Guy in a Green Hat Walks into a Bar

Not Seen in Okinawa Everyday 

 

Those John Deere caps are scarce and treasured items, in this part of the world.

And, I've never met a person, wearing one who I wouldn't consider a friend.

Back in my farming days, we used to say, "Nothing runs quite like a Deere."

That phrase could probably be twisted around and used for people who wear those hats, too.

Yea. Nothing runs quite like people topped off with John Deere headwear.

The animated character in the GIF above, I've known for more than a few years.

We bump into each other on the internet, all the time. That's how we came to be friends.

We cross paths, once in a blue moon, out in the field but, never drank together.

Friday night, we were supposed to get together, for some full moon photography.

The plan was, to shoot the moon then, do some bar hopping in my territory.

We live on opposite sides of the island so, he had to be careful about driving his car.

The rascal, showed up at my office with some young gal, as his driver.

The moon, was the only part of the equation, that didn't cooperate but, that was alright.

It gave us a headstart. That meant more time for us to, act like lunatics and go drinking.

Gotta Love Google Maps

 

 

People worried about privacy can turn their location OFF but, I keep mine switched ON.

That way if, I forget where I was the night before, I can go back and look at my Timeline.

It comes in handy for things like law enforcement, too.

Supposing, some guy with a white beard, throws a rock through the whorehouse window.

When the cops come around, I can show them. It wasn't one of us.

We were way over on the other end of town, too far away to throw rocks. Lookit my phone !

First Stop

 

 

 

It was close to 8PM when, we visited Bar & Cafe Brasil. 

Friday nights that place gets, standing room only, packed with customers.

They get Marines in there, who look like tattooed bodybuilding monsters, having fun.

Loud music is playing and, action movies are on a widescreen TV, too.

The crowd is always friendly and, some of the tattooed bodies are girls, with big muscles.

Me and the guy in the green hat drank beers. The gal with us had Brazilian soft drinks.

We had to make sure, the designated driver, was taken care of.

So, whenever, she had to pee, I would escort her to the ladies room and, stand guard outside.

After a couple of beers, we decided to make room, for more customers and, left that place.

Off to an Irish Pub

 

 

The John Deere dude, decided some whiskey would be nice to have, next.

So, I showed him the way to Bingo's Pub but, told him, I'd stick with my beer.

The joint was fairly crowded but, friendly folks got us our own table.

Loud Irish music is always playing and, there's a jovial smoke-filled atmosphere.

When, I asked our driver if, she liked karaoke, she said "Yes."

That would be good. After 3 or 13 beers, I'm ready to do some singing. So, off we went.

Karaoke Time

 

Just a few doors down the street, we hit the Cafe 104.

It's rarely crowded in this bar and, the owner is always happy to see me.

We were the only customers and, it was quiet enough to hear each other's conversations.

Plus, I didn't have to worry about the young lady, going to use the bathroom.

Drinking and singing, was mostly what we did and maybe, some conversating.

The guy in the green hat, doesn't do things like this very often, I could tell.

We were having a blast but, I worry about folks, drinking too many different kinds of booze.

To me, it's like physical training. Drink regularly, to keep in shape.

Supposing a war broke out and, you weren't used to being drunk. That'd be dangerous.

But, if your body is used to it, you could put up a hell of a fight, anyway.

Stagger to Next Bar

 

About this time, I'm sure our driver was starting to worry about, us walking.

We shuffled down the road aways, to the Club Peace.

It's a good sized establishment and, wasn't overly crowded. Everybody there, knows me.

Sometimes, they have jam sessions and, you'd be amazed at the talent displayed on stage.

There may be local musicians, mixed with some of the military crowd, playing in the band.

Some young Marine, was singing and bouncing around and, he was really good.

When he finished his song, I told him, "You should quit your daytime job."

We were sitting on sofas and had two tables, all to ourselves, over in a corner.

It was kind of comfortable and, the girl didn't have to worry about us going to pee.

The young guy, kept going back onstage and singing 50s-60s type songs.

Unfortunately, we discovered some long-haired wigs, the customers can play with.

That was the first time, I ever saw the green cap, come off the John Deere dude.

Fooling around with the wigs and, dancing around the room, seemed like the thing to do.

Green hat dude, got onstage, wearing some psychedelic colored, long-haired wig and danced.

Not long after that, he discovered some serious back pain. Not a problem.

For some reason, I happened to be wearing a stretchy, back support and, didn't really need it.

Off it came and the gal, helped wrap the thing around, the now-groaning, green hat dude.

One Last Bar

 

 

Another theory, I have is, what's best for a wrenched back, when you're drinking.

That would be, find a comfortable spot to take things easy and, drink some more.

So, we sauntered across a field and stumbled into Bar Patra.

All the gals there, know where my favorite spot is, at the counter and, hooked us up.

They had some customers move, to get three bar stools for my guests.

It's close to the bathrooms but, they don't really know, why I chose that location.

Top Secret: The air-conditioning controls, are right next to me.  And, I know how to operate !

It was past the Cinderella hour and, we tipped a few more drinks before, calling it a night.

 

 

 

In Case You Were Wondering

 

  

Everyone made it home safely and, no one was seriously injured, making this episode happen.

Figure if, the guy with the John Deere hat keeps practicing, we'll whip him into great shape.

Five bars in one night is, no great accomplishment but, a good start.

Maybe, once a month or so, we'll get together again and, build up our portfolios.

The Guy with the green hat, who walked into all these bars, is known as Okinawa Soba.

Visit him on Flickr and, you could spend hours, learning from him.

Guy Walks Into a Bar Full Moon

April 2017 Full Moon Over Okinawa

It's a little bit late this month. It seemed like this, wasn't going to happen.

Normally, I get out the night before, during and after the full moon is scheduled to appear.

The evenings of the 10th and 11th, we had nothing but clouds so, it was impossible.

The meteorologists, said the sky would clear-up last night.  But, it didn't look that way, to me.

About 7:30 heavy, black clouds were blowing up the east coast of the island.

I messaged a friend and let him know, what time to start looking for the moon.

He lives south on the western coast. I hoped, he'd get some good photos if, the moon showed .

Just getting over a nasty cold, I decided beer would be better than photography.

If the moon appeared before I got too relaxed, I could go back to work and shoot it.

Positive, I made the right decision, I walked out after my first beer and looked for the moon.

Nothing but black skies, was all I saw so, another beer got in front of me.

Relaxing, while watching the movie "Jaws" was all I had left to do for the day.

In the Bar & Cafe Brasil, they have a Reserved sign in a corner of the bar, just for me.

Now, that I think of it, every bar I go to, in this town, has a special seat, just for me.

It's probably because, I look lots older than, I really am or, it could be my drinking habits.

Anyway This Guy Walked Into the Bar

He's the same guy, who wanted to know if, I could use a brand new toilet seat, a few years ago.

We've been friends for more than a few years. He knew exactly where to find me last night.

"Mike, I figured you'd be out there shooting the full moon," he said as he walked in.

He had just finished some ungodly miles of night bike riding and, was excited about the moon.

"Look, I'm watching Jaws and drinking beer, I told him. Somebody else can shoot the moon."

He kept telling me, it was the biggest brightest moon, he ever had seen.

Well, I told him, my camera shooting friend, down in Naha, would shoot it for me.

Off he went and, I finished my beer so, I could go outside and peek at the moon.

There it was. Not a cloud in the sky. I told the bartender, I had to go back to work.

Quick Moon Shots

Normally, I would climb up to the roof of my building for moon photography.

After a few beers, I didn't think it would be a good idea so, I stayed down on earth.

The tripod, camera and lenses are heavy, expensive and, not drunk proof.

A few shots were taken with 420MM of lens and 700MM of lens.

The photo above was shot with the Sigma 50-500 and a 1.4 converter and, I like it best.

A mild HDR image was created to smooth out highlights and shadows.

Everything got downloaded and put away for the night and, by 10:30 I was back in the bar.

If I ever go drinking downtown again, I think I'll buy that biking guy a beer !

Animation (GIF) Unwired in the Hills of Okinawa

Centuries Old Ritual

 

 

Late yesterday afternoon, found me up there, shooting a dance in the mountains.

It's been about four years, since the last time I'd been at this ceremony.

Back then, I ended up, going to the celebrations at the conclusion of the events.

After sipping a few of the local spirits, a bunch of us, piled into taxi cabs.

Off, we went, for a night of drinking and singing.

Once all the sacred things are done, those gals like to unwind a bit.  Me too.

Older But Wiser

 

Knowing, I be shooting a thousand photos or more, I did things differently, this year.

The cameras got packed away and, I sneaked down off the hill.

Then, went to a secret location, to drink, without any of those angels.

Looking back at images taken in 2012, I see several familiar faces from yesterday's shoot.

In the next few weeks, I'll probably be delivering photos to those gals.

If, anybody asks, why I skipped out, last night, I'll have to tell them something.

They're a great group of people, to hangout with and, I don't want to hurt any feelings.

What should I say?

My guardian angel reminded me, I had other stuff to do?

Long Days and Nights Doing Research

Mabuni Cliffs of Itoman

 

 

Friday morning the mission was, to get some photos of the cliffs along the beach in Itoman.

Leaving the office in Kin at 9AM, we arrived here, around noon.

It was sunny and blazing hot so, Doc and I took our time climbing the hills of Mabuni. 

Two cameras, were hauled along with me and, I took a grand total of six photos.

After running some errands, I was back in the office, enjoying some air-conditioning.

The cameras were downloaded, images processed and, I began my research.

It's nice to find a historical link, to help explain, what took place at a site like this.

The link, explaining the cave on yesterday's blog, got thousands of views.

And, it saved me from telling everyone, all the gruesome details of what occurred here.

 That allowed me, to get out of here early last night and get refreshed, for the evening.

It's Called Nominication in Japan

 

Take the Japanese word for drinking (nomi) and, communication.

Put them together, go drinking and communicating. That's nominication.

It's usually done by workers of the same company. Or, it could be family and friends.

Me, I just call it researching and, I'll research with almost anybody.

On the circular route, I take after a day in the hot sun, there's a few bars along the way.

One of them closed at midnight so, I went upstairs to another establishment.

I was sitting at the counter, nominicating with a guy who works at the body shop, downstairs.

All of a sudden, the door flew open and, in came a bunch of  young ladies.

And, one of them was Aki, a favorite performer of mine.

We did some serious nominicating, singing and dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

For example, the photo above was taken at 5:13AM.

 The next all of a sudden thing that happened was, daylight arrived.

This photo was taken at 5:45AM and, I didn't want the wife worrying about me.

So, I ordered one more beer and drank it deliberately. I got home around six.

The good lady, asked me if, I needed any breakfast and, I said, "Nah, I'm not hungry."

It was time for me to get a good 8 hours of sleep, to prepare for Saturday night.

See, I plan on going out to do more research during the cool hours of evening, again !

Travel Shot: Animated GIF Bar Brasil

A New Business in Kin Town

 

 

The owner and guests, were kind enough to give me permission to shoot.

So, I got behind the counter and, took this series of five images, to create a GIG.

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 15-30 at 28MM

Exposure:  f/3.5  1/30  ISO 1600

Location:  Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  JUL 3 2016  9:13PM

Animated Image -- Bailing Out a Sabani

Seas Were a Bit Rough

 

 

We're still sorting out and selecting photos from the 2016 Zamami Island Sabani Race.

Six images were used in creating this animation, to show what happens after a capsize.

Of course, everybody and, everything falls out into the ocean.

The mast and sail, have to be removed, in order to upright the boat.

One gal, bails furiously with a bucket, while the other two, steady the craft.

The guy, swimming is catching gear which has gone astray.

Once, the yellow bucket, got away and, the gal used a straw hat to bail out the water.

Another thing, I witnessed, was somebody's iPhone floating in the ocean.

It was safely bouncing around in the sea, wrapped up in a zip-lock bag.

Good idea. Huh ?

The capsize happened, about half an hour, from the start of the sailing sabani race.

Once enough water was bailed out, the rest of the team, got aboard and started paddling.

In another four and a half hours, the team reached the island of Okinawa.

Bouncing around with a hangover and heavy cameras, got me thinking.

"This is torture. Don't ever drink again.  Until after the sun goes down."

So, that's exactly what I did.

5 More Action GIFs from an Eisa Festival and Drinking Afterwards

And A New Word in the Vocabulary

 

 

First, a little explanation about how these photos get done.

When I attend one of these events, I'm not out there having fun; it's work.

To get the best photos, you have to move around a lot.

The idea, for me, is to compose photos that make travelers want to visit these festivities.

My cameras, are never in Auto Mode.

All exposure settings are made manually so, I am continuously checking the light meter.

And, most of the time, using a tripod to steady the shots.

Sometimes, the camera gets ripped off the tripod and, I have to sit on the ground.

The knees and elbows become my bi-pod.

There's no telling who the lady in pink, might be but, she enjoyed having her picture taken.

 This part of the Eisa dance, I haven't figured out, yet.

One of these days, I'll have to ask one of my dance instructor friends about it.

Maybe, they are simulating the planting of rice.

After, shooting the photos above, I decided to move where the sun was behind me.

Not too wild about using flash, I wanted to get as many natural light shots as I could.

When the sun went down, I was in the office, downloading cameras.

After a few hours in the sun, air conditioning felt great.

Some amazing photos were captured so, it was a productive day for me and I'm happy.

Next Came Nominication Time

 

 

It's the way a lot of business is conducted in Japan.

Take the Japanese word for drinking: nomi.

Then, combine it with the English word: communication and you get: nominication.

Well, I have unknowingly been doing that for decades but, just learned the word, recently.

 Now, I know what to tell the missus, the next time I'm out 'til 4AM.

In this sort of business, you have to do plenty of nominicating ! 

If you think I'm joking: READ THIS

Bamboo Can Drive You to Drinking !

Almost Scientific Evidence Gathered Today Proves It

 

 

Catching-up on processing photos, taken in February 2013, I made this discovery.

There are over 300 types of this plant.

A person could do their college dissertation with access to all the information I found.

To keep it simple, I'll just provide one link.

Check the Bamboo Garden.

If anybody's looking for me, I went drinking !



Festival Photo: As Sun Sets on the Kin Cho Eisa Matsuri

Originally scheduled for August 26th, Typhoon Bolaven changed the plan.

The Kin Cho Eisa Matsuri (Festival) was held last night.

This photo was taken as the sun was setting behind the hills causing some high-contrast lighting.

Nakagawa, the district of Kin Village where the event was held, is across the river from me.

It sure would have been nice to stay after my photography was finished.

Folks up in Nakagawa really know how to party.

Every time someone offered me a drink, I told them I couldn't because I was working.

They respect that and leave you alone.

Good people.

Rarely will you catch me out with a camera and drinking at the same time.

Saturday night was one of those occasions.

So, when the Eisa Matsuri was over, I dropped the cameras off at the office.

And, went drinking without them !

Visit my homepage for today's Feature Photo

Irish and When They've Had Enough to Drink (Photo)

An Irishman has had enough to drink......

                                                                                                          ......when his feet leave the planet.

                                                                HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY !

Visit my Homepage for THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Drinking and Driving in Japan: An Insider's Tips

Don't Drink And Drive. Don't Ride With A Drinker, Either!

If you happen to be out drinking alcoholic beverages with your friends and one of them is driving, grab a taxi for yourself and your friend. One or two drinks is all it takes to get you a ride to the slammer. Recently updated laws now hold passengers in a vehicle responsible for the drinking driver's conduct (or should I say misconduct?). So even if you were not drinking, but were hitching a ride with someone who was, you can be sent to jail for three years and fined about $50,000 as an accomplice to their crime.

Taxi fare is much cheaper. Even better than a cab, there's a service called Daiko, where a team takes your car and drives it home for you. Both you and your automobile are deposited, safely at home and you don’t have to worry about getting arrested or trying to figure out where your ride went the next day.

PHOTO BY JAROD SAMPSON