Togyu

I have not blogged for a few weeks as Corey is away and I have felt uninspired to post anything... But today I went to an event that I figured needed some recognition: Okinawa bull fighting, also known as "Togyu." I wasn't sure what to expect, if it was humane or cruel… and I'm still not sure what to think. The bulls are all raised in Okinawa, and when we arrived we were given a flyer with their names and weights posted (although all in Kanji, so I couldn't tell you what the bull's names are). The tournament started out with one bull entering the ring, being led by its trainer by a lead hitched through the bull's nose. The bull immediately began to paw at and rub his head in the dirt of the ring. The trainer just stood there, seemingly calm and unthreatened by the beast. The second bull and trainer entered the ring, along with five or six other men (owners/more trainers?) and the bulls were set to face each other. The first match was actually very boring,  as they locked horns for about 10 seconds and then just stood there staring at each other, seeming bored or uninterested. The trainers yelled "iya!" and stomped to try and rial the bulls, but with little success. The next round was a little more exciting, except one of the bulls horns broke when they butted heads, and was bleeding. The third was pretty much the same and by that time we as spectators were getting bored! haha. We watched for about 45 minutes;  I don't think I would go back to watch again -_-

 waiting for the first match to begin

 This bull liked to rub in the dirt

 This guy was a bull power ranger? …..

 The winner of each match was adorned with a blanket and ribbons

 this guy played the drum and gong

Aquarium

One of the main attractions in Okinawa is the Churaumi Aquarium, so we made a recent trip there while we had visitors. This was my and Corey's third trip, but it was still fun to walk through the exhibits. We were there the day before a typhoon hit us, though, so it was very windy whilst walking around outside! 

 we are fish!

 Churaumi's main attraction- the Whale Sharks

 vending machine purchases… I got a drink with cat nip in it (!?)

 I love this picture! 

 very windy….

 This guy loved posing with us...

who knew dolphins could fly?

Salt Factory

I haven't put up a blog post in a few weeks, I've been busy teaching and Corey and I haven't had days off together for awhile… So today we were fortunate to share a day off together and decided to find something unique to do. I searched online and soon found a place that seemed interesting and was very close to our house, called the Gala Salt Factory. The place is basically where they make Okinawan salt using sea water, and you are allowed to tour their facilities to see for yourself. The "factory" itself was actually very small and not interesting, but we got to make our own salt and take it home in a little pot.

 admiring some salt "sculptures"

 the salt making process

 dehydrating area

 making our salt: step 1- boil sea water

 step 2- scrape salt from sides of bowl as water evaporates

 yeah! salt! lol

 step 3- taste our salt on a cracker

 step 4- put cooled salt in a pot to take home

 we were told the signs say "Salt Man," "Salt Girl," and "I Love Crystal" ……..lol

 We ended the trip with some salt ice-cream; mine was caramel and Corey's was mango

 we found a hermit crab!

 he was huge!

 a short walk from the salt factory was a beautiful little beach a seaweed farm.