March 2023 Full Moon Over Okinawa

 It's Been A While

Finally a decent image of the Full Moon in Okinawa.

Amen

Last Full Moon of the Year 2021

 When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie

 Fairly busy with end-of-the-month and year chores, This will be a short blog.

This photo was taken at 6:29 PM from the roof of my house tonight DEC 19, 2021.

Tomorrow morning there won't be time in my schedule for shooting the moon setting.

This rising moon reminded me of an old tune, I had to do a search to find for you.

PLEASE ENJOY!

This Dean Martin Video

Sunday Camera Walk in Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

 Springtime Can't Come Soon Enough

Lately, I've been skipping the long walk to a secluded beach for catching the sunrise.

It's better to drink lots of coffee in the warmth of the kitchen before packing up to hike.

It's 7 AM and a few minutes before the sun appears rising over the ocean.

At 8:02 this Light-vented Bulbul made an appearance.

It would be 9:02 before this Grey-faced Buzzard posed for me before the Kin Powerplant.

It was 9:53 when a Zitting Cisticola let me take a rushed shot with the camera.

Finally, 20 minutes from home (and breakfast) a Brown-eared Bulbul showed its face.

The time was 10:41 and I wanted to be home before noon!

After all, Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. Eh?

New Year 2021 Moon Over Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

We Missed the December Full Moon

 The last full moon photographed over this island was on Halloween night, October 31, 2020.

Clouds and rain have kept the full moons hidden for the past few months.

Maybe, this is a sign, things will be better this year. Coronavirus get under control.

And for heaven's sake, USA quit arguing about who's president.

One guy came in first and the other can say he came in a close second!

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 560 MM with 1.4 Converter Focal Length 784 MM

Exposure:  f/16  1/125  ISO 100

Location: Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  JAN 1, 2021  6:34 AM

Halloween 2020 Full Moon Over Okinawa

 Second Full Moon This Month - A Blue Moon

Learn more at Time and Date

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 560 MM with 1.4 Converter Focal Length 784 MM

Exposure: f/11 1/200 ISO 400

Date and Time: OCT 31 2020 6:33 PM

Location: Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) Flying in Kin Town

 Some Fast Moving Birds

Not sure if they go by kilometers or miles per hour, all I know is they are speed demons.

These characters don't survive on a diet of fish. They eat bugs, crabs, and even little chicks.

Somewhere in California, one of these Terns lived to be over 20 years old.

Learn more about these birds at Cornell All About Birds.

Smiling Moon, Scarecrow and Surprises in Kin Town

It Started Around 5 AM Today

Going out the door for my morning stroll I noticed the moon in clear skies.

It was interesting enough for me to set up the tripod before sunrise and my usual destination.

The image (during editing) was tilted a few degrees, to straighten the smile a bit.

A few hours later and miles from home, I noticed this scarecrow in a field.

The rascal was doing a fairly good job. There were no birds in sight.

About 8 AM I Was Hot and Thirsty

Knowing there's a shaded area and vending machines at Nature Mirai, that's where I went.

Normally, I stop at a 100 Yen drink machine closer to the residential area.

A few bottles of cold water and a can of coffee, get tossed into the backpack.

The darn machine wouldn't operate for some reason so, I traveled without water.

Water was found in another vending machine and, while drinking I noticed this.

Just to the left of a coffee vending machine is this Seventeen Ice Cream machine!

Half a bottle of water was enough for me. The dog got to drink the rest.

Green tea ice cream in a cone seemed appropriate for breakfast. It's healthy I think.

The stuff ain't cheap. It's 160 Yen for one skinny little ice cream cone. That's over a dollar!

Hey, it's miles away from civilization. A place where people camp and go kayaking.

My Japanese language skills aren't near perfect but, I figured something out.

The language on the machine (Japanese) told me this was Blueberry Cheesecake.

Who's gonna complain after I spent two or three bucks on ice cream for breakfast?

After munching the ice cream cones down, I stockpiled my backpack with bottled water.

It would be after 11 AM by the time I got home.

A bit of research led me to the website of the makers of this scrumptious ice cream.

Before everyone on the island starts asking for directions to Nature Mirai, look here.

Last Surprise

That ice cream got me thinking the 18,000 steps I took wouldn't be enough exercise for today.

So, the dog and went for another few thousand steps tonight to burn some extra calories.

Wordless Wednesday: Meet Spaghetti

Location in Kin Town

Fast Food Funnies: A Silly Sign to Take Serious

Coronavirus Has Changed Things

Most restaurants have been losing business because of spacing requirements in Japan.

The law says customers must maintain 2 meters distance when out socializing.

Lots of places closed and are taking extended vacations, staying home. Hah!

Smart business managers have figured out ways to keep serving their loyal customers.

All restaurants should be doing this. Serve takeout meals or, DELIVER to the customers.

Just let them know. It takes room to prepare YOUR FREAKIN TACOS!

This bit of humor courtesy of King Tacos in Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan.


MORE SILLY SIGNS IN THE DOOZIES

April 2020 Supermoon and the Morning After

April 8th at 7:25 PM

April 9th at 5:37 AM

OCT 2019 Full Moon Over Okinawa

Moon at 99.7% Full

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 300 MM with 1.4 Converter Focal Length 420 MM

Exposure:  f/16   1/13 sec   ISO 100

Location: Kin Town Okinawa Japan

Date and Time:  OCT 13 2019  6:57 PM

SEP 2019 Full Moon Over Okinawa

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 300 MM with 1.4 converter Focal Length 420 MM

Exposure: f/5.6  1/500  ISO 100

Location: Kin Town Okinawa Japan

Date and Time:  SEP 14 2019  4:55 AM

What'n Hell Is a Faceburger?

First Time I Heard of It

That's exactly what I said one night in an entertainment district of Nago, Okinawa.

A gal who spoke English asked where I came from and I said, "Kin Town."

She said she likes to go there to buy Faceburgers. They sold them at King Tacos.

Her explanation was, "It's a hamburger, as big around as an Okinawan's face."

Now, you know what a Faceburger is, too.

Over the years, I've met many Okinawans, who call the huge hamburgers, Faceburgers.

They are getting hard to come by these days but, I found one to show you.

First I should explain something. Last night I went out and tipped a few too many.

Today, I was feeling rather extinguished. So, I decided to buy supper out in town.

That way the little lady, wouldn't have to fire up the stove and have a hot kitchen.

The burger on the right is a normal-sized hamburger. Mine is on the left.

That's a Faceburger from Gate 1 but, they call it Jumbo Burger.

Don't try ordering a Faceburger, young folks won't understand you. 

It's best to just point at things on the menu if, you can't speak the local language.

Any of those 450 Yen Jumbo Burgers would be the Faceburger not, the 300 Yen size.

My favorite is the Jumbo Pork Cutlet Burger.

If they had a real USDA 100% Beef Hamburger I'd be willing to pay 10 bucks for one.

One of these days, I might have to open my own damn Faceburger Joint. Hah!

For folks interested in other types of junk food, I took these iPhone menu shots.

The staff at Gate-1 were nice to me and fixed my food in a hurry.

So, feeling not-as-extinguished as I did before eating, I thought I'd share the menus with y'all.

End of Report

Wordless Wednesday: One Day in May

What Got Shot Instead of Okinawa's June 2019 Full Moon

Full Moon Was Invisible

Friday night would have been the best time to capture the moon over Okinawa.

The skies were clear and the moon was about 96% full. Weather changes rapidly.

Peeking out the windows, I kept hoping the sky would clear so, I could shoot the moon.

Here's what I was wanting to see. It's the Full Moon a year ago.

A storm system seems to have hovered over the Ryukyu Islands the past few days.

The sky was sort of whited out during daylight and it rained plenty at night.

Early mornings, I walked down to the fishing port planning on catching the moon setting.

Two days in a row I carried all the camera gear downhill but, never saw the moon.

A few minutes before sunrise the scene above was captured with the lens at 70 MM.

If you want to see some real full moon photography, look at last year's images.

The weather this year makes me want to flip the bird!

Scene from Abushibare - Cultural Ritual in Yaka, Kin, Okinawa

Noro Prepares for Prayers on a Beach

Abushibare is a springtime ritual held in some locations throughout the Ryukyu Islands.

Like many special events held in Okinawa, this one coincided with the full moon.

Up and around with the camera for some moon photography, yesterday was a long, hard day.

By the time I finished taking photos of the setting moon, I had to hurry to this event.

It was about a two-hour hike for me and, I happened to be the first one on the beach.

Several times I have witnessed the rituals performed at a small shrine.

That part, I skipped in order to catch my breath and rest in the shade adjoining the beach.

To give you an idea what the whole ceremony looks like, here's a 2017 slideshow:

Wordless Wednesday: Time to Reflect

Sashiba (サシバ) the Grey-faced Buzzard Shot Today

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Sigma 50-500 with 1.4 converter - Focal Length 700 MM

Exposure:  f/9.5  1/125   ISO 100

Location: Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time: November 6, 2018, 9:01 AM

More about the Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus)

12 Fireworks Photos from the Kyuzo Toyama Matsuri in Kin Town

Away from Festival Grounds

Kyuzo Toyama is considered the father of Okinawan emigration.

Kin Town is celebrating the 150th year of his birth during this annual festival.

Grounded by doctor's orders and heavily medicated, I didn't attend the matsuri.

Having been to this festival dozens of times, I came up with a plan. Stay home.

Under orders, to not leave the house, I simply went up on the roof.

Normally, the bursts of fire would appear off to the west of my position.

This year the wind decided to carry the show off towards the north.

Having the camera and zoom lens mounted on a sturdy tripod made things simple.

It was easy to swing the contraptions around and capture a few good shots.

The camera was taken off Auto Focus and, I focus to infinity.

That way the lens won't be continually searching in the dark for fireworks.

Starting things off, I use an exposure of f/11 1/60 ISO 100.

Hanabi can be tricky and you learn to adjust the shutter speed, quickly.

Some photos were exposed 0.3 seconds, others to 1.6 seconds. I go with the flow.

There are advantages to being up on a roof shooting festival fireworks.

Number One: Nobody can walk in front of the camera and ruin your shot!

My method of shooting is, use continuous firing mode or rapid fire.

That means, I hold the shutter button down and fire bursts of 3 or 4 images at a time.

Everyone has their own preferences for fireworks photography. That's mine.

If, you Google "Fireworks Photography" there are probably a dozen other ways of doing it.

A tripod makes things a lot easier and eliminates camera shake somewhat.

But, I have also steadied the camera resting on a fence, wall, or rock and, done just as well.

An advantage I discovered this time around, to being farther away pleased me.

The wind seemed to clear the smoke surrounding the fireworks, more quickly.

Smoke can ruin some great shots when it clouds-up images.

Hanabi, translated to English, would mean, flower fire. What flower is this?

Maybe a dandelion or one of those weeds growing on your lawn?

Grand Finale

The Mad Moment, when all Hell breaks loose gave me flashbacks.

They must say, "Times up" and load everything they've got in their mortar tubes.

Not very pretty but, this photo shows some buildings silhouetted in the foreground.

I could email you a digital copy for only 5 bucks! 

Google Maps Directions

7 Tattoo Shops in Kin Town

Places to Have Your Skin Etched

Within about a quarter mile of my home, I could get my skin engraved.

Little sisters and elder ones, don't fret. It ain't gonna happen.

Something reminded me today, to go out and count tattoo parlors in the neighborhood.

It was a thunderstorms-guaranteed-sort of an afternoon so, I hurried through town.

Names of establishments and open hours, you have to figure out yourself.

For some of the photos, I had to stand in the middle of the highway.

Years ago, there were only two tattoo parlors in this town.

If you didn't like what they had to offer, you'd have to go to a big city for tattoos.

Or, get a sewing needle and some ink, to have a Do-It-Yourself tattoo.

It's hard for me to imagine why anyone would want a permanent tattoo.

Once, I got one of those kids tattoos and stuck it on my forehead.

The darn thing took three days to wash off my skin. 

I couldn't go to work with Minnie Mouse painted on my face!

The tattoo shop owners are always offering to give me some free inking.

But, I'm not interested. I'd take free beers if, they offered.

The people doing tattoos are some talented artists. I've seen their designs.

Many of my friends have tattoos. Some places in Japan don't appreciate body art.

They may have you cover tattoos up so, the public can't see them.

In the USA it's been reported, women are more likely to get tattooed than men.

That's the exact opposite of the statistics in Japan.

In less than half an hour, I shot photos of the 7 tattoo parlors.

One of these days, I'll go back with a wide angle lens and get some indoor images.

If we can catch a lady being tattooed, you may get a special treat.

The rains came. I went home...


Tattooed Women Outnumber Men