Flower Photos: 2017 Azalea Festival Higashi Village Okinawa

First Day of Spring

There were heavy clouds and some sprinkles of rain in the hills of Okinawa today.

But, that doesn't keep nature loving people of the island, from getting out for a matsuri.

Rather than, shoot photos of people with umbrellas, I did some zooming with the lens.

Climbing the walkways through this hillside, was some exercise my body needed.

Some of those blossoms, give off a strong scent, I can't really describe. Let's see.

Well, they smelled lots better than, some of the perfume, on the gals walking around. Hah !

If, the sky would have cleared, photos with blue sky, would have been taken.

That wasn't going to happen until, long after I, headed back to my office.

Before long, I noticed something. There were only three colors of flowers.

Red, pink and white. Don't they have orange, purple or yellow ones, they could plant ?

It was nice, to be out in the fresh air and, climbing hills but, sort of a wet day.

Suddenly, I got an idea. "Maybe, people want to see the skyline."

Lots of folks might be thinking. "This is boring, show us the sky."

For Those Not So Crazy About Flowers

 

A decision was made, to go out of my way and, present something different, today.

I told my friend Doc Graff, sometimes folks like to see crappy weather. Not me.

Here's the view, from the azalea festival, I got while facing Okinawa's east coast.

It doesn't exactly lure visitors to the island for beach parties or swimming.

We got down off the hill and, stopped at a tent for some festival food, just in time.

It was a first, for me, eating this variation of Yakisoba. First time, in a lifetime.

Barbecued pork ribs (soki) on a pile of yakisoba. Mouthwateringly delicious, it was.

It was a tad more expensive than, normal matsuri food. About 10 bucks or, 1000 yen.

Would I go back there and, eat a meal like that again?  YUP !

Tree Photo: Sakishima Sappanwood -- Heritiera littoralis

The Site Has Improved

 

 

It's been over a year, since my first visit to this location, in Higashi Village.

Heading up north to the Higashi Museum, we got detoured by a construction crew.

That's how we wound up, stopping here.

The place has been spruced up nicely and, clouds passed overhead so, I snagged this photo.

At the edge of these woods bright light and dark shadows make photography difficult.

In the past, you had to walk through some soggy ground, to reach this tree.

And, there were some yellow and black ropes surrounding the area.

Now, the safety ropes are gone and they have wooden boardwalks leading to the attraction.

Something tells me, a ritual or some sort of shindig may be taking place in the near future.

So, I'll be going back to see if I can weasel my way into getting invited.

They won't say "No" if I don't ask so, I might as well try !

More About the Sundari Trees at Wildscreen ARKive

The Azalea Festival That Turned into a Flower Carnival

 Azalea Matsuri ( ツツジ まつり) in Higashi Village

 

Little did I know about how this event has grown, until yesterday.

The 15 photos posted here are just a sample of what may be seen this month.

 After leaving the Iris fields we decided to check on the azaleas in Higashi.

 To our surprise, the Azalea Festival had already begun.

It started looking like rain so, we made a quick camera tour through the place.

 When the wind starts blowing and it rains, I don't really want to shoot flowers.

 They look a lot better on a sunny, blue sky kind of day.

As long as I had to climb the hills, I figured, I should take some photos.

That way, you know, I really went up there.

One last shot with some grey sky and, I came up with an idea.

 

Keep the sky out of the frame, where I could.

A little bit peeked through, trying to make this composition.

Then another idea, popped into my head.

Get down low, someplace where the rocks block the breeze. 

Another trick was, get off the trails and find someplace where there was no wind.

Reds, pinks and whites seemed to be the most popular colors.

So, I tried to make sure, I got shots of all three.

I'm not much of a flower fanatic but, I know many people are.

We meandered down off the hills, taking photos out of the worst winds.

And, I took one last shot, before going into the festival food tents.

There, I got to sit down and have a hot meal and some warm tea.

You really don't want to see photos of that.

How Did a Flower Festival Become a Carnival ?

 

Well, it started on the 1st of the month and, lasts until the 23d.

They have all kinds of entertainment.

There's karate, marching bands, folk and popular music, magicians and comedians.

You could go dancing, drinking and shopping there.

They even have some kind of marathon, ending there !

Have a peek at the schedule on their website. 

The Google Translate feature might be helpful if you can't read Japanese.

My plan, is to wait a week or, two for the weather to warm up a bit.

Then, the place should be in full bloom and, a lot more beauties will be out up there.

More Info at Stripes Okinawa and Map It Okinawa 

Sunday's Silly Sign (Photo) Aug 14, 2011

Today the Sunday's Silly Sign photo is brought to you from Higashi Village in Okinawa, Japan.  They are a fine bunch of people and I enjoy my visit everytime I'm in their community.  They even took the time to translate the Municipal Charter and post it at the edge of town so we could read it in the English language.

If the rest of the world would follow these guidelines things would be much better for the environment, wildlife and all of humanity.  We should take a close look at how they've managed to be such fine citizens.

Go back and look at the photo.  Carefully read each line of the charter. Memorize it if you can.  It's not that difficult.  The folks who founded Higashi Village and wrote this charter may have discovered the secret to the whole world living in peace and harmony.  It's simple.  Why hasn't anyone thought of this before ?

Prioritize, that's what we need to do.  Keep your priorities straight.  Don't get your priorities mixed up. Write them down.  Then make them all #1.


IF YOU ENJOY SUNDAY'S SILLY SIGNS VISIT THE DOOZIES


HERE'S THE PHOTO OF THE DAY