Well traveled

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skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
But Okinawa is to Japan what Hawaii is to the U.S., i.e., officially and technically a part of it, but sorta not really. If you visit Hawaii, you're not really visiting the U.S. in a practical way. Same with Japan and Okinawa. Enjoyed our time there, though.

Agreed, Grandpa. I lived there in the early 80s, when my dad was stationed there, and still know folks who shuffle through on assignments. It's a pretty island, and interesting if you leave the bases. A lot of Americans don't though--it's really a pity. If you're respectful of the culture, the people can be very nice…but they don't really like Americans in general. The protests around the bases can get pretty raucous. The Okinawans are sort of looked down upon by 'real' Japanese: they're smaller & darker skinned than Japanese, and the language is a little different (sort of like the difference between Spain Spanish and the Spanish spoken in the Americas). If you go there, seriously, make sure you visit some of the real Japanese/Okinawan historical places; they're fascinating.
 

Grandpa

Well-Known Member
Mar 2, 2014
9,724
53,642
Colorado
Agreed, Grandpa. I lived there in the early 80s, when my dad was stationed there, and still know folks who shuffle through on assignments. It's a pretty island, and interesting if you leave the bases. A lot of Americans don't though--it's really a pity. If you're respectful of the culture, the people can be very nice…but they don't really like Americans in general. The protests around the bases can get pretty raucous. The Okinawans are sort of looked down upon by 'real' Japanese: they're smaller & darker skinned than Japanese, and the language is a little different (sort of like the difference between Spain Spanish and the Spanish spoken in the Americas). If you go there, seriously, make sure you visit some of the real Japanese/Okinawan historical places; they're fascinating.

Just to stretch the analogy further, any number of Hawaiians would consider themselves Hawaiians first and Americans second. I was told much the same thing with Okinawa, which is the biggest island in the Ryuku chain - the natives consider themselves Ryukuans first and then Japanese. All of which feeds into the Japanese sanctimony, because while I love Japan and its people, it is undeniably ethnocentric.

I was there in '77-'78 (when they changed from right-side to left-side roads), and I have to say, I didn't face animosity, at least not to any overt degree. The local economies were somewhat dependent on US military spending. We rented an apartment in town, we caught the local buses (tiny seats on those things), picked up some food at the little grocer a couple buildings over, and so on. There weren't demonstrations at that time.

What a difference a few years can make. My son went through there as a Marine in the mid-'90s, and they were advised to just keep their heads low. He could the distinct impression in town that he wasn't liked much.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Much respect Neesy. Are they just like the u.s military?
Well - we were not all gung-ho (like that former Marine Grandpa :wink:) - I never went to Iraq or anything like that, as I got a release in 2001 (coincidentally just before 9/11 :O_O:). Maybe if I had been Army, rather than Air Force I might have seen more action; but it was a pretty good life while it lasted and I did get a pension out of it!