• About Geek Beat
  • Newsletter
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Geek Beat

One of the world’s most recognizable technology news brands, delivering daily tech news, tips, and reviews.

  • News
    • Apple
    • CES
    • Editor’s Choice
    • Google
    • How To’s
    • Microsoft
    • Music
    • Mobility
    • NABShow
    • Photography
  • Episodes
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Connect With Us
    • Chat Rooms
    • DropCams
    • Geek Beat Live!
    • Product Review Submissions
Home > News > Okinawa World: A Taste of Culture in Okinawa, Japan

Okinawa World: A Taste of Culture in Okinawa, Japan

March 20, 2013 by giovanni

We’ve only been in Japan for a day, and we’ve already seen so much! We’ll share it ALL with you, I promise, it’ll just take a little time! My favorite thing from today’s experiences (outside of Hotel Hyakuna Garan, where I want to live full time!) was Okinawa World.

Okinawa World Theme Park

I typically like to stay away from tourist attractions when I travel because I much prefer to get a local view of the place. Before we got to Okinawa World, I was expecting it to be over-the-top touristy, but very quickly changed my mind! Okinawa World is a Theme Park, and is popular with tourists and visitors, but they do a great job at accommodating visitors while staying true to the rich, traditional Okinawan culture.

The most popular attraction is the Gyokusendo Cave. It’s a 300,000 year old cave that goes on for over 16,000 feet (5,000 meters). It was discovered in 1967 and has more than a million stalactites. It’s one of the biggest cave systems in all of Japan. I love caves, and it looks gorgeous! But we had limited time, and I was dying to see the Village…

Traditional Crafts Village

There’s nothing I love to see more than people with a passion! Think about it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re interested in a particular topic or not, when someone loves something so much that they dedicate their lives to perfecting it, their passion is contagious.

In the Traditional Crafts Village at Okinawa World, you get to see real craftsmen at work in a typical environment. You can ask them questions, and in a most cases, you can participate in learning HOW to do what they do. Each building in the village is setup for different arts.

  • Pottery Studio: Watch a potter at work creating “yachimun”, then create and paint your own!
  • Paper Making Studio: You know how I love my paper and seeing how they make paper by hand was a treat!
  • Ryukyu Photography: Get dressed like a royal from the Ryukyu Kingdom and get your picture taken.
  • Weaving Studio: Every region has a different traditional weave. You can try it yourself and see what it takes to create.
  • Ryuku Glass Studio: I’ve seen glass blowers at work before (great art!), but I’ve never seen them allow you to sit down and blow and form your own cup. Pretty cool!

Plus more! I could have stayed in the Village all day long! As a visitor, you’d be hard pressed to be able to tour the local area and watch people at work. This is a great way to learn… not only about the hard work the people of Okinawa do on a daily basis, but also what their ancestors went through to keep their culture alive. You’ll certainly walk away with an appreciation for their traditions!

Oh! And this is Kai (I think that’s his name!), a breed of dog that’s native to Okinawa. I didn’t catch what kind of breed he is, so if you know, leave a comment!

owkinawa-dog

Okinawan Food!

soki-soba-owkinawaThere’s a buffet at Okinawa World so you can sample all kinds of foods at once as well. I tried Soki Soba, a traditional soup with pork served on top. It’s their most famous food, and it was great! But it wasn’t the only thing. They had Swordfish Sushi that was marinated in soy sauce. And pork curry. Fried zucchini. And sugar cane rice. And fries. Which made John P. happy!

Probably the food that is most important to note here isn’t food at all. Habu Saki. It’s alcohol. Vodka infused with herbs and snake. Yep, that’s right… snake! They extract the snake’s poison, and they let the snakes sit in the vodka during the brewing process. Is it any good? Check out this video…

We also tried a Sugar Cane drink. Take a look at how it’s done… just like a juicer!

Photos From Okinawa World

Finally, here’s a gallery of photos from Okinawa World. And this isn’t even half of what you’ll see if you visit!














Okinawa-dog



Do you know of other attractions on Okinawa? Let us know in the comments below!

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Japan, Japan 2013, Okinawa, travel

About giovanni

giovanni is an ad age, emmy, telly, & webby award-winning social media expert, search engine marketer, & web developer from texas who works with brands in entertainment, fashion, food & beverage, sports, and technology.

Follow giovanni on instagram, linkedin, or twitter.

Popular Posts

  • How To Keep A Constant In Excel And Other Spreadsheets by Scott Ellis | posted on April 19, 2012 | under News, Tutorial
  • How to Use Your Own Router with AT&T U-verse by Chris Bramble | posted on February 17, 2014 | under News, Tutorial
  • How To Add Sound and Voice to Your Photos by giovanni | posted on July 22, 2013 | under Episodes
  • The Complete Guide to Installing A PV (Photovoltaic) Solar Panel System by John P. | posted on September 9, 2013 | under Episodes
  • How To Scan and Convert Film Negatives to Digital for FREE! by Mark Zamora | posted on April 12, 2012 | under News, Tutorial
  • How Much Money Will Fit in a Briefcase? by John P. | posted on September 26, 2013 | under Episodes
  • How To: Setting up the QNAP TVS-463 NAS by Robert Albury | posted on August 12, 2015 | under Tutorial
  • Up, Down, Left, Right, Click! by Jenn Castillo | posted on August 10, 2010 | under News
  • GSM, CDMA and LTE: A Guide to Mobile Network Standards by Benjamin J. Roethig | posted on March 4, 2013 | under News
  • How to Access Advanced Boot Options in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 by Robert Albury | posted on September 10, 2014 | under Tutorial

Recent Posts

  • Go Mic Mobile Wireless System for Mobile Filmmakers
  • A RAY OF LIGHT
  • Keep Devices Charged Anywhere in the World with the Twist Plus World Charging Station
  • Final Leaked iPhone 7 Details Before The Big Event
  • Should Snapchat Be A Part of Your Digital Strategy?

Recent Comments

  • Ricardo Garza on Streambox Announces 360 Live Video Streaming to YouTube
  • Sunbya on Review: Blue Lola Headphones bring unparalleled quality
  • Jay Anderson on CES2016 – Autel Robotics X-Star Quadcopters
  • Scott Ellis on CES2016 – The Parrot DISCO – The Worlds First Fixed Wing Consumer Drone
  • Ricardo Garza on CES2016 – The Parrot DISCO – The Worlds First Fixed Wing Consumer Drone

Tags

3D Amazon Apple apps audio bluetooth business CE Line Shows 2013 CES computers fitness gadgets games gaming geek geek beat GeekBeat geek house Google health how-to ios john p. kickstarter Microsoft mobile Mobility Music nabshow new building Other photography Reviews robots Samsung social media speakers storage tech technology travel Tutorial vehicles video vlog

Copyright © 2019 · Geek Media on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in