Kaiensai Fireworks Display in Ginowan City, Okinawa

A friend of mine told me of his having a chance to talk with a photographer from the main land Japan, who specialized in nature photography. Japan is a country known throughout the world to have four distinguished seasons as well as to be a birthplace of haiku poems with lots of seasonal expressions. This photographer was visiting Okinawa with his keen sensitivities for seasonal charms. The season he was visiting the southernmost prefecture was an early summer, yet there he saw a scene of lush green forest with an open space with Japanese silver grass growing all over the place. He was mesmerized by the early summer represented by the young green leaves of the thick forest in juxtaposition with autumn symbolized by the silver grasses.

"How come it's possible to find Japanese silver grass at this time of the year?" the photographer was asking himself. He didn't know how to categorize the picture of the scene in terms of season. "Kisetsukan," or the sense of the season, becomes weired, the photographer told the friend of mine. 

I have another example to illustrate this peculiar season in Okinawa. On the 16th of April (Sat.), in the city of Ginowan, there will be a beach opening festival with fireworks. Since it is still the beginning of spring, where other parts of Japan have barely started their cherry blossom viewing parties, you might think it is a bit too early for us to have a beach festival. "Kaiensai," meaning literary ocean-fire festival, is an annual event organized by Japan Airline Co. Ltd., as an event that will mark "Umibiraki" or the start of swimming season.

With "Golden Week"---a period of successive national holidays in May in Japan---just two weeks away, various tourism-related businesses and the local governments wish to jump into the opportunities for tourism season in Okinawa. Kaiensai is one of those events that take place in Okinawa at this time of the year, and it is probably the biggest and of the most spectacular. Junko Koshino, a worldly famous Japanese designer, will be in charge of designing fireworks. This year, Melrose Pyrotechnics Inc. from the U.S. ---the winner of 2010 Huis Ten Bosch International Pyrotechnician Competition in Nagasaki Prefecture---will join in the event for their displays of designed fireworks.

General information (in English) on Kaiensai Fireworks Festival, go to: 

http://ryukyu-kaiensai.com/pdf/eng.pdf

If you can read Japanese or have someone who can read the language and translate it for you, this is the original Kaiensai homepage:

http://www.ryukyu-kaiensai.com/

I checked the flyer in PDF but this English-language flyer does not mention anything about ticket prices. So here is the information they put in Japanese-language festival homepage:

Advance tickets are available at a Family Mart convenience store chain till April 15.

Same-day tickets are available at the festival area under the condition that advance tickets are left.

Ticket plus Parking fee: ¥3,500 (Advance)  ¥4,000 (Same-day)

Ticket for high school students or older: ¥2,500 (Advance)   ¥3,000 (Same-day)

Ticket for elementary and middle school children: ¥1,500 (Advance)   ¥2,000 (Same-day)

No charge for pre-school children:

There are special viewing seats available with extra charge:

Special "SS" Seats (only 50 seats): above mentioned fee plus ¥7,500 (comes with roof, table and bench)

Special "S" Seats (only 70 seats): above mentioned fee plus ¥5,000 (comes with tabel and bench)

Special "A" Seats (500 seats): above mentioned fee plus ¥1,000 (comes with a cheir)

*Spectators of Special "A"  Seats will be let to the vewing area on a first-come-first-served basis.

**You need not pay for your pre-school child (younger than 1st grader) but there will be no chair for your child; you need to have your child sit on your lap.

I tried to look for any information in regards to parking lots other than the designated lot for the festival, or viewing areas that do not require festival tickets. But there is no information available. 

Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau also posts some information on the festival but no details in English are available: 

http://www.okinawastory.jp/en/event/event_110416_fire.html

The URLs below are just extra information not related with Kaijinsai fireworks festival:

If you are not able to visit Okinawa, you can also enjoy fireworks festival at Hous Ten Bosch:

http://english.huistenbosch.co.jp/event/summer2011.html

The winner of 2010 Hous Ten Bosch Int'l Pyrotechnician Competition:

http://www.melrosepyro.com/about_us/

Ryukyu Hanpu Tote Bags Come With Simple Design & Durability

Ryukyu Shimpo, a local newspaper in Okinawa, had an article about Okinwa-noh Kaze, saying those bags are gaining popularity in Tokyu Hands in Tokoy. This company named the brand as "Ryukyu Hanpu" with unique design concept of simplicity and durability for their product line of lifestyle goods.

Ryukyu Shimpo article here (Japanese):

http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-175706-storytopic-4.html

I have not been to the store myself, but the shop in Naha is located near Makishi Station. (Find a Yui Rail station nearby and get off the monorail at Makishi Station from Exit 2 to come down on Saion Bridge near the station. Okinawa-Noh Kaze shop is less than 100 meter to the north from the bridge. 

Okinawa-noh Kaze homepage:  http://www.okinawa-wind.com/

(The homepage is Japanese only)

The location of their shop in Naha City (Google Map)

Although written only in Japanese, many colored photos are posted for customers. They say, the material for their bags are made of Kurashiki hanpu from Okayama Pref. This textile has been selected for its exceptionally durable quality. The indigo color used in the logo is made of Ryukyu indigo found in Okinawa.

http://www.okinawa-wind.com/shop/ryukyuhanpu.html

Take Advantage of "Bus-Mono Pass" One-Day Ticket in Naha City

The information below is what I translated from a local newspaper article. I hope this news is useful for foreign travelers who wish to explore Naha City by public transportation other than taxi.


The Okinaw Times, a local newspaper in Okinawa, wrote:


Okinawa Urban Monorail Corporation Ltd.,  and Naha Bus Corporation Ltd., jointly announced, as of April 1st, the start of selling common one-day ticket for both Yui Rail (monorail) and the bus system operated by Naha Bus. This common ticket, named as "Bus-Mono Pass,"  is usable for all the fifteen stations of Yui Rail transit system and all the fifteen bus routes run by the bus company within the city. The two companies hope this new shared transportation service will improve the convenience for users of those public transportations. A common one-day ticket costs 1,000 JPY for adults (junior high or older), and 500 JPY for 6th graders or younger. 


A one-day ticket for Yui Rail (monorail) is currently 600 JPY. Naha Bus also sells a one-day ticket which costs 630 JPY. The price of a common ticket therefore is set less expensive than buying two tickets, one for the monorail and the other for the bus system. "Bus-Mono Pass" tickets are available at each of the Yui Rail stations as well as in each of the passenger vehicles and at the office of Naha Bus. (If you want to use only the monorail system, you don't need to buy a common one-day ticket.)




I also checked the bus company's Internet site; they posted some sample images of "Bus-Mono Pass" tickets. The upper left ticket (blue ticket) is for a passenger junior high or older. The upper right ticket (orange) is for a child 6th grader or younger. 

The lower left (also blue) ticket is a sample of a discount ticket priced as 500 JPY, half the price of regular ticket for an adult. However, I could not find any information on the discount terms in any of the local newspapers or in the Internet sites of the monorail system and the bus company. I'll post the information on the discount terms on this blog as soon as I obtain it.

(I made a phone call to Naha Bus Co. Litd., about the terms for the discount. The office clerk told me that the discount rate is set for adults with disabilities. In Japanese welfare system, prefecture governments issue disabled certificates for people with disabilities. By showing the certificate, disabled adults can purchase the pass at the discount of 50%.)

The lower right is the back of the ticket. The fine print says, before you use the ticket, you have to scratch off the month and the date of usage. There are 12 numbers in the upper part of the ticket for the month, and 31 numbers printed half way down for the date. Say, if you purchase a ticket and want to use it on April 5th, you scratch off with a coin or something, first the number "4" for April (the fourth month) in the upper section of the ticket and then the number "5" for the 5th out of the 31 numbers in the lower half. The explanation in Japanese says if you scratch two numbers in the same section, the ticket will not be accepted. I'm afraid if you let your small kid do the scratch, he or she might think it's a kind of game and scratch all the numbers in the hope of winning number. As long as you are careful with which numbers to scratch off, I think this common one-day pass is a good service for both local people and travelers. 

The monorail connects Naha Air Port with Shuri Station near Shurijo Castle Park, the most visited tourist spot in Okinawa. By getting off at Makishi Station, you are at the heart of Okinawa's largest shopping district with various eateries and shops to choose from. If you are lucky enough to arrive at Naha Air Port at an early hour of the day, using this system to explore both the ancient part of Naha (Shiri disctict) and the vibrant modern shopping street (Kokusai Dori) allows you to see both the old and the new of this island prefecture in a very inexpensive way. Off course if you arrive Okinawa late at night, you can explore the city in the following day.