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“I Lost My Voice:” Naha’s Giant Tug-of-War Unites Tourists and Locals

“I Lost My Voice:” Naha’s Giant Tug-of-War Unites Tourists and Locals

October 8, 2018 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

 

The 48th annual Naha Giant Tug-of-War took place at the Kumoji intersection on Route 58 on October 7. The event, organized by the Office of the Conservation Society of the Naha Giant Tug-of-War, lead to streets that brimmed with excitement from locals and tourists alike.

Participants split into two teams: East and West, with 15,000 attendees on each side.

The intense competition commenced at approximately 4:30 p.m.,...

 

Local residents enthusiastically celebrate traditional Great Tug-of-War of Henoko

Local residents enthusiastically celebrate traditional Great Tug-of-War of Henoko

August 20, 2018 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

On August 19 the traditional Great Tug-of-War of Henoko was held at the Henoko Ground.

The community split into East and West teams for tug-of-war, and the West team won with one victory and one draw.

This event, where Henoko Ward reseidents...

Nakagusuku and Kitanagusuku residents’ group asks local sanitation association to refuse U.S. military waste collection

Nakagusuku and Kitanagusuku residents’ group asks local sanitation association to refuse U.S. military waste collection

 

March 18, 2018 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

 

On March 16, a group of Nakagusuku Village and Kitanakagusuku Village residents who oppose collecting waste from the U.S. bases visited the Aobaen waste processing facility operated by Nakagusuku Village and Kitanakagusuku...

Enticed by the sunlight, white plum blossoms bloom in Genka, Nago

Enticed by the sunlight, white plum blossoms bloom in Genka, Nago

January 17, 2018 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

Visitors are thronging to Genka, Nago in Okinawa Prefecture to see the charming white plum blossoms in full bloom along the road in the Ohshittai wetlands area.

 

The plum trees were planted by local residents. Spectators...

Spectators touring Zamami overjoyed to see leisurely whale

Spectators touring Zamami overjoyed to see leisurely whale

 

December 29, 2017

By Hirokazu Otsubo, Correspondent for the Ryukyu Shimpo

 

(Zamami) This season’s whale watching tours started in Zamami Village on December 27.

On that day, a warden from the village’s Whale Watching Association spotted one humpback...

Yumeka the artistic elephant welcomed to Okinawa Zoo & Museum in hopes of getting pregnant

Yumeka the artistic elephant welcomed to Okinawa Zoo & Museum in hopes of getting pregnant

 

November 23, 2018 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

(Okinawa) On November 18, a welcome party was held for Yumeka,...

Yomitan to establish Japan’s first village-level public archive

 

August 25, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

(Yomitan) Yomitan Village in Okinawa Prefecture plans to open a public archive, which will be the first village-established public archive in the country.

The village aims to begin the detailed design phase for the archive in...

Battle of Okinawa survivors tell of civilian losses not depicted in the film “Hacksaw Ridge”

Battle of Okinawa survivors tell of civilian losses not depicted in the film “Hacksaw Ridge”

August 16, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

June 24 saw the release of the film “Hacksaw Ridge,” which takes place at the Maeda escarpment in Urasoe, Okinawa, which was the site of ferocious fighting during the Battle of Okinawa.

Since the film’s release, tourists have flocked...

French practitioners hone their skills at karate’s birthplace in Okinawa

French practitioners hone their skills at karate’s birthplace in Okinawa

July 11, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

Pascal Ibert a Nana-dan (7th rank) practitioner of Okinawa Goju-ryu Karate has been training for 38 years in Dordogne, southern France, where he now teaches about 50 students. For three consecutive years beginning in 2015, he has traveled to Yamashita Town, Naha...

American high school students visit Ie-jima for cultural exchange with local pupils

American high school students visit Ie-jima for cultural exchange with local pupils

April 30, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Hiroe Nakagawa

High school students from Forest Lake Christian School in California and program leaders, 12 people altogether, stayed on Ie-jima the week of April 11 through April 17. These students volunteered in providing English lessons for elementary...

ZAN movie about Henoko’s dugongs holds first screening in Nago

ZAN movie about Henoko’s dugongs holds first screening in Nago

April 19, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 5, the Nature Conservation Society of Japan (NACS-J) and the Tokyo-based branding company ImageMILL held a screening event of the documentary film ZAN at Nago Civic Hall. The film addresses dugongs’ habitats in national natural monuments of Japan such...