It feels strange to reflect upon my time living in Okinawa when it has gone so quickly. Three years of university flew by, but I’m certain this has gone even faster. Going from university to full-time work in Japan was something of a shock, and combined with other factors I suppose this experience hasn’t been…
I’ve learned a great many things during my time on Okinawa. But the greatest lesson I’ve learned is how to accept patronizing, backhanded compliments as unadulterated praise. “Ohashi jouzu!” “Yes, I am the Wayne Gretzky of eating rice with sticks.” I feel a haiku is appropriate here… “A view of the sea Orion beer in…
by Lucas La Plante
by Nick Renaud I am the terror that schleps through the night. I am the yeast that leavens maatza. I am the dreidel that never stops spinning. “I am running really late,” I yell-splained to Mom as I swerved through the intersection and nearly killing myself as I switched out of my batsuit en medias…
by: Angelica Hunter-Galvez The sun blazes down Relentless in its summer freedom Still, You stand there melting. Hoping. Wishing. For a signal. For a stop. But alas, tomorrow never comes. “Tomorrow,” they said. “Tomorrow,” they promised. The endless flow of lies and deceit drown out your youthful optimism The jeers abroad dance upon your waning…
By Jay Nakamura and Kikaha Chee It must be spring because the shirts are off and things are heating up! Jay and Kikaha take us to school with a Pidgin Challenge!
by Aaron Crawford “Untitled 2” I remembered suddenly Yesterday, amidst the flood of conversations And laughs And beers And platters of food That feeling of unlimited possibility Scanning the faces And some asses in the crowd. It reminded me of being a little younger Surrounded by young people And that Somewhere in the midst Someone…
by Declan McCann Hip-hop is perhaps unique in the sense that disputes between artists can often become as well known as the artists themselves. These disputes can be tools for fame, and it is not uncommon for some artists to use the propensity of the “beef” within the genre in order to further their own…
by Alix Bruce Sometimes when I wander around my town, I see an old blind man. I’m never really sure where he’s going. He’s usually waiting at a bus stop, or crossing the street after disembarking. He’s always in the same fisherman’s hat, he’s always in glasses, and he moves very slowly, half groping. His…
by Jose Lamazares Part of my job involves tending to foreign visitors who come to the Kencho with questions, and interpreting for them. On one Thursday afternoon, I was called down to General Information by a coworker from the media division because there was a foreign gentleman with a press pass downstairs and they could…
by Lucas LaPlante In the entire world, the JET Programme is unique. As you may know, it’s the largest exchange teaching programme in the world, but it goes deeper than that. While the programme originated as one predominantly aimed at enhancing English language ability, it has, over the years, come to incorporate many other dimensions.…
by Declan McCann, Michael King, & Nic Roggeveen The Ryukyu Star is proud to present the highly anticipated debut single from In Zanus! Written, performed, and produced right here on Okinawa, “JET’s Lament” has been described as the new JET anthem. Drawing musical inspiration from such greats as Billy Ray Cyrus, Chumbawamba, and the Divinyls,…
by Nick Renaud NAMA SREE PUB– DUSK ODIE, 25 with a heartbreaker face and shoulders like SPLOOSH, stumbles gracefully into the dingy, smoke-clouded pub; sultry Ilocano lips pouted in the perfect hacking cough that hacks hackily (not to be confused with the writer, who is hack of a different breed). FOX Hey, Odin— ODIE Odie.…
by Thomas Becskehazy Little Hiroshi leapt through the front door and out into the street. His tattered flip-flops slapped against the pavement as he sprinted beneath the street lamps, just turning on in the deepening dusk. He held fifty yen in his grubby hands. Ten dull bronze coins were enough for two grilled potatoes, and…
by Salamander Sensei “Do you know gyarandu?” asked one of my students snickering as he handed back the materials from the game we had just finished. Around him the other kids laughed too. Despite teaching junior high school, my students haven’t really ventured into trying to ask me about swear words or sex words very…
Ryukyu Star 