You’ve probably heard of Okinawa before, and there’s about a 99% chance that the first time you heard about it was in Karate Kid 2 and 3. It’s the place in Japan where Mr. Miyagi is from, and where Daniel travels with him to trim bonsai trees and beat up bad guys.

Beyond that, few people know much about Okinawa. So, I’m going to tell you about it. This post is about two things: 1) Why I’d love to visit Okinawa and 2) The recent Okinawa video series that the Be Okinawa has launched called Okinawa: The Secret is Out.

A Little Bit About Okinawa

First, here’s the introduction to the video series, which gives a nice overview of what Okinawa is.

There are also a few things I’ve learned about Okinawa over the years. First, Okinawa is almost exactly halfway between Taiwan and Japan. (Mr. Miyagi also gives a great explanation of where Okinawa is.) If you’ve ever heard me gush about Taiwan’s insane geography (I have done so several times) then it should be no surprise I expect that Okinawa would be equally gorgeous

Japan is best known for paced cities like Tokyo. Okinawa, however, has a reputation for being the exception to this rule. I think that comparing Okinawa to Tokyo, would be somewhat like comparing Hawaii to New York City.

And that’s the second main reason that I’d really like to visit.

Oh, and did I mention 2 Karate Kid movies were filmed there?

The Secret is Out Okinawa Video Series

This video series centers on a series of real couples who came to visit Okinawa, and in each video one of the people is keeping a secret from the other.

To highlight the tourism slogan: Be Yourself, Be Okinawa, at the end of each video the person confesses their secret to the other.

This is meant to highlight the way that Okinawa makes people feel open and grounded.

I haven’t visited Okinawa. But I can attest to the fact that most islands — from Taiwan to Hawaii to Bali — do have that vibe. Island people are different. So I believe this is probably also true of Okinawa.

The videos are cute and they really highlight how gorgeous Okinawa is.

Here’s the story of Mara’s Secret.

A Few Locations from the Video

The best part of these videos is obviously the gorgeous places where they take place. Here are a few of the locations from Mara’s Secret.

Yanbaru

Yanbaru is a green area including semitropical old-growth and evergreen broadleaf forests that is filled with hiking trails and some of Japan’s most spectacular waterfalls.

Kouri Island

As beautiful as Okinawa is, Kouri island — a short drive away — is thought of as Okinawa’s Garden of Eden and is often referred to as the island of love.

Makishi Market

Makashi Market in Naha is filled with Okinawa food vendors. This is definitely Okinawa’s foodie grazing ground.

Okinawa World

Okinawa World is a theme park featuring local history, culture, and nature. Although it wasn’t in the video, the highlight is the 5-kilometer-long Gyokusendo Cave, pictured above.

You can see the rest of the videos on the Be Okinawa Youtube Channel. Enjoy!

All images provided by Be Okinawa except Makashi Market, which is courtesy of Wikimedia

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Don’t worry about my feelings.  Be ruthless.  Telling me which ones you hate will help more than telling me which ones you like.  But, of course, I hope you like them all.

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Shoveled the driveway like nine times

Been subjected to more country music than any living creature should ever be exposed to

Purchased travel insurance and been vaccinated

Helped my friend catch her dog when it ran away

Eaten steak almost day

Seen all of my friends’ children for the first time (and they all have children)

Started reading O’Henry, who is fucking badass, you should totally check him out!
http://www.literaturepage.com/read/thefourmillion.html

Jumped on some redneck who started swinging at my buddy for no reason in the bar and held ’em till the bouncers came

Subsequently went for a drive to smoke a joint in our other buddie’s new $60,000 Ford truck, which, while doing giant fishtails in the snow, he accidentally drove down a steep embankment and through a fence made out of 6′ by 6′ beams. We then spent an hour and a half in the sub zero night getting him unstuck and back up the embankment

Got up after three hours sleep to go snowboarding on a perfect powder day. Was shakey at first, but stuck both front and backside 360’s on the last run

Explained the difference between Taiwan and Thailand like ten million times

Not been asked about Chinese culture once, but was told volumes “’bout them Asians” by scores of people who have never traveled farther than the dump

Watched the new Hunter S. documentary

Drank Jack Daniels with my father, who is having heart surgery again in two weeks

Drank Budweiser and watched hockey with my buddy who lives with his twenty year old girlfriend, and her child, and their child, in a trailer behind the gravel pits

You know, basically everything that you’d expect to do in Cranbrook.

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