Yomitan -- Japan's Most Populated Village !

Who Would Have Thought ?

 

 

Today we spent some time on the other coast of Okinawa, getting lost in Yomitan Village.

They have lots of old things, like the UNESCO Zakimi Castle and Museum.

But, there's new stuff, too.

Did you know, they have been lighting the castle walls up, at night ?

Apparently,  they started turning on the lights, from 6-9PM, since DEC 2013.

The place will be illuminated, at night, until MAR 13, 2014.

So, I may sneak over there sometime next week and do some night shooting.

The lighting, is to celebrate, becoming the most populated village, in all of Japan.

And, it doesn't cost anything to go in there.

Entry is FREE !

Talking to Sundials Gets You Nowhere: I Have Proof

A trip to the outer islands inspired me to write this down as a reminder.

The day ended alright but, it took some doings to achieve our goal.

In the morning, the sky was looking pretty nasty, heading by car, over the causeway.

That put me in good spirits because we were looking for a mysterious cave.

For a photographer, caves and waterfalls are easier to shoot on cloudy days.

Walking through jungle trails, where the sun doesn't shine, you can get nice photos, too.

Twice, over the past year, we've been here, searching for a particular cave.

This was the trail, leading to the cave, according to the map we acquired.

The Map It Okinawa dude, goes one way and I go another.

If one of us strikes gold (finds the cave), we can reach each other by cell-phone.

We cover a lot of territory and may not be in contact for hours.

Most of the day was spent along that trail, taking photos and, I had a great time.

But the cave we were looking for never materialized.

Out of the jungles, I came and spotted this spring.

There was a village below me and I needed some coffee and food.

When Map It Okinawa showed up, he said he'd take the trail back to his car and meet in the village.

Near this spring, I found a store and bought coffee and banana muffins.

After resting and nourishing myself, I went back down to the store to mingle with the locals.

Making friends, is easy for me.

 I tell them I don't speak Japanese but, Okinawan dialect is OK.

They get laughing and jabbering but, don't know, I can't hear too well.

Sometimes, in our travels, we come across what you might call, street people.

Getting directions, is one thing but, getting a dissertation about their life history, is another.

It's not nice to say 'village idiot' but, there are some out there.

There were a couple of encounters with folks like that, during this trip.

If you could get them to stand in the open, on a sunny day, they would make great sundials.

Talking to them won't help very much.

So, now you know, whenever I call someone a sundial, I'm just trying to be polite !

Mysterious Cave Located

 

Some of the good people at the Mom and Pop store, I chatted with were extremely helpful.

Visiting two village offices, we got more specific directions.

The map we had been using for the past year, was misprinted. If you can believe that.

What did they do hire Sundial for a Mapmaker?

 The mystery cave, is in there.

It was 4:30PM by the time we reached it, with the help of a kindly farmer.

He cautioned us not to attempt going in there because of habu snakes in the area.

We weren't equipped or dressed properly for that late of a cave expedition.

But, one day we'll go back and getterdun properly.

That's because, we ain't exactly a couple of sundials, if you know what I mean.

 

 The day ended on the sunny side so, I shot this scene.

It was a little after 5PM when we got back to the village office to thank them for their assistance.

The little tiled roof, on the building, in the first photo tells me, the sun was low in the sky.

It would also, make a great sundial but, you would never catch me talking to it.

Look at Some Characters and Faces from the Sanguacha (Images)

Centuries Old Ritual Tradition

 

The Sanguacha is an event that takes place on Henza Island in Okinawa, Japan.

Further research and translation will be needed before I have a complete story to publish.

But, I can give you a peek at some of the folks and things I met during the Sanguacha.

This brightly-colored fish appears to be the village mascot.

Much of the prayers and rituals are dedicated to the success of fisherman.

The whole entourage proceeds to a small off shore island to conduct ceremonies.

Villagers, of every age, participate.

There could be as many costumes as you would see in New Orleans Mardi Gras, for all I know.

Every major brand of camera and video recorder are there, too.

It's always a pleasure running into those who know what they are doing.

These guys cracked me up.

They knew how to stuff a bra but, forgot to shave the armpits.

To keep confusion to a minimum, I won't try to name any of these characters.

It would have been nice to get photos of everyone but, I had to move quickly.

The procession covers a lot of ground so, there's no time to waste, sitting down.

It was a really warm day.

Those people wearing rubber masks must of been awful hot.

When the crowd stopped at a tent for some opening ceremonies, I took a break.

There was a drink machine, in the shade and I bought some cold water.

While everybody in the tent was praying or, whatever they do, I was over here.

 This sweetheart invited me to sit down and cool-off.

And, we just entertained ourselves.

Everywhere you go at the Sanguacha you run into friendly people.

Sometimes, I pop-up from behind the camera and blow a kiss, to see what will happen.

Hah.  I better not let the wife see this one !

 The Henza Community Center is where everything started and ended.

There were plenty of dances and performances, that probably lasted all night long.

One of my favorite characters, is the Shishimai; that purple guy above.

The two youngsters, under that fur, had to be roasting, dancing in that contraption.

This was where I took my parting shot, for the day.

Some Photo Printing Needs to be Done

 

 

A pile of photos of these faces and characters will be made for my return trip to Henza Island.

Maybe, I should just burn them to a CD for the village office.

Out of all the faces, I took photos of, I only came home with one, signed model release.

That means, I have to track some folks down for signatures if I want to get them published.

Can you guess who, from the photos above, already signed one ?

Wildlife Photos: Daurian Redstart in Okinawa, Japan

Here's what happens when you leave the big lens behind and go underground.

The Map It Okinawa Dude and I spent the whole morning shooting photos in a cave.

We just got finished and drove over to the Ginoza Village Office.

Look at that little red bird with the white head.

Neither of us had ever seen anything like it before. Dang, where's the big Sigma ?

Grabbing a camera, I had been using in the dark with an 18-250mm lens, I went after it.

These aren't pretty photos but, they are good enough to get an ID.

Driving back to town, I tell Map It Dude, I know how to identify the bird quickly. 

A friend of mine has a Birds of Okinawa Prefecture Set on Flickr.

The closest thing he had to this bird, was something called  a Varied Tit.

Shoot.  I ain't putting that word on my blog.  My big sister reads this.  And she might slap me.

Being as thorough as possible in researching, I sent the bird's photo to the Bird Forum.

Less than an hour later, I had a positive ID.

The Daurian Redstart (Phoenicurus auroeus) is a species with about 286 birds in the family.

And, they don't call any of them tits. They are Old World Flycatchers and Chats.

What a relief.

Who, in their right mind, would want to go home and tell their Missus they were out with

a camera, chasing tits around the village office ?  

Not me.

Life would be much easier living in that cave!

Exclusive Tour Ryukyu Dudes Do the Caves (Photos)

Matsuda Caves in Ginoza Okinawa

These photos give a quick review of the day's events.

Today RyukyuRusty, Map It Okinawa and I got a special treat.

We had a guided tour (what I call it exclusive) through this cave.

Shinobu Miyahira (blue shirt) briefed us on everything.

He knows the history of the place, the wildlife that live there and the dangers you may face.

Standing to his left, Lorenzo Ken Tumacder, was our English translator.

Safety was everyone's concern. There are plenty of places you can slip and fall.

The guides outfitted us with boots and miners hats.  It gets real dark inside the caves.

And, there are plenty of places to accidentally bang your head.  So, that's what I did, a lot.

The guy wearing the white jacket is Terumasa Ikehara.

White stuff is easier to see in the dark so, I stuck close by him.

Kei Hamahiga and Hayato Nakama were in black shirts.

If they got too far in front of you, they would disappear, in the dark.

Everyone, there was helpful.  They held our cameras while we climbed.

And, caught us when we slipped.  Or, warned us about banging our heads.

All the way through, I kept wondering about the place.

Like, when they were preparing for tourists -- did they find any signs of humans were ever there ?

 

 Sure enough.  Look what Emi Kinjo found.

She was An Orion Beer Campaign Girl.  And, found an old Orion Beer can.

 After about two and a half hours (that seemed like one) of cave exploring, we were done.

Probably, I collected more mud that anyone else.

So, you don't see me in this photo.  I was busy smoking and shooting.

It looks like some sort of farewell photo, but, we weren't done, yet.

When you get an exclusive tour, like this, some paperwork has to be done.

It was really like a questionnaire.

We could rate the tour and guides.  And, make suggestions.

Well, I'm a grandpa and I don't like writing.

So, I said to Lorenzo, "Here, you do it".

 And, we gotterdun.

Look Forward to the Grand Opening 

 

A few days ago, I was worried about the impact tourism would have on the Village of Ginoza.

More than anything else, I am concerned about the environment.

From what we saw and heard today, this cave is in good hands.

They are knowledgeable about the stalactite and stalagmite formations and their preservation.

They are concerned about the wildlife within and around the caves.

The caves will open to the public sometime in Spring.

Standby for an exclusive-exclusive report if they let the Ryukyu Dudes in again !

Dragonboats, Days Off and Great Friends

A CLOSE-UP LOOK AT A DRAGONBOAT

After a night of taking pictures in the August rain I sat at the kitchen table developing RAW shots until 2AM.

I just checked to see what day it is because I can't remember. It's Tuesday, here, That means it was Sunday night I did the shooting.

It must have been around 8PM when the phone rang. The wife's phone; I don't hear or answer mine. My cell phone is for emails, a watch and a calendar and sometimes, I even use it as a camera, flashlight or something to prop-up a real camera when I get down too low on the ground for a tripod and just need something to position my lens.

I got out of the house just as a few truckloads of Eisa Dancers landed in the street right in front of my house. Before I captured a dozen pictures, it started raining. That slows them down. They took shelter for a few minutes under overhanging eaves of houses along the street. As soon as the cloudburst passes, they're at it again. After a quarter mile and 100 pictures or so I called it a day and went home.

The drums of Eisa Dancers were still banging somewhere around the village while I was developing photos. I can tell by watching my Huskies ears or feel the vibrations and if they're really close actually hear something.

I had enough pictures to satisfy me and the camera, bag and tripod were drying out in the air-conditioned living room while I developed at the kitchen table. The AC is for the bride and the dogs. I can live without it. It also comes in handy for sucking the moisture out of a camera bag and strap so, I guess it's worth the krazillion yen a month I waste on my electric bill to keep the dogs and bride happy.

Along came yesterday, which felt like Sunday, to me. I woke up late, pretty much burned out with cameras, staring at computer monitors, getting rained on, shooting festivals and trying to remember what day of the week it is. So, I did something I haven't done in months.

I TOOK A FREAKIN' DAY OFF !

No going online, no Daily Photo or Blog post, nothing. The only time I left the house was the two times between cloudbursts, morning and evening, that I harnessed-up the dogs and gave them their walk. And both times, even though the sun came out before I left the house,

I GOT RAINED ON, AGAIN !

The people in the village call me the Rainmaker.

The wife complains because the dogs come home smelling like wet dogs. I ask her if she'd rather they smelled like wet cats.

The dogs never complain about her smelling like wet people.

Get a towel and dry them and they won't smell like wet dogs anymore. They'll smell like dry dogs, I'll bet !

A few times between listening to complaints, drying wet dogs and changing my wet clothes, I almost went and walked to my office to go online. I knew there would be all kinds of people wondering what happened and 100's of emails stacking up if I didn't visit, like I normally do.

But, I said "I'm gonna try this Day Off routine, just for the heck of it".

I just wanted to see if my website would drop in the ratings, Mr Google, Yahoo and the Alexa Dude would scratch me off their list and all my friends stop following me and nobody ever come to visit my website, ever again.

Well, 100's of emails did stack up. But, 100's of people did visit the website. Even some picked a photo and Thumb'd it Up for me. So, that's why the Dragonboat is here today.

ThumbedUp by one of my many good internet friends (netofriendo, in Japanese), if you get a chance, please visit MUZA-chan's GATE TO JAPAN and say Hello with your Thumb!

Cheers, Mike