhole covers, lifted each year.

They started placing satellite tracking devices in them, too and are catching the crooks.

The Taipei Taiwan Solution

 

 

Engineers in Taipei developed a new type of manhole cover, made of cement.

The metal covers, were slippery and causing vehicle accidents on highways.

So, they started replacing the manhole covers and burying them underground.

Special tags, with embedded radio frequencies help locate the covers when necessary.

Theft problem and 17 accidents a month caused by manhole covers -- GONE ! 

This Could Become a Trend

Suppose countries around the globe, decide to bury the manhole covers.

Maybe, that's why somebody came up with the idea of Geo-tagging photos of them.

The search ended with Finley + Muse.

These guys may be on to something if, they're doing it world-wide.

Who knows ?

This could be the beginning of The Society for the Preservation of Manhole Covers.

Okinawa Folktale: Kakinohana and the First Mosquitoes

Souvenirs from China

 

 

Several times, we have hiked up and down the trail at this attraction.

Recently some folklore has been discovered about the place.

A bit under the weather, I got this video to share so, no hiking is necessary for today's tale.

If you look closely, at the beginning, there's some guy with a beard, just like me.

And, he's climbing the cobblestone path, about as fast as, I usually do.

Days of the Ryukyu Kingdom

Ships from the Ryukyu islands often visited China to conduct trade.

A man, named Sanra was on a mission from Kakinohana.

He and, everyone from the Okinawan islands heard strange noises, at night.

It was the sound of mosquitoes, humming that caught Sanra's attention.

He had never seen or, heard this unusual chorus before and, wanted to learn more.

So, he asked a Chinese person, where he might go to admire them.

The Chinese guy, pointed him in the right direction, over in some brush.

Sanra captured as many as he could and, kept them in a box.

He could hold the box to his ear and, enjoy the music they made.

What a great gift this would be to present his wife and children, he thought.

Trade Ship Sails from China to Naha

With his box of humming insects, Sanra hurried towards home.

Climbing to path to Kakinohana was exhausting.

So, he stopped to take a break when he noticed something.

The buzzing of the mosquitoes had stopped. He shook the box and, still -- no noise.

Thinking, they had all died, he became disappointed and said, "Akisamiyo."

He opened the box and, all the mosquitoes flew away !

The Insects Are Everywhere Now

 

 

Before long, the bugs were singing throughout the Ryukyu Island Chain.

And, people learned, soon enough, they suck the blood out of you, too.

If you visit Kakinohana, don't forget to bring some bug spray !




REFERENCE:

Okinawa Folk Stories ISBN978-4-99009-146-0


OTHER OKINAWAN FOLKTALES

Peku Cave on Tsuken Island Okinawa: What's So Special ?

There Must be Thousands of Caves on the Ryukyu Islands

 

 

Much of Okinawa's written history was destroyed during the war.

At times legends, passed along by locals, are the only source for gaining relevant information.

The significance of Peku Gama (Cave) is part of Okinawan Karate history.

 

Credit for this bit of information goes to PhD Hokama Tetsuhiro.

Reading his book Timeline and 100 Masters, I learned more about the cave.

Two years ago, Map It Okinawa and I followed the sign to the site.

The entrance looked small and, we didn't really know much about it so, on we went.

Fortunately, I took a few photos, before leaving the island and saved them.

It seems, a Chinese man, named Peku, lived in there, years ago.

He was  a Karate expert who became to be known as, Tsuken Peku.

There are many stories of people from China, being shipwrecked and surviving in caves.

The Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) were a major part of trade routes in the days of sailing ships.

Peku, taught his martial arts to Tsuken Akachu, a local resident.

Akachu is listed as one of Okinawa's Karate Masters.

Just guessing here but, I'll bet Peku taught the skills, in exchange for food and hospitality.

There are no historical dates listed for these events.

And, they came from conversations with village elders, according to Dr. Hokama Tetsuhiro.

Not in the habit of arguing with Karate Masters, I'll accept his written words.

Wouldn't you ?

RELATED POST: A Quick Visit to a Karate Dojo

TRAVEL TO TSUKEN JIMA

Trying to Capture the Four Chinese Gentlemen in Okinawa

Here's a Goal for the New Year

 

 

In my never ending search, to learn everything on the internet, I discovered this.

Centuries ago, the Chinese came up with something called the Four Noble Plants.

Nowadays, in the art world, they are called the Four Gentlemen.

Plum Blossoms

Orchids

Bamboo

Chrysanthemums

Well, I got three out of the four, in my photo collection, already.

The first photo is one of some plum blossoms taken a little late in the season.

So, I need to get back out and find some fresh ones and shoot a bit more artistically.

Orchids, they will have plenty of them in Motobu, next week.

February is the month of Okinawa's International Orchid Show.

Bamboo, I can find plenty of places on this island to shoot images of, any day of the week.

Chrysanthemums, are driving me crazy.

Do you know, they have about 150,000 different kinds of Mums ?

After about six hours of looking at them online, I gave up.

There must have been 75,000 images of them, I saw today and I still don't know if I ever shot one.

Maybe, I'm just not a flower type kind of guy.

But, I learned a lot about those flowers while searching. 

The circular symbol, on the tiled roof, behind those cherry blossoms, is a chrysanthemum.

The symbol of a chrysanthemum is popular in Japan.

 I may have to visit a flower shop, because I wouldn't know a mum, in the wild if I tripped over one.

Before 2014 comes to an end, I plan on shooting those Four Gentlemen the right way.

If anybody has a field of mums, growing by their house, give me a holler.

And, if it's a nice sunny day, we'll getterdun.

4th Annual Sabani Boat Race (Photos) Ou-Jima, Okinawa

It Will Become a Big Festival

 

 

Sabani sailing and racing, is starting to catch-on so, you should hurry and start building one.

The races took place, yesterday, down at the little island called, Ou-Jima.

Typhoons, in the area, caused some rough sea conditions but, that didn't stop the sabani people.

The races start with the ringing of a gong.

Way out there, several hundred meters, was a marker.

They had to paddle the boats into the wind.

That's because, if they tried using sails, they'd probably go backwards.

After turning at the marker, sails and paddles were the way to go.

Maybe, it would be a good idea to take some sailing lessons, before you try this.

If you don't know how to steer the thing, you could end-up in China.

Dropping the sail seemed to work best, when it was time to turn around, again.

Just before the bridge, that connects Ou Island to Okinawa, they had another marker.

And, rowing into the wind again, was the only way to reach the finish point.

Ou-Jima is Famous for Tempura and Sun-dried Squid

 

Here's what will happen, someday.

Somebody will come along and put up some food tents and sell yakisoba and other stuff.

So, I don't have to run around the island, looking for hamburgers.

It will become a big event.

Wait and see !



Related Links:

Unusual Boat Photos From Ou-Jima, Okinawa, Japan

14th Annual Zamami to Naha Sabani Race


Douglas Brooks Boatbuilder

Plant Images: Shellplant (Alpinia zerumbet) in Bloom

Also Known as Shell Ginger

 

Research on this flower led me to the School of Chinese Medicine.

That's because Mrs. RyukyuMike made all kinds of claims about the stuff.

Sannin (Okinawan dialect) or Gettoo (Japanese) is a well known and popular herb.

She says, it keeps snakes away.  And I say the dogs can do that.

It keeps bugs away, too.

Well, I wonder why there's so many snakes and bugs in the jungle, then.

That's where I first noticed these white flowers blooming; in the dang jungles.

Spiders, snakes, gnats, mosquitoes, butterflies and all kinds of critters live in the jungle.

 

 

And, she tells me when you're 64, in Okinawa, you should eat mochi wrapped in those leaves.

I don't really like that sticky rice-paste-tasting stuff.

It reminds me of the slimy wallpaper paste they used before wood paneling was invented.

Anyway, I told her, it's too late.  I'm already 65 !

Thinking she's just trying to get me wasting money on another plant, I grabbed a camera and left.

They have these plants in lots of yards around my neighborhood.

So, I shot some with the Canon G12 handheld.

Some folks think the flowers look like seashells.

Here's one I found, just starting to open.

China Already Rules Half the World

 

And, I just learned, they have more English speaking people than the USA.

So, I Googled "Alpinia zerumbet, Plant, China, English" just for the heck of it. 

Bingo !

It got me into the Hong Kong Baptist University Library. The site is in English.

They use the shellplant to cure all kinds of things.

Malaria, belly aches, bad hearts, gas, the screaming willies, you name it and they have a cure.

Not to appear as some sort of traitor, I got the USDA site.

That's the United States Department of Agriculture and they speak English, too. 

Another great place to learn about these flowers is Dave's Garden.

Now, I have to pack-up and hit the trail.

Somewhere out there, one of these plants is waiting for me to dig it up and bring it home.

There's no sense letting the wife waste good beer money to buy one !

Travel Agent Academy: River Cruises

River Cruises Have Ocean Liners Beat

That piece of paper I got today was the toughest course I've had at the Travel Agent Academy.

What happened, was, I thought I'd get educated on river boats in Asia.

That's because I saw some cool boat pictures from a travel site in Malaysia.

Asia, happens to be where I spend most of my life.

To become a River Cruise Specialist, you have to study the whole world.

GROAN

It was like taking all the World History and Geography classes I ever had and,

CRAMMING THEM INTO THREE TESTS !

Today, I saw Europe, Russia, Egypt and all the places in Asia where big boats don't go.

Not only did I learn about the longest rivers in Europe, Russia and China.

They even told me where General George Patton is buried.

And, now I know where the biggest parliament building in the world is located.

River Cruises Are in Demand

 

People want to get off the beaten path to experience something different and new.

It's an exploding market worth, learning about so, that's why I went back to school.

Banged my head, a few times but, I gotterdun !

Unusual Boat Photos From Ou-Jima Okinawa, Japan

Today the 3d Nanjo Mayor's Cup Sabani Race was held on Ou-Jima.

It is a small island off Okinawa's southeast coast, accessible by bridge.

What's unusual about these boats ?

They don't have any motors.  People and wind power is what gets them going.

The sails were made in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

It's going to take some research to learn the history behind these boats.

They look like something that came out of China, to me but, I'm not sure, yet.

The only thing I'm sure of is this:

I'd like to have one. When I want to go to another island, I wouldn't take the ferry.

When the wind is blowing, you can move really fast.

If there isn't any wind, you just have to paddle like crazy.

Er, maybe. just stay where yer at until the wind starts up, again.

That'd be alright by me !

Visit my homepage for today's Feature Photo

Sumac the Rhus Succedanea Linn a Native of Japan and China

This photo shows a Sumac tree ( Rhus succedanea) with a little sprout coming out its side.

If I had known it was Sumac I probably would have steered clear of the thing.

This tree was found while cave exploring in Ginoza Okinawa, Japan.

Whenever I find a sign posted on something like this and it has the scientific name, I take a photo to help me identify it later.  So, I rearranged some of the vegetation growing around the place just to show you this little fella sprouting out with the bark of the tree as a backdrop.

As soon as I Googled the Latin words it brought back bad memories.

Sumac, AHHHHHHHHhhhhhh, that stuff is poison where I came from in the USA.

There are 250 kinds of Sumac. It turns out this one, native to China and Japan, is a friendly one. 

The ones I used to run into were called Poison Ivy, Poison Oak and Poison Sumac.

They'd make you want to scratch all the skin off your body.

I never want to try that again.

If you want to learn what kind of Sumac is growing where you live, drop on in at

WIKIPEDIA and say "Hi" to Jimmy Wales. HE NEEDS MONEY, AGAIN !

It seems like I sent the guy twenty-five bucks last year about this time.

I like the guy alright but, who does he think I am SANTA CLAUS OR SOMETHIN' ?

Whoa, Baby. Looks like We've Captured a Codiaeum Varigatum !

Like any respectable man who didn't sneak out of the house early enough, I got caught this past Sunday.  So, I took the wife shopping.  Then, after we put all the stuff away, went one step further and took her out for a Sunday drive. Being the romantic person I am, I promised I'd just bring along one of my small cameras.  See, the wife thinks the cameras are my girlfriends and I don't pay enough attention to her.  She's probably right but, I won't let her know.  She knows too much, already.  Like she knew the name of this plant even though there are hundreds of different variations of the dang things.  It's a Croton (Codiaeum varigatum) Kuroton,

 クロトン, in Japanese.

After I captured photos of the same plant from different angles at varied exposures I was ready to drive somewhere else up in the mountains.  These plants,  I've noticed,  are found at many of the sacred sites on Okinawa, so I always figured they had some special meaning.  I would never touch one except, maybe to move a snail out of the way for a better photo, or something like that.

The Missus says there's nothing special about the Kuroton Plants being around sacred sites.  They are just planted because they are pretty.  Then, SNAP, she captured one, too.

The cutting is growing in my front yard, now.

My connections over at WIKIPEDIA tell me this Codiaeum variegatum is a Flora of China.

It is native to Indonesia and Malaysia but, it's cultivated in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangx, Hainan and Yunnan provinces of China.  That tells me there's more behind this plant than, it's just pretty.

Much of the culture and spiritualism practiced in Okinawa, Japan came from China back in the days when this island was called the Ryukyu Kingdom.  It will take more investigation for me to determine if the Croton Plant has some special meaning.  While the wife is nursing along the little plant she captured, I'll steer clear of it and only capture other variations with my cameras.

Not that I'm superstitious; just cautious.

Crynoutloud We Shot This Chinese Gal and Her Friend (Photo)

It started off innocently enough.  We were at the Elephant's Nose Manzamo Okinawa, Japan waiting for sunset. Along comes this Chinese Gal and her friend and she asked me to take their picture.

Hey, I just noticed, that's her camera hanging from a strap attached to her right arm.  Well, I looked at the gadget and told her, in my best Japanese, "I don't know how to shoot these damn things.  I'm a professional cameraman.  Give it to him and see if he knows how to operate it." I pointed to Ryukyu Rusty.

Whoops!  She said, "I'm not Japanese.  I'm from Hong Kong."   She spoke flawless English.

Crynoutloud, it's a good thing I don't easily become embarrassed.  Or I would have.

Then, I got an idea.  I told her Rusty could shoot a professional photo of the couple with his Pentax and email it, as long as she trusted us with that kind of information.  Some folks don't.

Everything got done, by the book, names, email address, all the usual paperwork/legal stuff I do to make sure I never wind up in court over someone's photo.  Jail stinks.  Did you know that ?

Rusty got all the paperwork.  He fired away, click, click, click using a tripod and his shutter release cable.

Just in case he had a bad Pentax day, I shot this photo from a different angle. 

They were really a nice couple.  I think the gal came back three times thanking us for shooting them.

Off they went.  Rusty emailed the photos we both shot.  They went to Hong Kong.  That's China, I think.

Well, all of a sudden, my analytics thing started telling me somebody called baidu keeps looking at my blog.  So, I Googled to see what a baidu could be.  I never heard the word anywhere before.

CRYNOUTLOUD BAIDU IS LIKE A HUMONGOUS SEARCH ENGINE IN CHINA ! 

Now, I'm wondering.  I know there's over a billion people in China who speak and read Chinese.

How many could there be who speak and read English, especially my kind of English ?

The other thing I'm wondering, no not, wondering, more like worried about is this email stuff.

WHAT IF RYUKYU RUSTY EMAILED THE PHOTOS WE SHOT OF THE CHINESE GAL AND HER FRIEND TO THE WRONG PEOPLE ?  CRYNOUTLOUD,  JAIL STINKS !

Wildlife Photo: White Snake and Some Asian Legends

This photo of a White Snake was taken May 2011 up north in the mountains of Okinawa, Japan on one of my excursions traveling through the Dai Sekirinzan in search of wildlife and admiring the rock formations known as Karst.

When you visit this tourist attraction, the entry fee of a few hundred yen gets you a bus ride to the top of the mountain.  It's one of those diesel-powered, air-conditioned tour busses that looks and feels real inviting and it really is comfortable to sit in on a steamy-hot day.  Then, it starts moving.

If you are toting along a camera or anything fragile, like a baby, or something, you'll have to take a few extra precautions.  The bus takes you flying up the hill at a decent speed and hits enough potholes, ruts and bumps to jar the lenses right out of your cameras.  I imagine, if you were dragging a little kid along for the ride, you'd have to worry about their eyeballs popping out of the sockets, too.

Fortunately, when the bus ride ends, there's a rest stop.  They have rest rooms, refreshment machines and a gift shop/museum, of sorts.  Everyone, stretches and mills around trying to get their land legs back on before going to follow the trails through the karst formations.

This white snake is cooped-up in a glass enclosure.  Just trying to make conversation with the Okinawan Papasan who appears to be some sort of guide/caretaker at the place, I asked him what kind of snake this was and tried to find out what the story was behind the thing.  I've heard that a white snake is considered to be a good thing in these parts of the world so, wanted to see if there was some local myth associated with this one.  I love to have a great caption to post along with a wildlife photo.

Well, the guy says, "That's a White Rattlesnake from Texas".  Hah !

Ryukyu Rusty was standing right there.  He says, "BULL__IT, I'm from Texas and that aint no Rattlesnake"!

That's one thing I like about Texans.  I had an Aunt from Texas.  I loved to hear her talk.
She'd say stuff like, "We don't lie in Texas unless we're playing Poker".  Then she'd get this gleam in her eye and say, "Wanna play some Poker"?  And she'd pull a deck of cards out of her back pocket !

My research on this white snake isn't done, yet but, I'll show you some of what I've gathered, so far.

From China, a guy who falls in love with a gal WHO TURNS OUT TO BE A WHITE SNAKE

From Japan, there is folklore saying there is a WHITE SERPENT GOD

It will probably take me some time to discover the true story behind this white snake in Okinawa but I'm fairly certain it aint from Texas.  Do you think people just make legends up ?

VISIT MY WEBSITE MORE OKINAWA PHOTOGRAPHY

What's Wrong With That Picture? (Photo) Dog at a Festival

Here is a dog I met at the Naha Dragonboat Festival on May 5, 2011.

It was raining and no Dragonboats were racing at the time.

So, I was just walking around shooting some of the other activities that take place during a festival to show people what goes on here in Okinawa, Japan.  Cultural photography, I guess you could call it.

Just in case you were wondering, I got the owner's permission to shoot the dog.

Um, I mean, shoot the dog with my camera.  You know, right ?

You don't need to tell me what's wrong with my picture.

There is another festival at a place called Yulin, in China and they allow dogs there, too. 

IT'S A FESTIVAL WHERE DOGS ARE EATEN

If you have a strong enough stomach,  take a peek then,  come back and tell me

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE?

VISIT MY HOMEPAGE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

What's Wrong With That Picture? Virgin Tea in China

Here is a photo of a teafield in Okinawa, Japan.

Tea is some pretty good stuff and even though I could be classified as a coffeeholic

I do enjoy a good cup of tea every now and again.

Iced tea, I love the stuff especially on a hot summer day.

Enough about my picture of a tea field.

There's some teafields in China I'd like you to have a peek at.

Seems like some folks over China way like their tea a bit different than most of us.

Like, they believe in fairies.

And if there ain't enough fairies around to pick all the tea, there's a solution.

Hire a buncha virgins.  Make sure they have a certain sized boobs.

Pay them a decent wage but, make them pick the tea without their hands.

What's wrong with that picture?

Go have a look at the virgins picking tea with their LIPS IN CHINA

And, if you have a moment come on back over here and tell me

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE ?

Visit my Homepage for THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Japanese Koi a Fish Formerly Known as Carp (Photo Essay)

This fish story isn't about wildlife. The Japanese Koi (Carp) is a domesticated creature. Not only that, it is a mutated critter, too.

Carp used to be a dark-colored fish, real dark brown or black. People way back in the 5th Century were raising them for food in China.


Sure enough, one day someone noticed every now and then a carp would show up with some different colors.  So, they start doing selective breeding, just fish among fish, I mean.  The guy probably watched.


Next thing you know, everybody wants to get in on the act and create designer fish.  This was way before TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES were even a twinkle in some person's eyes.

It was in the early 20th Century the rest of the world found out about these designer fish when some folks from Nigata, Japan showed their brightly-colored fish off at a Tokyo Exhibit.  Well, folks around the world shell out big bucks for fish formerly known as carp, only now, they're called Japanese Koi. People build ponds for them, mutated fish, and all they do is look at them.  They don't even eat them anymore and if you got caught with your fishing pole around somebody's Koi pond, you'd probably get arrested even if you had a fishing license. Dang !


Joke about it, as I may, raising Japanese Koi is serious business. When I researched this critter I found out the regular, old fashioned Carp is a Cyprinus carpio. 

And the carp from Prussia, called a Carassius gibelio got selective breeding giving the world goldfish.

But, if you try and figure out what the scientists call the different Japanese Koi for a Latin name, you're in for a full day's work. Then, you'd be getting into DNA and who done what so, I said the heck with that and decided I'd go check to see how much these critters are really worth.

Well, you can find pages and pages of reputable (I think) online dealers trying to get your credit card number. And that was enough to change my mind. 

It's not like I was trying to order some French perfume or anything.  So, I slammed the laptop shut and took a break.

Not to leave my readers hanging, I went back to see what else I could find that might interest you.  Look what I found.  There's a lot of free stuff, like articles to read but, if you really want to become an authority, you can enroll in a Ten Week Course at the KOI FISH SCHOOL .  Yup.

Now, they've got me wondering.  Like, if I was sure they'd put "Japanese Koi a fish formerly known as Carp" on my diploma, I could go for that !  Wouldn't you ?

Visit my Homepage for THE PHOTO OF THE DAY