Okinawa Santa Run

If you're looking for a fun, laid back event to attend around the holidays, the Okinawa Santa Run is for you.  The registration fee includes a one-size-fits all Santa suit for adults and a Santa hat for children.  The money raised goes to provide Christmas presents to children spending Christmas in local hospitals.


As with most things in Okinawa, the event is on island time.  We showed up about 1/2 and hour early to register and get ready for the run but the "run" didn't actually start until an hour after it was advertised.  This was actually fine by me as we didn't have any other specific plans until evening.


Besides, they had plenty of live entertainment to keep us occupied.  Among these were a band playing festive tunes, pop dancers, a jazz singer and many more.

I don't eat before a run so I didn't take part in devouring several of the local food venders stands.  However, the smells were divine.  There were also tents with local products for sale.

Also, participants were encouraged to walk in the "run" and enjoy American Village.  They even had incentive cards for participants to stop in various shops throughout as those shops were offering discounts and other goodies to race participants.


Parents with children in strollers were diverted from the run course or asked to turn around at one point because the course was not stroller friendly.  But there was free ice cream waiting back at the start/finish line and more entertainment lined up.

Pizzakaya Mommy & Me Cooking Class

We recently attended a Mommy and Me Pizza cooking class at Pizzakaya Okinawa.  This little gem of a restaurant is located in the back right corner of American Village, just around the corner from Mihama Kids Park.

What made this class extra special is that the establishment hosted it for one of our FB mom's groups (Playdate and Adventure) absolutely free of charge.  Attendees were simply asked to bring a toy for each child attending to donate to a local Japanese orphanage.  Awesome right?

Other group members with small businesses donated party supplies, snacks and even an appearance by Sponge Bob (whom I dispise, but whatever, most of the kids enjoyed his visit).

Each of the kids got to make their own pizza.  Pre-made dough was provided that they got to smash down into a somewhat circular shape and add as much sauce, cheese and/or hotdog chunks as they wanted.

O was skeptical about touching the dough but eventually pressed it a few times, then spooned almost an entire bowl of sauce onto it, added her cheese one shred at a time until shown she could put handfuls on it, and added a few hotdogs.  She quite amused me throughout this process.  :D

While we waited for hers to cook, she ate funky flavored popcorn and stared at Sponge Bob.  She DID NOT want him to come anywhere near her!

When we got O's pizza back, the majority of her toppings had slid underneath the pizza when they sliced it due to the shear amount of sauce that was on it.  She ate the hotdogs and had mommy eat the rest, so I had to find her something else for dinner, lol.

Overall it was a good time for a good cause.  I hope they host another one of these events in the future.

Mihama American Village Photowalk

So between loosing my car keys (which after 4 days I finally located at the commissary) and all the rain coming in from typhoon Prapiroon, we haven't been out of the house for DAYS!

This morning, O had a doc appt.  After said appt, I decided I WAS NOT GOING HOME even thought the rain was not letting up.  We took a stroll through American Village instead.  It was vastly deserted since nothing opened for another 2 hours, but I didn't care.  I like to walk around, take pictures, and just take in my surroundings.

Since this was specifically a picture walk, these are some of the images I captured.

Other posts from this site:
Mihama American Village / Sushi-Go-Round 

Mihama American Village / Sushi-Go-Round

 
American Village is one of the most popular areas in central Okinawa.  It has a movie theater, bowling alley, indoor kid's park, lots of restaurants, and tons of shopping.  It is also located right next to sunset beach.  So when you are done shopping, you can sit and admire the ocean view.

For our trip, we went to the sushi-go-round and then took a nice stroll through the shops to see what was there.

The sushi-go-round was quite different than any other sushi place I have ever been.  You are seated at a table next to a conveyor belt.  This belt encircles the entire restaurant taking various types of sushi around and around.  There is no need to order here (although they do have a menu that you can make specific requests or order large amounts at a time).  Simply select the sushi you like and remove it from the conveyor belt.  Eat as much as you like.  

When you are done the waitress will tally up your bill.  Each sushi selection is placed on a plate whose color/pattern matches up with a specific price.  So it is easy for you to keep track of how much you are spending as you go along and for them to know how much you owe.

Other posts from this site:
Mihama American Village Photowalk