An Uka-Uka (ぅかーぅか) Sort of Day

Call It Daydreaming

The word got into my vocabulary, yesterday because, I ate an Ukauka pizza.

There's no sense, running around these islands, eating if, I don't review the places.

Well, I had other things to catch up on and, put the writing on the back burner.

The camera business, kept me extremely busy, over the past few days.

So, I skipped doing my daily regimen of lifting cement blocks and doing calisthenics.

Early this morning, I made up for it, by doing a few hours of torturous training.

By 10 AM, I was exhausted, changed out of the sweatsuit and, went to get some breakfast.

Dark skies, gave me an idea. Eat then, take a two hour nap. That worked !

Except for One Thing

When, you have aching muscles, on a dreary day - Who feels like writing ?

Clearing out all the social media sites and checking emails, wore me down.

But, I got an idea from reading mail from the Travel Agent Academy.

They're always sending me reminders about travel courses, I can take. What the heck.

Into the online academy, I went and, finished another course.

Now, I can find travel information around the globe, in just a few seconds.

A gazillion off the wall experiences, events, attractions and, things to do, are at my fingertips.

Once, I got that certificate, it was time to get back to doing my normal business.

 Ukauka Pizzeria

This was where we had lunch, over on Sesoko Island, yesterday.

The chef  let me photograph him, preparing my meal in that wood-burning oven.

The professor and I, were freezing from being up on a mountain, in the rain.

So, this was a great place, to grab lunch and, get warmed up.

After we left, we had to make a stop, to grab some chicken; the pizza was vegetarian !

Today I Learned What Ukauka Means

The Jaded Network says, "daydreaming or not paying attention."

At Wikibooks - "to be careless or absentminded."

Well, I'm not sure if we were absentminded or daydreaming, when we walked into this place.

But, I know some friends and family, who would really love it.

So, I did a Google Maps review, for everyone.

The pizza was tasty. If, I go back there again, I'm sneaking some pepperoni in with me !

Animations: Carving of a Tuna

Off with the Head

This performance draws a large crowd every time. The chef is explaining how it's done.

They have him, wired for sound. He talks while cutting and, he moves along quickly.

Before any vegetarians start complaining, I'd like to ask a question.

What part of a carrot, do you slice off, first ?

Next, he slices and removes all the other parts of the fish, that get in his way.

In just a few minutes, the tuna is diced into little chunks and, served to the crowd.

Other things had to be done so, I had to leave after this highlight event.

One year, the tuna wasn't enough, to feed everybody so, they had to bring one more.

It's a good thing, there's plenty more fish in the ocean, is what I'm thinking.

It would be a shame, to go to a festival, where they did things different.

I'd probably be real sad if, I saw them cutting a bunch of baby carrot heads off !

When I'm Hungry: Where's the Beef ? Short Rant/Photo Essay

 

Hungry Cameraman Needs Red Meat

 

 

There's nothing wrong with the vegetarian crowd.  I ain't pokin' fun at you.

Fruits and vegetables are an important part of my diet.

But, I'm carnivorous, too.

After hiking a few hills in the northern part of Okinawa, it gets hungry outside.

And, my stomach starts dreaming about woofin' down a big, juicy lunch.

The best hamburger in Okinawa would be nice, is what Map It Okinawa and I were thinking.

Once, I saw a dude eat two of them in one sitting.  

Four or five times we got to the Toto La Bebe place and couldn't get in.

They must have changed their hours of operation.  What a bummer.

With juicy, red meat on our minds and stomachs growling, we headed to Nago City.

Then stopped by the Cafe Gusto.  I've had hamburgers here before.

It's a really fancy place so, I hid in the corner.

When the waitress came by I asked for a hamburger. But, they don't serve them anymore.

What you do then, if you want a decent meal is this:

Point at whatever looks good on the menu that is within your wallet's capability.

Some sort of hamburger-tasting thing was on my plate, covered with a diet sauce.

It tasted alright.  I woofed it down too fast to take a photo.

Probably, should have ordered two.  Because I left there saying...

...where's the beef ?

RyukyuMike Gets a Good Dose of Healthy Food (Photos)

Now, you all know, I'm not in the habit of running around giving restaurant reviews.

After a hard night of shooting some band performing at a Live House and tipping a few beers,  I wasn't sure what I wanted to eat today.

RyukyuRusty showed up around noon and we grabbed cameras and hit the road.

We decided to get out of town and look for someplace to eat.

Someplace different.

We had heard about this place months ago but, never managed to find it.

Going up the stone stairway, you get the feeling there's going to be a castle up there.

It's an old Okinawan traditional style house. 

There's nothing flashy outside to lure you in, except a wooden sign that says,

GARAMANJYAKU CAFE

Walking up to the front door, I started to think we made a mistake.

Like, what if this place isn't the restaurant we thought it was ?

Being I'm the one who's most experienced  at making mistakes, I opened the door and peeked in while yelling, "Gomenkudasai".  That's sort of like saying, "Excuse me.  Anybody home"?

Looking around the place, I was just getting ready to run because I was sure this was somebody's private residence.  Sure enough if we didn't get out of there real quick, Rusty and I would wind up in the slammer.  

But, before I could push him out of my way to bolt through the sliding door, out of a back room came this nice lady and she welcomed us into her Cafe.

After placing an order, I asked if I could shoot some photos of the place.

Not sure what I was really ordering, I told the owner I'm allergic to shellfish.

She told me not to worry.  There's no meat or fish in any of the servings.

That was my first clue, I was going to get healthy food.

Look at this table with a charcoal burner built in to it.

There isn't any grease around, anywhere. Maybe, it's just for show.

Next time I go back, I'll find out.

Well, I burnt my tongue on that miso soup.  So, told the gal I'd shoot a few more pictures while it cooled off.  

She was really friendly and kept asking if we needed refills on water.

Everything on that tray is either a vegetable, or herb grown on the premises.

The flower was edible, she told me.  So, I ate it, too.

She noticed I was having a little trouble eating some of the crunchy veggies.

It wasn't her fault.  I told her I left my teeth at home, soaking in a cup.

We had a few good laughs while we were there.

And promised to bring our ladies the next time we need a good dose of healthy food.

Everything was tasty but, it got me wondering.

Do you suppose RyukyuMike could ever turn into a vegetarian ?

• Okinawa