Field Notes: The Media School Travel Blog

My experience in Japan has been a series of juxtapositions: American military personnel and Okinawan base protestors, savory seaweed and sweet shortbread cookies.

After an emotionally grueling day of learning about Okinawan history during WWII and the Battle of Okinawa, the mood in the room was solemn. As we held our heads heavy with thoughts of unfortunate facts of history, including the deaths of civilians in the Battle of Okinawa and Okinawa’s experience with conflict, we walked across the street to have dinner and reflect on our day.

A cacophony of sounds and chants permeated trough the entryway of the restaurant we were being led into. At first, I thought the sounds were coming from what had to have been concert-sized speakers. We looked at each other hesitantly and walked in. It turned out that this music was being played live on an Okinawan musical instrument called a sanshin, which literally means “three strings.”

As we walked closer to the music, we saw Japanese tourists dancing and singing along with the music – almost as if their choreography had been planned. We took off our shoes, walked along what was doubling as a dining and dance floor area, and sat at our table. We accepted our fate as backup dancers, as we had already taken on a backup singer role.

Our food piled up on the table, and every now and then we were told to chant or dance between bites. After a long day, going into what we thought was going to be a relaxing dinner, it was a lot to take in. We have been learning a lot about how Okinawans are affected by their history and how they carry it with them today.

For me, Okinawa has been an inviting place to chant and sing and dance and celebrate an important culture that is yet to be experienced by many. I may have had some misunderstandings about Okinawa before I came, such as the economic balance of U.S. military presence and Okinawan residents. I can see now that Okinawa is its own thriving corner of the world.