Okinawa

For the past week I've been TDY (temporary duty) in Okinawa, where Mr. Miagi of the Karate Kid was from. Though I didn't see Mr. Miagi, I did get to see some things while I was there. The first two pictures are from a beach a little north of Kadena. The third picture is of some left over bunkers on Kadena AB that were used to house kamikaze planes used by the Japanese during WWII. Though no planes remain, its certainly made me think. Okinawa is a really beautiful island and is one of the southern most islands of Japan. I went out with some of the other defense attorneys, including the Smarts who I went to law school with, to a sushi place and have some really good beef terriaki. It was cooked. Along with the meal was a miso soup, tempora (variety of fried fish and veggies), rice and a kind of slaw. We also had boiled soybeans, much like boiled peanuts, some dumplings similar to the Korean yakimandu, and some chicken on a stick. My last night I went to a place on base that cooked your food on a hot surface right in front of you, much like what you can get at an American Japanese place. I had kobe beef and it really was the best beef meal I've ever had. Wow it was good. This trip was also the first time I've ever driven on the left side of the road. It didn't take long to get used to, but when I got back to Korea yesterday and drove my Japanese right side drive I had to think really hard about which side of the street I had to drive on. Okinawa was very hot and humid and though it is hot and humid here, it felt hotter.