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Okinawa Beach Opening Information 2026! [CURRENT ISSUE LIFE]
Okinawa Beach Opening Information 2026! Ginowan Tropical Beach (Apr. 18) Chatan Sunset Beach (Apr. 10) Chatan Araha Beach (Mid. Apr.) Nishih...Read More

Itoman Tug-of-War marks end of summer [CULTURE CURRENT ISSUE ENTERTAINMENT]
Many Okinawan farmers and fishermen, in some form or fashion, pay tribute to the Gods, seeking their blessing and favor for a great harvest ...Read More

Awamori "Ku-su" Day [CURRENT ISSUE LIFE]
September 4th is the “Ku-su Day”, with September = ‘9’ which is pronounced ‘kyu’ or ‘ku’ in Japanese, and ‘4’ being pronounced ‘...Read More
House fire kills Itoman man [News]
A fire in a private house in Kyan, Itoman City, broke out and burned about seven square meter area inside the house including the bedroom, Saturday. Firefighters who arrived at the...
2013.02.07
Deadline for applications for Ayahashi Road Races nears [Sports]
Ayahashi Marine Road races in Uruma City won’t take place until Apr. 7, but runners are invited to take part as the deadline for submitting an application is Feb. 22. The 13t...
Computer glitch in Naha City Office [News]
A malfunction occurred Monday morning in a Naha City network server that controls working information at the Naha City Office, so the staff could not access their computers. Becaus...
February 4 was the first day of spring [News]
Because of effects of a migratory anticyclone that extends out to the south of Japan, warm winds were blowing from southwest, so it was the first “summer day” of the year with more...
2013.02.05
And this week’s winner is… [Weekly Winners]
The lucky winner of last week’s Japan Update weekly raffle was Tina Kisela. She won a pair of tickets to Kinoshita Circus, and was with her son able to catch one of its great shows...
2013.02.05
Golden Kings rediscover their winning ways [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
For three games in a row, the defending champion Ryukyu Golden Kings struggled, unable to make much of anything work, losing games that stunned them but at the same time rekindled ...
2013.02.02
Marine band on Okinawa earns top honors [Military]
Lt. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force presented the III MEF Band an award recognizing the band as the 2012 Field Band of the Year for...
2013.02.02
Can you believe it? Baseball season’s here! [Sports]
By Bill Charles Don’t be surprised if you see people grabbing their baseball bats or humming “take me out to the ball game” from this weekend on, because despite the seemingly bris...
Itoman Police nabs elderly thief [News]
Itoman police arrested a 76-year-old unemployed man on a charge of theft, Jan. 24. The police say Kameichi Inaka had sneaked into a private house in Itoman City, and stolen about ¥...
New Navy Hospital on Foster getting ready [News]
The new U.S. Navy Hospital that has been under construction on Camp Foster as a replacement for the current Navy Hospital on Camp Lester has been completed, and the Japan-US Joint ...
Osprey noise measured in Ginoza [News]
A noise level of 98.8 dB was measured in Shirohara, Ginoza Village, on Jan. 25, as two MV-22 Osprey aircraft held exercises around a heli-pad on Camp Hansen. Ken Tokashiki, an asso...
Electric cycling to expand [Business]
If a company promoting the expansion of Electric Vehicle (EV) motorcycles in Okinawa, called “Terra Motors” has its way, quiet electric power is the way to keep Okinawa moving as i...
Chinsukou Mini Museum opens on Kokusai Street [Business]
Arakaki Kashi-ten has opened “Chinsukou Museum Mini” on Kokusai Street in Naha City. They aim to make the museum a strong landmark for promoting traditional Okinawan sweets of the ...
Wedding planning on the go [Business]
Okinawa Watabe Wedding Co. announced Monday it has started a new business called “Moai-Wedding.” The new concept allows friends in so called Moai groups, which are mutual informal...
Hit-and-run leaves scratch on moving truck driver [News]
A side mirror of a mini car scratched a 58-year-old moving company employee descending from his truck as it drove by slightly injuring the employee on his waist. The injured man to...
2013.02.01
Ryukyu Golden Kings sign Ryuichi Kishimoto as rookie [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
When first watching the Ryukyu Golden Kings, Nago Kitanakagusuku High School basketball player Ryuichi Kishimoto wasn’t impressed, barely giving the Okinawa professional basketbal...
Phoenix gain as Ryukyu Golden Kings drop pair [Ryukyu Golden Kings]
It was a double edged sword for the Ryukyu Golden Kings, losing a pair of games to the Shiga Lakestars, and then learning their nemesis Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix tied their l...
ASDF fighters scrambled 160 times against Chinese [News]
It was more than training missions for the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces, responding more than 160 times over a nine-month period last year to challenge Chinese fighters venturi...
Pro soccer teams turn to Okinawa for winter training [Sports]
The weather’s cold in mainland Japan and in Korea, and that’s enough to make professional sports team gaze upon Okinawa’s mild winters with favor, deciding to make this the winter ...
Envoy predicts China to control Senkaku mess [Politics]
If a top Chinese diplomat has the Senkaku dispute figured out accurately, China will be “controlling” the issue soon enough. A top Chinese academic is adding his thoughts that the ...
