Only 86 Days Away !
In case you've never heard of this event, I'll tell you why it's so important.
Once every five years, Okinawans from around the globe converge on this island.
People from the Ryukyu Islands have emigrated to 170 countries around the world.
This gives them a chance, to reunite with family and friends throughout the prefecture.
And, some of their descendants, get to see where their families, originally came from.
If you haven't already guessed, Uchinanchu, means Okinawan, in local dialect.
Thousands of Uchinanchu get together for a few days and share their culture.
I figured, it was time to dig up some links so, everyone knows the schedule of events.
First, a YouTube video to show what took place 5 years ago in case, you're afraid of crowds.
Tom Corraro, posted this one. He came all the way from Chicago for the festival.
It's a bit long; 41:34 minutes but, covers almost everything.
October 27-30 2016
Those are the dates for the festival activities but, check the entire program for extras.
Sometimes, there are rehearsals before and, parties after, these sort of things.
Besides the events in big cities, villages welcome the visitors and, have special activities planned.
It's really hard work if, you're a cameraman, I can tell you from experience.
So, the wife knows, a 3 day festival may, take me a week.
One year, a bunch of Brazilian/Okinawan dancers came parading down the street.
Their outfits were so skimpy, I forgot to look through the viewfinder and, take pictures !
Outline 6th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival
Follow these links for, whichever language you prefer:
Make Reservations Before It's Too Late
It's always best, to do travel arrangements a few months in advance.
With the volume of travelers on island, rooms may become scarce and, that would be a shame.
Maybe, I could squeeze a few of those Brazilian girls into my office for overnights.
But, they'd have to promise, to keep those hooters concealed !
