Yesterday's News: Guilty of rape. . . now what?

As some of my readers may already be aware, late last year two men were accused of raping and robbing an Okinawan woman in her early 20's. These two men, both active duty military members, were temporarily stationed in Okinawa for a training mission. The event took place the night before they were scheduled to depart.

Following the accusation of rape the US Forces Japan were put into a nation wide curfew and drinking ban. Although this move by the US was controversial it was not the first time that something like this has happened and was arguably less severe then in 2008 (if my memory serves me correctly) when US Forces in Okinawa were on complete lock down. (During this lock down military and civilians alike were not permitted in any off base establishments whatsoever. This included but was not limited to stores, shops, tourist attractions or restaurants.) This also did not stop the string of incidents which would follow.

The situation also pushed many of Okinawa's residents, who were already upset about the deployment of the Osprey and relocation of Futenma within Okinawa, over the edge. The message at the already frequent protests was not only "Marines Go Home" and "No Osprey" but now included "No Rape".

Those who serve in the military, and their families, also had their share to say about the situation. Although there were a great deal of people outraged and disgusted by these two men there were also a surprising amount who defended them. This was not limited to currently active military members on Okinawa either. One ex-military member who was never stationed in Okinawa and now lives in mainland Japan even went so far as to make a YouTube video which placed blame on the victim.

After a short while, and the occurrence of more crimes committed by US Military Members, the story fell from the front page and became a tag line at the end of related articles until recently.

 



 

The Trial

The two men, Christopher Browning and Skyler Dozierwalker, were tried in a Naha court where they were charged as guilty of rape. During the trial prosecutors noted that Dozierwalker choked the victim from behind and forced her into a parking lot where she was then raped. This was confirmed by surveillance camera footage, presented as evidence, which caught the act on film. Christopher Browning was sentenced to ten years in prison and Skyler Dozierwalker was sentenced to nine years. Christopher Browning was also convicted of robbing the victim of 7000 yen (at today's yen rate just under $75.00 US) Both men will serve their time in a Japanese prison.

Now What?

This incident shook Okinawa and for many I am sure that it is a relief that these men have been tried and will serve time in prison. I am, however, of the opinion that there is more that needs to be discussed before this story turns into a distant memory.

I can't help but wonder what is being done to prevent crimes like this from happening in the future. Are military members and their families really even aware of the consequences for their actions? To be honest I am not entirely sure and the military doesn't have a very straight forward approach to these types of matters either. Just go ahead and check out the UCMJ. You'll see that the consequence for an act of rape is:

"shall be punished as a court-martial may direct".

What does that mean? Well that's a great question. In fact as we're seen in the case of some female service members being raped by their superiors it could mean just about anything or nothing. According to an article on this subject by the Air Force Times in November 2012:

"Military courts often have great flexibility in sentencing. . "

The article goes on to say that a military member who has been found guilty of rape could be fined or have a reduction in pay but ultimately committing this type of crime isn't a career ender.

It is this answering questions without actually providing answers approach which I believe gives some military members and their families the illusion of being above or exempt from Japanese law. AFN Radio and TV are always showing ads about how you could be charged under the UCMJ but usually forget to mention that you could also be charged under Japanese Law. In fact reading about the Browning/Dozierwalker case there was only one out of about twenty articles that I read which mentioned that they will be serving time in a Japanese prison.

Only Time Will Tell 

Unfortunately what happens next will only be told as time passes. My hope, although it might be wishful thinking, is that some changes be made. The sad reality is that with the rotation of people and management in and out of Okinawa will undoubtably put this story out of sight, out of mind until the two are released ten years from now.

The Stone Lion of Kishaba

 



Almost everyone who comes through Okinawa is familiar with the shisaa. They come in many shapes, sizes and can be found in either pairs or by themselves. It is common for some nowadays to think of shisaa as good luck charms but this is not exactly the reason that they are around. Overall the shisaa is a protector. There are a lot of stories which I will save for another day but at a time they were most commonly seen on the roof of a house, not necessarily in pairs. This particular shisaa was placed in a location (different from where it sits today) facing a stone which was said to spit fire and therefore to prevent natural disasters in the area the shisaa was placed facing it.  There is no date on the shisaa and like many other things throughout Okinawa it can not be exactly determined when it might have been constructed but it does seem as though it is in the same fashion of the shisaa which are located in the kyuuna area. I have not yet talked about those shisaa in a video but I will be sure to cover them in the future.

The current location of this shisaa is in a small park which is located in the Kitanakagusuku area. The park is beautiful and holds a few different historical areas although at this time I am not entirely sure of what each one is. After walking up a large set of stairs into a large coral stone area you can feel as though you are in the middle of the jungle.

The park has a number of tombs and monuments although we did not venture to one of them because it was too overgrown. Signs mark the direction of each area as well. On a beautiful day this is a great place to get away for a brief moment and enjoy the sun but it is also a great place to see some history as well.

Below all of the tombs, water way and everything else in the overgrown area you can see that there is a large grassy area as well as a sandy area which is more likely than not used for gate ball. Benches also are set throughout the park for people who are wondering through to sit and enjoy the area. Although this is a great place to see this is not a park which is dedicated to kids, at least not kids who enjoy jungle gym equipment.

There are a few things to remember when visiting this park. First and foremost the roads leading to this park are small and you should use extreme caution to ensure that you are able to safely get where you need to go. I do not recommend bringing large SUV type vehicles to this location as you may encounter trouble. Also as with many other places of this type please have a great deal of respect for the area and the residents who are in the immediate area. I understand that when one uses the word "park" it can mean something different to some then it means for others. This is the type of park where you walk through rather than the type of park where you play ball. If you have the chance to check it out and if you want to see some history you will love this location.

Just Like A Horror Movie

 

Ok, I don't usually do posts like this but this one I simply could not keep to myself. Today one of our little adventures took us to a neighborhood in a northern section of Okinawa. The goal was to find a particular path and climb to the top of the area. We had marked out the route and were able to find the neighborhood easily. It's funny of the hundreds of times we have driven past this area we have never seen the unique (at least to Okinawa) houses in this neighborhood.



It was like stepping back into New England, particularly New Hampshire. The houses had the distinct look with the distinct style of what you might see in various parts of the New England states. We soon found the path that we were looking for and parked along the side of the road in an open area.

Once we got to the top of the wooden stairs which made up the almost too perfect path leading up to benches and clear grassy areas it became clear that this neighborhood reminded me of something I was all too familiar with. A Stephen King novel. Ok I realize that sounds a bit over the top but everything in this neighborhood just seemed too perfect. The houses were perfect. Some of them even had wide open yards which is very strange for Okinawa. Then there was this path which led up to what can only be described as a viewing area over the neighborhood.

From the benches overlooking the neighborhood it was quite. So quiet even that you could clearly hear the music playing from one of the houses or maybe shops. It almost felt like a scene out of a zombie movie where everything is quite and there is no sign of life aside from that radio and what had been left behind.

Of course this could not have been further from the truth. Being that it was a Sunday many people were out and about doing this and that as well as spending time with family and friends but that doesn't make for a good story does it. Either way it was a very interesting little place to stop by and take some photos of. I imagine that it is also a very pleasant place to live.



 

Landslides: A real danger in some parts of Okinawa

Landslides are one of Okinawa's dangers especially during typhoon season and the rainy seasons. Today during a trip to the northern part of Okinawa I found myself encountering a great deal of damage from recent landslides and I thought that it might be a good idea to give you the chance to take a look at what you should be looking out for during the seasons when there is heavy rain. There is not too much to say about the landslides themselves other than the fact that they are dangerous and you should be aware of your surroundings especially if you are traveling along mountain roads during the rainy seasons.





 

 


 



 



 



 

 

A look back: Typhoon Season 2012

This typhoon season has been an interesting one. There were a good number of typhoons compared to what we are used to and they were pretty intense including one which came from the west which is never really good.

I have taken some of the videos that I posted during the storms and put them here so that you can take a quick look back.

 

What's Been Happening In Okinawa?

As most of you know I have not been making regular videos recently because of my recent trip. This has provided so many videos that I have not had the chance to post anything other than those videos and so I am not getting back into the swing of making videos.

So what has been happening here recently?

This weekend there were two very fun and exciting events that took place on the island. The first of these events was the 10000 Eisa Dance event which happened in Kokusai Dori down in the southern part of Okinawa. This is an event which happens once per year where dancers from all over the island come to perform. The event is amazing because the sheer number of dancers is outstanding. There are some negatives to this event which are the lack of parking and being that it is summer it is very hot. The best place to park, if you get there early, is the parking garage which is located in the immediate vicinity of the event however the price can be a bit expensive however, it is better than paying for a cab.

The other event which happened was the Ginowan City Festival. This is a fun event which happened every year at the Ginowan Convention Center. This year I did not go to this event but one of the fun things I was able to do was watch the festival's closing fireworks which I could see from my house.

There were more things that happened this week check them out here:

*Voting On Tax Bill: http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=12507

*Kinser Marine Denies Driving Drunk: http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=12501

*Teen Prostitution Laws Violated By Man: http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=12494

*Osprey Grounded. . . . For Now: http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=12488

*Osprey A Threat To Endangered Species: http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=12478

*US Enforces Futenma Move: http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=12477

*Osprey Protest Postponed: http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=12461

*Remains Found From Battle Of Okinawa: http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2012/08/08/7670/

 

For those of you who want to communicate within the JVLOG community forum style: http://jvlog.org/forum/

OkiNinjaKitty Update

The weekend is upon us and because of the lack of videos talking about current events with the OkiNinjaKitty channel I thought that I would take a moment and write a little blog post to talk about the current state of the channel and what to expect in the near future. As  most of you who follow the channel know there are a lot of videos up there now focusing on Tokyo Disney Resort. This has been nice and interesting but is coming to an end because the video supply is running dry. With this being said next week is most likely going to be the last week of Tokyo Disney Resort related videos. I have about 2 left from the actual trip and then I will be talking about foods in another video and then back to regularly scheduled programming.

I apologize to those of you who have been watching the channel and wanting some time for videos about Okinawa again. I have a great deal of videos in the works in the next could of weeks once the Tokyo Disney Resort videos have been finished.

There has still been a lot of contemplation with the Current Events blog too. I have been trying to compile a lot of stories for my next current events blog but I am finding that many of them are focused on the same things making it difficult for me to find a great deal of interesting stories but rather just different takes on one or two. The fan mail friday has been getting a lot of things to talk about so we will be having one of those either next week or the week after and if you have questions or comments please ensure that you get them in so that I can read them (as always). Especially if you have any questions or comments about the Tokyo Disney Resort because I would like to make sure that I get those videos all together.

Another thing that I would like to do is refer all of you to a new potential website. This site is actually the JVLOG FORUM. This is a new forum for all JVLOGGERS and all others who feel that they want to be involved or talk about or to JVLOGGERS about Japan. This is also a great place to see all the information in one place. For example on there you can find an OkiNinjaKitty section where I post all of my videos about certain topics in one thread for your easy viewing pleasure.  It is important to remember that this is still in the beginning stages by those who are working on it but they are doing a great job so please be patient and understand that it may takes some time to get it fully operational. In the mean time come on over and have some fun!

Thoughts on OkiNinjaKitty's Current Events Weekly Video

I am currently in the process of gearing up for bringing the OkiNinjaKitty Channel back to it's regularly scheduled programming and with this I am having thoughts about whether or not I should continue doing a weekly "Okinawa Current Events" video. Of course there is news that is happening here in Okinawa, it would be silly to assume that there wouldn't be, however I find that there is not enough interesting news each week that occurs to do a weekly video.

Now I should be clear here, this is something that I am thinking about but I am not sure that this is going to take effect immediately or anything like that, I will continue to do these current events videos for the current time until I make a clear distinction about what it is that I want to do. Of course all of your opinions are very much appreciated and valued. Please let me know what your thoughts are if you are here and if you have been reading the current events blogs and/or watching the videos.

Although this has been a small video I thought that it would be something I would mention in order to get the thoughts out there and maybe people will give their thoughts and it will help me decide what it is that I do here in the future.

Celebrating Non-Japanese Holidays In Okinawa

Today is the Fourth Of July and for many Americans it is a day to celebrate America's Independence. But what if you are here in Okinawa? I mean it is Japan right? So how do people celebrate Non-Japanese holidays here in Okinawa? This is actually a great topic for discussion and I think that it is one that many of you will be interested in so let's discuss.

The first and most obvious thing to discuss and understand is that here in Japan there are a set of holidays which are simply not celebrated like they are in the states because they do not hold significant meaning here. Independence Day, MLK Day, Columbus Day, Memorial Day and so on. These are the days celebrated in America because of American achievements. Naturally the Japanese don't have any interest in these holidays and therefore these days are just like any other day of the week. However, there are some Japanese companies which actor to American customs here in Okinawa that may have these days off. You may also find that if you are working on or for the Military bases you will usually observe these holidays as you would in the US but be advised that this is not always the case and you should always take special care to ask your employer or command whether or not you are granted these days off. It is also important to note that if you are American and part of the military bases you may find yourself having the ability to attend special celebrations on some of these holidays. MLK day usually has some sort of African American in America Pride/Accomplishments type seminar or event. Memorial Day usually has some type of memorial service and Independence Day has a celebration also. It used to be that the Air Base known as Kadena did a thing called "America Fest" where they would have a ton of different activities for all including the local people who were not normally allowed on base but this year they did a small cookout style event with a live performance from some local bands with fireworks.

So what about these other holidays that are celebrated by Americans?

Halloween

Kids all over America can't wait for Halloween and for the American kids being here in Okinawa is no exception. So how does Halloween happen here in Okinawa. If you are in a standard neighborhood out in Okinawa you are not going to see anyone observe Halloween. It's not something that people do here even though you might see little basic costumes out in town or halloween decorations BUT this is not the case if you are on a base. The bases do have an observance of halloween which usually consists of the camp commanders determining when children can go out from house to house and what children can go from house to house. That's right. The date, time and age of the children who can trick or treat is determined by each camp. Unfortunately this leave some kids out in the cold, for example one year if you were over the age of 12 you were not allowed to trick or treat which I found a bit silly but again that's my opinion. There are other celebrations you can attend as an adult and sometimes you may have halloween events to attend as a teen but there is usually a large gap between the little kids and the adults where there is not much to do unless you organize it yourself.

Christmas 

Christmas is one of the holidays that although you might not have the day off in a Japanese company, is still celebrated here in Japan. Unlike in the US it is not religious in nature and is more of a romantic holiday comparable in my opinion to valentine's day where you and your loved one can go on a date, do romantic things and enjoy each other's company. There are still decorations and it is a beautiful sight to see. Again if you are on the military bases you may or may not have this holiday off.


To be completely honest I can't think of any other holidays that are celebrated in America to mention. That's not to say that there re not others out there but I just don't have them to comment on right now (feel free to ask away and I will add more information). Now the question most of you are probably wanting to ask about, how do I celebrate the holidays here in Japan. Well to be completely honest it depends on what the holiday is and how much money and effort I am willing to put into it. The best celebration we have had recently was Thanksgiving last year when we went around from place to place trying to make a "thanksgiving dinner" out of random things. The word "Thanksgiving" has the link to that video so please check it out. As for other holidays we take them as they come. We celebrate Christmas be doing some fun little things but we really don't to too much as far as decorating goes because of the cost of electricity and the lack of space that we have. We do still exchange gifts though and we do maybe go out for dinner or something nice like that. Other holidays really aren't a thing though. Today for example we are just going to have another day like any other. Maybe we will do something like eat hamburgers or hotdogs which is not something we would normally eat and that will be a bit of our celebration to remind us of home but other than that it's just another day for us here in Okinawa.

How do you celebrate the holidays?

Leave me a comment below, on Facebook or email me at okininjakitty@yahoo.com

My thoughts this week.

It's a dreary Wednesday here in Okinawa Japan. The sun is not shining and it looks as though we are going to get another day of heavy rain. These are the days when I like to set myself down in front of my computer and enjoy learning a little bit about Japan by reading blogs and watching VLOGS. I have always loved Japan but recently I have had a particular interest in some JVLOGGERS who are not new to YouTube but are new to me. Being that they are from various parts of Japan I hear about how Japan differs from city to city which I personally find fascinating. It is to be expected that different parts of Japan would have differences but it is still fun to learn about and hear first hand accounts from those who work, live and travel there. One of the things that I find so very interesting is that each part of Japan almost has a different culture. Everything from the style of food to the language to the style of dance is different in some places and that is just something I find extremely interesting.

With all of these differences there are bound to be some similarities and one of these similarities is "tatemai and honne". If you have been watching videos and trying to learn a lot about Japanese life and culture I am sure that you have heard these words once before. There are a great deal of people who are on YouTube who have tried to explain what "tatemai and honne" is but always seem to struggle because it is a difficult concept to understand. Many time Japanese people as well as some foreigners will say that this is a concept that is unique to Japan and that is part of the reason that it is hard to explain. I don't think that this is the case though. I would agree that the Japanese have coined a phrase for this concept but it is not as foreign to us foreigners as some Japanese people think. If I were asked to define these two words what I would say is that "tatemai" is the way that you present yourself in order to cause the least amount of friction possible and "honne" is the way that you really feel. You might find yourself speaking with a family member, friend or coworker and responding to them in a way that is not in line with what you believe because you do not want to cause an argument or say something that might have a negative affect on you or your work. If you are a man an example of this would be your response to "do I look fat in these~". I am sure that when a question like this comes along you go into overdrive trying to ensure that you are not giving an answer that might "cause friction". The Japanese have a slightly more intense approach with this concept due to the nature that they have for being non confrontational. You might not realize it if you are only here for a short time or if you do not have active relationships with Japanese people but the fact of the matter is that the Japanese are people who do not like to cause waves. In some cases they would even suffer through something difficult to deal with than try to resolve the issue. Again, this might not always be the case but I have experienced it enough times to say  that it is something that happens. This makes some people extremely hard to work with just because of the subservient stance that they can take. In some cases (and yes this has happened to me) they will expect you to go along with the situation they have created by not speaking their mind causing you more work and more stress. There is also a flip side to this and that is when "tatemai and honne" are used as a way to try and get you to chance your stance on something or indicate that you are doing something wrong. For example rather than saying "Could you please get me some milk" they would say something like "I would absolutely love a cold glass of milk". This again makes some people extremely difficult to work with. To be completely honest this is one of the things that I dislike about the way that some Japanese people handle themselves because for me this concept of trying to say something without saying something is a waste of time. In some cases you may even find yourself the target of some anger because someone said they would like some milk but you didn't get any for them. For my strong personality it is the most difficult thing that I have to deal with because I am not afraid of conflict nor am I afraid of confrontation.

The last thing that I wanted to talk about was language and I didn't end up talking about this in today's JVLOG video because the video's audio got messed up and to be honest I am not going to talk about it right now either because I do not want to cut this topic short of what needs to be said and I feel that right now I just do not have the endurance to write everything that needs to be said. Thanks so much for your understanding and keep posted and I will make sure I get that post up soon. Thanks for reading.

Thoughts on Tokyo Safety

I have recently been asked a question regarding travel to Tokyo. The reader who had sent me an email asking my thoughts on radiation and food safety in the Tokyo area. After reading this question it took me a minute to really collect me thoughts on how I do feel about the radiation and food safety in the Tokyo area. I have not made any videos about this topic to date nor have I really taken the time to talk about it in any form of media but seeing as how I received the question via email I figure now is as good a time as any.

When it comes to radiation in Tokyo I quite honestly have absolutely no concern whatsoever. I realize that this may not be the interesting answer that some of you were hoping for but it is my answer regardless. In fact I have absolutely no concern for radiation or food safety in the area of Tokyo. To be completely honest and terribly boring that is really all that there is to say. Why do I not have concern? Well, why are you (some of you at least) not concerned about the amount of radiation which you receive going through a full body scanner like the ones now used in the US or the amount of radiation you then receive going up in a plane and flying cross country and/or across the ocean. I really think that it all comes down to asking yourself the right questions.

If there is a harmful amount of radiation in Tokyo (and I am not saying that there is) it would not be enough to kill you on the spot because there are thousands still living, working and visiting the city daily so it's a matter of what long term risks you might encounter. Maybe there is a chance you could get cancer. . . . . ok. There is always a chance that you can get cancer. Cell phones, tattoo ink, fried foods, microwaves, motorcycles, car engines, preservatives, smoking, breathing in polluted city air and plastic bottles (just to name a few) are all some of the things that can also cause cancer and we are consumed by these things each and ever day not to mention the things that could kill us on the spot like car accidents. The question then becomes where you are willing to draw the line. Are you willing to possibly not experience something amazing because there is a little off chance that it could end badly? For me the answer is no. I am not willing to not do something because of the off chance that in the lottery of what we call life I might just pull a card which could give me negative health risks. The same goes for food and food safety. I know what foods to avoid just in case and I know what foods I am going to enjoy. I also know that there is as much higher risk of me getting sick from food that is not cooked properly than there is from me eating something that happened to be irradiated. Again it comes down to what risks you are willing to take.

My real concern while I am in Tokyo. . . . earthquakes. I know that there have been a great deal of earthquakes still happening in the central to northern part of Japan and this causes some concern for me. I want to make sure that not only am I safe but so is my mother who is not used to the feel of the ground shaking under her feet. I have taken real life preparations for this installing various applications which detect earthquakes on my phone as well as having a plan for what to do in the event that there is an earthquake and tsunami during the time that we are in Tokyo. Again does the fact that there are still earthquakes concern me, yes but will it change my plans to travel to Tokyo, no.

Ultimately you only live once and you can choose to sit in the house or you can go and see the world.

Where was this weather yesterday?

Typhoon Guchol has passed by with less than anticipated strength. The storm gave us very little wind and rain which resulted in almost no damage. Of course we are extremely grateful for the lack of damage because it is important to keep everyone and everything safe especially during the typhoon season. This morning we even woke up with a clear blue sky which had shown us that the storm had passed and we would be able to go back to our very warm summery selves.

This was, however, very short lived when a thunder and lighting storm moved in a few hours ago. Although we are not experiencing and wind we do have a great deal of rain and thunder we are experiencing right now which has made a lot of people wonder. . . . where was this yesterday? I myself wondered the same thing and discussed it in the video below.

High expectations the reason for bad travel reviews?

I have been doing a lot of research recently for my Tokyo trip. I am not looking for a great deal of information but just a few things that would make the trip easy like if the hotel has a laundry service so nothing big. During my research I ended up spending time some time reading reviews which I found were interesting and at times surprising.

To be completely honest I read only the English comments because I wasn't into translating. During the time that I was reading I started to see a pattern and that pattern is that basically I think people have high expectations when traveling to another country and in some cases feel that that country should accommodate to what is part of your particular culture or it simply is not up to good standards. This is best illustrated in the example of bedding. Now here in Japan it is most common for people to sleep using futon. Futon can be closely compared to a long thin mat that is rolled out on the floor and from there a sleepy person would sleep upon it like a bed because. . . . it is a bed. If you were to go to home shops you might also see the same type of thing where the futon is rolled out on a raised level which looks similar to a bed or in some cases a mattress is used although it is usually firm. Knowing this you might only assume that it is natural for the beds in Japan to have a similar build where they are firm. Unfortunately there are a great deal of people traveling to Japan who don't seem to know this and therefore feel extremely disappointed or even distraught about the fact that the beds are firm or "feel as if you are sleeping on the floor". The comments that I had read were absolutely relentless stating things like "Japanese obviously hate Americans" just for the feel of the bed. It actually makes me wonder if these people had ever traveled to another country ever before. My thought is no and the reason that I say this is supported by something else that I found myself reading during my research and that was that no one spoke English and "staff was extremely unhelpful because of it". Wow. This is always one of the things that surprise me the most when I hear it from people who travel to countries which do not have English as a primary language. Of course English may be available from time to time, however, just because a hotel has "english speaking staff" for example does not mean that everyone on staff at all times speaks English. Truthfully I do not feel as if there is a lot of explaining for me to do in order to try and help others understand that when traveling to Japan it might not be possible to communicate in English but I suppose that there are some out there who just feel this way and that saddens me. In fact the reason that I am most sad about this is because the way that these comments are made almost make it seem as if these families were traveling to Tokyo and going to certain destinations and then having no assistance whatsoever. It seems like they are made to figure out everything on their own and fend for themselves which I do not think is the case. What I can do is explain what I have experienced in the time that I have been here. I have been in Japan for approximately  6 years now but my language skills are not the best especially because Okinawa is not the best place to learn Japanese but I will get into that during a different post. Regardless my lack of language skills I have never encountered a problem doing anything here in Japan be it Tokyo, Osaka or Okinawa. I Have also take a number of steps to ensure that I do not run into problems. I have a great survival vocabulary and when I do not know I have taken time to make accommodations for ahead of time. Anyone can do this and I encourage anyone going to any country to do something similar.

There were other things that I had read about and just thought was amazing that people were not considering these things when they left on a trip to Japan. I suppose some people are just never satisfied. Thanks for reading.

Top 20 Tourist Locations, Brown Sugar Cola, Ospreys and More: This is Current Events.

It's Monday and that means it's time for "Current Events".

As this is the beginning of these new segments I have been thinking about ways to make these segments better and more interesting for those of you who are reading. In today's blog and eventually VLOG you will find that we talk about some of the current events here in Okinawa as well as some other current events in the JVLOG community. I hope that this is an improvement.

Okinawa Aquarium one of Top 20 Tourist Attractions in Japan

An organization in Hiroshima Prefecture has announced that the Okinawa Aquarium is one of the top 20 travel destinations here in Japan. I imagine that this is no surprise to those who have visited the Okinawa Aquarium before. If you have never been to the Okinawa Aquarium before let's talk a little bit about it. This is not just an aquarium, this is a vacation destination. The area known as the "aquarium" is an aquarium, gardens, beach and outdoor eating area. The area is amazing in and of itself is amazing but this is before you even look at the building that is the aquarium itself. The building was actually featured on Modern Marvels which was an amazing show and you should check it out if you have not already. Now going in to the building itself you will see some amazing animals including whale sharks (which are personally my favorite) and a variety of other sea life which are all in the oceans surrounding our little island. The amazing things, however, is the tank that they have which is considered the largest in the world. Looking at it is feeling like you are standing on the bottom of the ocean floor because of it's massive size. This is a must see for anyone coming to Okinawa and in fact I have been told that this is also one of the destinations that school children visit when they are traveling to Okinawa from the Main Islands. It is no surprise for Okinawa's Aquarium to be listed in this top 20 but then again it is pretty awesome to hear that something we have here on Okinawa is one of the must-see attractions in the country.

Osprey's Coming to Okinawa 

If you know Okinawa you know that we have a heavy military presence here by the US. If you are a follower of my work you may know that I have not focused so much on the politics and details of what happens here as far as the US Military goes. This is not because I have any particular political stance or because I want to avoid the comments that people may have on these areas. The honest reason is because I don't want my blog and VLOGS to be mostly about the military presence and politics and trust me there are so many of these situations that it would take over much of my blog and VLOG. That doesn't mean that I will never talk about anything like this and hence why I am writing about this right now.

As many of you may know there is a base here in Okinawa called MCAS Futenma which is known by many as a dangerous base. There are many reasons for this but for the sake of time I will not discuss that at this time. Nonetheless there is a new aircraft that will be deployed here to Okinawa in the near future known as the Osprey. This is a very interesting aircraft which can take off like a chopper and then fly like a jet. Unfortunately although these are awesome and interesting planes there have been a lot of crashes and malfunctions that have happened during the development of this aircraft. This coupled with the recent crash of an Osprey in Morocco has not make anyone feel really warm and fuzzy about the aircraft coming here to Okinawa. To be completely honest I do share concern with those who are worried about these aircraft. The reason for this is very basic. Honestly I live around the area of the flight pattern of these aircraft and I am very aware that they fly extremely low and in bad weather. It doesn't really matter your position on this or that there are times when you have concern.

It has been reported that Okinawa officials are going to receive training regarding Osprey Crash Training although I am not sure of any other details. I will keep you posted if I hear anything more about it.

Brown Sugar Cola 

As I reported last week there is a new kind of brown sugar cola which is going to be released today. I am not sure where this cola is going to be sold although I am thinking that it may be in the vending machines like other drinks of this kind. I will be searching today at the end of the day and  I will report back to you and let you know if I find what I am looking for.

JLand Kev/Bussan Kevin: "Teacher gets suspended for giving 0's"

I watched a video this weekend posted by Kevin who is one of my favorite and I date to say (because my memory doesn't always serve me the best) first JVLOGGERS that I had ever watched. He was reporting on a story which basically said that a teacher in Canada had been suspended for giving their student's zeros in class. These students had not attended class or completed assignments and therefore this was the reason that they had received these marks, however the school had what is called a no zero policy which basically means that the students are graded on the work that they pass in and not on the work that they don't. Kevin being an educator obviously had an opinion on this as do I which is what I wanted to report to you now.

To be completely honest as an educator myself I think that this is only to be described as sad. This concept that this school has in place basically says that if out of 10 assignments if a student passes only one of them in and gets 100% they get a total grade of 100%. I do not understand how on earth this is beneficial to the students in any way whatsoever. How are students going to have the capability to succeed in life after school if they are being taught with such soft principles as this? Now I will add that I do not think that all of these kids will be failures nor do I think that all of them are failures for not coming to class or passing in work but in my opinion it is a concept of "if you can't do the time don't do the crime". Silly I know but if you don't pass in work, you get a zero. That's my opinion at least.

So ladies and gentlemen that is today's current events. I hope that you all enjoyed this post! Don't forget if you have any questions or comments please feel free to shoot me an email at okininjakitty@yahoo.com contact me via Facebook or cheek out the youtube page. Have a great night.

Golden Kings, Ferris Wheel and Much More: This Is Current Events

Welcome to the first of hopefully many segments where I write (and talk if you watch www.youtube.com/okininjakitty) about current events. Although I am not 100% sure on what the name of this segment will be called I am going with "This is current events" which has a nice little ring to it and I think that it will provide me with the appropriate feel of what I would like to discuss about. In this blog post I am going to talk about various things that I have found throughout the news in Okinawa in the past week. I will talk a little bit about the "event" and let you know how I feel about that particular item. So here we go!

Golden Kings Win Championship

For those of you who might not be familiar the Golden Kings this is Okinawa's basketball team. They were known as the Ryukyu Kings but recently for a reason that I honestly do not remember they had changed their name, uniform and everything to golden. This team is the pride of Okinawa as far as I have come to understand. In fact I have not met anyone yet who wasn't a fan of this team in one way or another. I truthfully do not know the details of the championship as I was not watching but the fact of the matter is that it was the big one, so big in fact that families gathered throughout my neighborhood and most likely throughout Okinawa to cheer on the team.

You might be asking why this is something worth noting. I mean it was only a game right? Well for me yes it was only a game. I personally am not too involved with sports but for those who were watching this game it was above the level of anything I have ever experienced here in Okinawa in my 6 + years. The families were chanting and cheering in their houses. It was actually startling because this is not something that one ever really experiences here in Okinawa. It was exciting just to listed to and what was surprising is that it lasted for two days. It almost felt like I was back in the US on Super Bowl Sunday.

Ferris Wheel Operational Again

If you have been following my videos or Facebook page you know that the iconic ferris wheel in Mihama has been closed down. This was sad for a lot of us here in Okinawa. Fortunately information has been released that the ferris wheel will continue to be operational dispute the recent claims that repairs were too costly. There have been some changes, however. The coke logo in the center of the wheel is now gone and I do not know if this has changed the theming of the inside of the ride which had also been themed with Coke products. Please keep yourself posted on the Facebook page for more information when it becomes available or if you have visited the building recently please post in the comments below.

Festival Season Kicks Off At Schwab

It's that time of year again, festival season. Each year throughout the summer and into the holiday season the military bases open up to the local public one weekend a month for various festivals which will feature local and state side entertainment. This year the festival season kicked off at Camp Schwab located in Northern Okinawa with a live performance by Candlebox.

These events are a lot of fun and allow something interesting for all walks of life. If you like it. . . . they most likely have it. For the kids there is a kids carnival area where they can take part in various activities, like any other festival food is abundant and don't forget the alcohol for those who want to drink the night away. If you want to take part in one of these festivals keep an eye out on the various web sites for the bases and local papers. The information is everywhere.

See the video by clicking here!