JasonKimball.org

Let’s start off with explaining my problem. Many of you may know that I have been living in Okinawa, Japan for the past three years (good). However, I had to travel to the U.S. for some Windows Administration classes and was unable to bring my camera equipment with me (bad).

The past year I have taken my camera with me almost everywhere I possibly could. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera with me and now I am facing the beginning stages of withdrawal. What makes the situation even more overwhelming is the fact that I have ordered new equipment and had it shipped to Okinawa. I can just imagine how the new equipment feels. The new equipment is just anxiously sitting in a box somewhere in my home waiting to unveiled to the world.

The good thing is that I have spent a lot of time reading and looking at other photo related blogs out there on the WWW. I can’t wait to get back and take some shots with the new gear. I will surely post photo’s as soon as I get back.

I did stumble across a website that offered a list of the Top 100 Photography Blogs . I looked through the links and there are some really great websites listed.

With all this extra "no camera time", I would love any suggestions on other great photography related websites you might visit.

I think Beyonce has some real competition with this guy. He has some really great moves!!

Living in Okinawa, Japan for nearly three years means I spent plenty of time looking on the web for general information regarding sightseeing, destinations, restaurants, climate, and culture. I wanted to share some of the websites and links that I have discovered that helped me get the information I needed. I hope these websites can provide some information to help with learning more about Okinawa, Japan.

• Okinawa Hai
• Okinawa Hai Society
• Wikipedia Okinawa
• Japan Guide
• Japan Update
• Okinawa.com
• mahae plus
• OkinawaInformation.com

These are just a few websites that I have found with information on Okinawa. If you have your favorite informational Okinawa website, please leave and comment and share with everyone else.

Have you ever wondered what you could photograph legally while you were out on your photowalk? Well, I found this great article that lists in detail some of the rights you have as photographers. So, next time you are out and someone tries to kick you out for photography, you will be better prepared and knowledgeable.

You’re sure you haven’t done anything wrong, but you don’t know whose side the law is on. Fret no more

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Earlier this year I bought my first DSLR camera, the D40x . From that day I have been obsessed with learning as much as I can about digital photography techniques. I would have to say that one of my biggest photography accomplishments of 2008 was getting the opportunity to have two of my photo’s published in a local calendar here on Okinawa.

Since then I have sold the D40x and replaced it with a D80. Most importantly, I look forward to pushing my creative limits in 2009.

I wanted to share my top 10 favorite photo’s of 2008. Let me know which one is your favorite!

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My wife and I went out to American Village and decided it would be fun to test out my new 50mm 1.8d lens that she got me for Christmas.

American Village is a popular hangout area for Americans and locals. It is centrally located around Kadena Air Base, Camp Lester, and Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan. Generally, any day of the week you can find some type of performer doing their thing!

My wife even decided that she wanted to take a couple shots with the new lens. You can check out some of the shots below.

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Here are some photo’s that Britt took

You can check the rest of the night photo’s from American Village here . If you feel like checking out all of my Okinawa photo’s, check out my Okinawa gallery page.

Another day living on Okinawa is another day full of opportunities to take some wonderful photo’s. Here are some of my latest shots when I ventured out to Araha beach.

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You can check the rest of the Araha Beach photo’s here . If you feel like checking out all of my Okinawa photo’s, check out my Okinawa gallery page.

If there is one thing you must eat before you leave Okinawa, I believe it has to be Okinawan soba. My wife and I just love this little soba restaurant that we think is called Sobaya Chirugwa.

One of the things I really enjoy about this restaurant is the atmosphere. You can sit down and listen to taiko drums in the background while you enjoy a nice bowl of soba. Not to mention the entire restaurant is Okinawan themed, the waitresses even wear Okinawan outfits!

This time I went for a Okinawa soba and pork cutlet set which was just around ¥900. Another great thing about this place is that the majority of the items on the menu are under ¥1,000. I may have seen two huge sets that were around ¥1,300. My wife had a bowl of Okinawa soba which was pretty large, she could not finish it by herself. In addition, we decided to try out some of their gyoza which was ¥330.

As for drinks, they all are under ¥600. They serve awamori, draft beer, juice, Coke, and Kirin by the bottle. One thing to remember is If you walk in and don’t see an English menu, don’t worry! Just ask and they will bring one over for you.

To recap, the soba is great and inexpensive. You can enjoy a large size bowl of soba for just around ¥600. What more could you possibly need?

Helpful Information

Hours/Phone

Hours: Open Daily 11:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Phone: 098 926-2202

Okinawa City Misato: 098-938-1811

Naha City Tsubogawa: 098-836-3719

Location/Directions

Directions: From Kadena Air Base Gate 2, turn left at the first stoplight. After going down a ramp, merge onto Rt 85 and get into the right lane and drive until you reach this overpass with a junction to Uruma. Take a right at the overpass and drive straight on Rt. 85 until you come to an intersection just before the building with an huge apple on it on the right side. Take that right and just after passing CoCo’s curry you will see it on the right.