![]() And yet, there are signs of Hawai‘i in Okinawa that narrow the distance quite a bit.Īfter returning from six weeks in Hawai‘i following my father’s passing and funeral services, I stopped by my workplace, Hotel Sun Palace Kyu-youkan ( ), to check in with some staff members. Just as I was ready to leave, I bumped into Tom Yamamoto (2016 Hawaii United Okinawa Association president) and Regina Yoshimori, Castle High School’s student activities coordinator. Over 4,600 miles of ocean separates me from my two home islands. ![]() It’s been over 23 years since I left my island home of Hawai‘i to settle here in Okinawa. When I thought of how I used to eat Spam, scrambled egg and rice as normal bentö-type food that my mom made for us whenever we went fishing or on picnics, I thought it was funny to watch so many people line up for a food item that I wouldn’t even think of waiting in line for. The majority of the customers looked like mainland Japanese to me. While waiting for him, I noticed a long line of customers formed outside the “Pork Tamago Onigiri Store.” The line took a while to go down and grew long again as I waited for my friend to come out. Okinawa’s version of Hawai‘i’s popular SPAM® musubi. He finally made it back to Okinawa on July 2, so I picked him up at the Naha Airport Domestic Terminal baggage claim. One of my Hawai‘i friends who lives here got stuck in Tökyö due to Typhoon Prapiroon, a small storm system that forced the cancellation of several flights. What’s known in Hawai‘i as “Spam musubi,” a slice of cooked Spam meat placed between rice and wrapped in nori seaweed, is called “Pork Tamago Onigiri” here in Okinawa - just like Hawai‘i’s Spam musubi, but with a piece of scrambled egg added for good measure. Location: Domestic Terminal, Naha International Airport July 2018 ![]() I’ve been treated well and taken care of by many people here in what has become ‘My Hawai‘i.’” - Colin Sewake ![]() ![]() “Okinawa is such a beautiful place, not just the ocean and scenery and culture, but the people. ![]()
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