Interesting Okinawa

Most people hear the name Okinawa and they think of the
battles that were fought there during
the Second World War. Horrible battles, where the US took over 38,000 casualties and suffered losses of 12,000 men and
women killed in action. But the islands, a chain of hundreds stretching some 600 miles southwest of mainland Japan into
the East China Sea, are also the site of an unusual subtropical culture that is not generally on the itinerary of
visitors to Japan.

The New York Times

runs an interesting piece
about Okinawa that sheds fascinating light on the place and will undoubtedly teach you a
few things you didn’t know. For example, I was unaware the Chinese influence on some of the islands like Taketomi is so
strong that the culture there reflects a curious mélange of Chinese and Japanese culture. Or that in some places people
still move about under the propulsion of heavy shanked water buffalo. A short, but sweet eye opener.