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Thought this was pretty funny!

With less than two months left on Okinawa my wife and I realized that we better get the most out of Okinawa cuisine before we leave. One of the most popular and our favorite Okinawan dish is Okinawa soba . If you have been on Okinawa and not tried soba, what are you waiting for? There are plenty of soba restaurants around every corner here in Okinawa. The hard part is finding the restaurant that serves the best soba on island. I am not sure if I have found it yet, but I sure do love the challenge.

Right down the road from our house is a very popular soba house by the name of Hamaya Soba. Hamaya Soba is strategically located right by the Sunabe Seawall and always appears to have plenty of customers.

I really like Hamaya Soba because of its location to my house and also the seawall. I love going to the seawall to enjoy a nice sunset and walk around. A big bowl of mouth watering soba only makes the moment that much sweeter.

One thing you should expect from a great soba house are reasonable prices. A large bowl of their Okinawa soba which contains soba noodles, pork ribs, roast, and fried eggs is only ¥650. If you are not hungry enough for the large portion, go for their smaller size which cost ¥300-¥400.

I went all out and opted for the Orion draft to accompany my large bowl of soba. After everything was said and done, my wife and I were both full and happy that the bill was only ¥1400.

If you are down by the seawall enjoying the sun or doing some diving, check out Hamaya Soba for a really pleasant soba experience.

Helpful Information

Location/Directions

To get the Hamaya Soba, take Hwy 58 towards Kadena. At the stoplight right before Kadena Gate 1, take a left. Go straight through all the stoplights and try to find parking down by the seawall. After the last stoplight, Hamaya Soba is half a block down on the right just past Sunabe Gyros.

From Kadena Gate 1 – Take a left out of Gate 1 and then take a right at your first light. Head down towards the Sunabe Seawall. Hamaya Soba is half a block down on the right just past Sunabe Gyros.

You may remember an earlier post from this year about how my team at work got this crazy idea to eat sandwiches large enough to kill a man. Well, we got some new people in the shop and Vinny decided that it was time to initiate them with the largest sandwich ever!

It came as no surprise that Finkel was ready to eat before all of the food arrived. Maybe an even bigger surprise was the fact that our new guy Massey finished his sandwich before the big Russian even knew what hit him.

Everyone had entirely way too much to eat as usual and I fought to stay awake for the remainder of the work day. All of those carbohydrates have some serious knockout power.

Here are some of the pictures from the second helping of The BIG Sandwich day.

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It rained for about an hour and I thought my Saturday was ruined again. Luckily enough the rain cleared up and I decided to pack my camera and take a little trip to the Futenma Shrine located in Ginowan.

Futenma Gongen is a Shinto shrine that was built roughly 500 years ago by King Sho Kinpuku during the Sho dynasty. Today the Futenma shrine is a place of worship for many Okinawans. An interesting fact is that the Futenma shrine is one of eight major shrines on the Ryukyu Islands. Behind the main building is another smaller structure that only the priest have access to and have been trusted not to reveal the contents.

In addition to the beautiful shrines are some historical caves. The caves are said to be very sacred and date back thousands of years. I didn’t have the opportunity to visit the caves but you can gain access by asking a priest or female attendant for admission.

There is no entrance fee to visit Futenma Gongen but donations are welcome. While you are there you can purchase charms, amulets, and fortunes in both Japanese and English.

If you are looking for a way to spend 45 minutes to an hour and you are in the Ginowan area, stop by the Futenma Shrine and enjoy some local history.

Check out all of the photos from the Futenma shrine.

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Directions:

The Futenma shrine is located on RT 330 in Ginowan outside of Camp Fosters gate 6.

To get there from Kadena’s Gate 1 you will take a left and head down HWY 58 past the Camp Foster commissary gate. After passing the commissary gate you will take a left when you see a sign for Futenma and RT 81. Drive straight and 81 will turn into RT 330. The shrine will be on your left side. If you make it to Camp Foster’s legion gate then you have passed it.

From Camp Fosters Gate 6 (American Legion Gate) take a right and head down RT 330. Futenma shrine will be on your right side. It is roughly a ten minute walk from Camp Fosters Gate 6.

In the April 2009 issue of Okinawa Living magazine I was lucky enough to have one of my photos published as part of their new "Parting Shot" segment. This is my third photo published in the last year and I am really excited.

Since arriving in Okinawa in the summer of 2006 I have been fascinated by the professionalism and quality of work that the Okinawa Living magazine delivers on a monthly basis. The photography has always been top notch and is one of the main reasons behind me buying my first camera in 2008.

Here is a look at the photo as it appeared in the magazine.

I would really like to thank John Burgreen for getting my photo in the magazine.You can find his amazing photos in almost every issue of Okinawa Living. Also, make sure you check out OkinawaHDR.com which was created by the people over at Okinawa Living. You can join and share some of your favorite photos of Okinawa.

Many people have emailed me and asked how exactly did I go about getting my image in the magazine. Well, one option is to email the editor at michael.daley[at]okinawa.usmc-mccs.org.  Another option is to make sure your photography is available for others to find online by joining and publishing your photos on websites like OkinawaHDR.com, and flickr . There are plenty of online communities for photographers.

Just get out and shoot as much as possible while you are here in Okinawa!