Tag Archives: 久米島

Kumejima Sakura Festival Photos

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I’ve been posting a lot about sakura , but changing with the seasons really is a big part of Japanese culture.  There were so many events last week that its unfortunate the weather didn’t play a better partner.  With clouds and rain it was hard to get too many spectacular shots, but the party still went on.  I performed with a local band Saturday (technical problems led no video of that, sorry!) there was food and a tea garden, plus hundreds of sakura trees.

The next day I showed for the karaoke contest and stayed for several more performances and some great macha tea served at the tea garden by the elementary students from one of my schools.

A great weekend despite the rain!

Friday Flowers

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Here are a few more Sakura pictures I took this week.  Tomorrow marks the start of the Festival events.  I’ll be performing with a brass band on Saturday and singing in the Kareoke contest Sunday.  Wish me luck!

What do you think of these photos?

The Sports Festival

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In Japan there is an event called an undokai.  Roughly translated it means sports festival.  When I was on Kitadaito, we had one undokai scheduled every year for the entire village.  Students and teachers spent months preparing.  An entire day was devoted to the event and there were even whole mornings devoted towards practice and preparation.  The event included many running events, such as dashes, relays, and obstacle courses.

Students and teachers also put on performances (think halftime shows Japanese-style) and many villagers participated as well, grouped by the areas (azas) in which they live.  Often these competitions were planned out well in advance and extremely competitive.  It provided many with the motivation to train and also work with people they might not see every day.  Each area’s pride rose and fell with each event, but in the end the real victory came from just participating, since everyone who was a little healthier benefited, and had an interesting weekend.

This year I’m at a new, much larger, place.  So far I have seen five different elementary school undokais.  Like on Kitadaito, these undokais have cost the students and teachers countless hours of preparation, yet the results were impressive.  Every student participated, be it as a judge or runner.  Many participated in unique and interesting performances (such as eisa) during the intermissions.  Parents and families ran relays together, yet no prizes were awarded.  Be it first or last, everyone was cheered on equally.  There were also demonstrations from things the students were learning in P.E.

In the weeks to come there will be even more undokais on Kumejima.  There will be a sports festival for all the elementary students together, and then another for the entire Island.  I look forward to seeing the differences between them!

Hatenohama: The White Sand Beach

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Hatenohama is probably the single most beautiful beach in Okinawa.  It’s also one of the most remote.  Off shore of Kumejima Island, its a strip of sand that stretches out towards Okinawa in the East China Sea.


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The beach is in the center of a huge area of shallow water protected by a ring of coral and rock outcroppings. Over thousands of years the tidal actions in the protected area have built up what is now Hatenohama.

I had the opportunity to visit the beach the other day.  The only way to get there is by boat, and I was luckily enough to be invited along on a fishing/picnic trip.  Of course for tourists, there are several ferries to the islands.

Hatenohama Tours

  • Kumejima Marine Sports, 098-985-8648
  • Kumejima Kaiyoreja Kyodokumiai, 098-896-8418

 

I did not stay long on the beach since we planned on fishing, but there were parasols, wide stretches of white sand and pristine water.  Coral and fish abounded and I even saw a sea turtle.

 

Just off shore we were able to go fishing.  And I was lucky enough to catch 5 (4 keepers).  Though they were all small they made a good fish fry.

 

 

 

The white sand Hantenohama beach is so long that even with a full boat load of tourists you can still find a quiet spot to yourself.

 

Even if you decide not to hangout on the beach, taking a swim a bit off shore via boat or fishing is a great way to experience this amazing area.

 

 

One note of caution.  Though the beach is beautiful and may conjure images of relaxing in a soaking up some sun, the sun is strong.  I suggest long sleeved rash-guards to avoid serious sunburns if you plan on staying out for more than an hour.  Even the best sunscreens wont last longer than that!

Also a baby crab decided to give me a parting pinch on the foot as I was pushing out the boat, watch where you step!

East meets … Farther East

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There are a lot of different azas (字) on Kumejima.  An aza is smaller than a village, but bigger than a neighborhood.  Each one has its own community center and most host different events throughout the year.  Kanegusuku-aza‘s claim to fame is the Murashibi festival on September 12.  It falls every year on the full moon in September, dating back to when Japan used the lunar calendar.  This is one of the unique events only in Kumejima, and is particular to Kanegusuku-aza.

 

Like many festivals there were booths set up serving drinks and food, and throughout the entire evening there were performances by various groups.

 

 

The highlight of the event, and the thing that makes it so unique is the shishima (lion dance).  The Shishima is also where East (Japan) meets West (in this case China).  As with much of Okinawa culture it is heavily influenced by Okinawa’s long association with China.

 

 

Traditional Okinawan clothing, dance, and even language have more obvious Chinese influence than mainland Japan does.

 

 

The Shishima dance starts off going door to door.  Its considered good luck if the lion bites a child (scaring away demons).  Later, on the stage, two people dance (one representing a pregnant woman).  The lion dances to the music and snaps his mouth, scaring away evil spirits.  The lion is operated by at least two people who have to work in tandem to do the complicated gestures required by the dance.

 

In addition to the Shishimai there were other traditional Okinawan dances(at least three types), sanshin players, student eisa performances, a band, and an okarina player.  For a small festival put on by 1/32 of a small island, it was quite the show.