Menso-re, as seen in the photo, means welcome on Okinawan dialect. Yup, I have left mainland Japan and ran into the arms of tropical Okinawa from March 10th-13th. As soon as Matt and I got off the plane, we could feel heat coming from outside. Ah, how I miss warm and humid weather!
Since we arrived in late afternoon, it was too late to go to the sightseeing spots we planned. We decided to just hang around Naha city central. (Naha is the capital of Okinawa, southern part).There is a street called International Route in central Naha city. You can buy all sorts of interesting souvenirs and see many local performances. It was right there I met the infamous Hello Shisa and Goya Pi.
Here is a picture of me and the infamous Hello Kitty. You wonder what she is wearing? Shisa しさ is a mystical animal in Okinawa believed to be the guardian of every household. It is basically the same thing as the stone lions at the gates of important places in Taiwan and China. The big difference is I don't think there is a gender in these shisas.
Another thing people of Okinawa are very proud of is the produce bitter melon. They call it Goya ゴヤ. I have no idea why it is not possible to grow bitter melon on main islands of Japan. People here are so proud, there are all kinds of cuisine with bitter melon, even ice cream!
Some of you may be familiar with bitter melon, but I don't know how many of you know who Kyu Pi is. Kyu Pi is the mascot for a big mayonnise brand in Japan. It is an image of a naked baby girl. Like Hello Kitty, Kyu Pi is often dressed up in many different costumes for advertisement. So, here is a picture of me and Goya Pi. Cute eh?
1 comment:
Bitter Melon ice cream??? I don't know about that..
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