Joojifish

Monday, June 09, 2003

I realize I have yet to comment on Okinawan culture. I didn't actually meet many Okinawans, but the few I did were tanned, mellow, and friendly. Overall, the atmosphere was pretty relaxed. Even average driving speed (on the one primary asphalt road in Iriomote) felt slow. As for Miyako Island's reputation for drinking, I didn't get to experience it firsthand. A typhoon was coming, so my prof and I left early to make sure we returned to Shimizu in time for his meeting. I did find out, though, that Miyako has 7 breweries for a population of 50,000 people. My prof was disappointed we couldn't stay there.

Okinawan food is pretty good. They use a lot of pork, fish, bitter melon, and luncheon meat (think SPAM) in their cooking. I'd never had SPAM before and didn't love it, but it tasted okay in stir fries. I also tried two new types of tofu: clam and peanut. I liked the peanut but was less thrilled with the clam since I don't love shellfish. The taste and texture of the clam tofu were akin to those of raw oyster.
joojifish 12:27 PM - [Link]
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