These were the directions we were given to Michael's battalion's Christmas party. Notice that there are only 2 words in English. There are A&W's everywhere in Okinawa. Neither of us can read (or speak much) Kanji. We had to meet up with a guy that Michael works with who has lived on island for a long time (and has a Japanese wife who told him where it was) to be able to find it. Just another new experience on island :)
Another funny thing that happened during this Christmas time is that in church we sang Christmas songs...first in English...and then in Japanese (with the Kanji spelled out phonetically up on the projector). I'm beginning to "get" the vowel sounds now though! Who knew Silent Night could be so informative!?
A couple of days before Christmas they snuggled together..neither willing to relent control of the blanky on the couch.
This is how Christmas Eve ended...me waking up Michael and Piglet to make them come to bed :)
The tree before we opened presents:
Piggy and her stocking (she got biscuits and some special treats):
Bailey and her stocking (she got a small mouse with a microchip so it squeaks every time she touches it...it kept her interest and that was the main thing):
Michael and his new grill scraper from his stocking:
Bailey all wrapped up in some ribbon...she actually did this herself and we couldn't get her out of the mound of trash for a good while b/c she was having such a good time (she was actually social and we didn't want to ruin it):
Piggy snooping around all the boxes:
Me and Piglet amidst the Christmas Carnage:
The new purse Michael picked out for me :) He's a definite keeper and he can pick out a purse for me anyday!!
One of the Japanese Shisa that I bought Michael back in September and kept hidden until he opened them!! They go in the front of our house and help keep evil spirits from entering...lets hope they work!
and here was the second:
It is common in Japanese culture to come to a Shinto shrine during the celebration of a child's 3rd, 5th and 7th birthdays.
Before you can say your prayer you have to go to an area set up with ladels and water and purify yourself. You first pour water over your left hand and then your right. Some people then sip some water and then spit it out underneath. Afterwards, both Michael and I paid our 100 Yen to get our "written oracles". They were surprisingly good!!
These steps led up so you could see the whole area (in the picture above you can see where we're heading):
This was the top part:
There was a waterfall (seen in a few pictures above) coming down where we walked up and you could go down underneath it:
Getting lost in the maze of tunnels underneath the waterfall:
This is where the king conducted his diplomatic relations:
You had to take your shoes off to go inside and they handed you little bags to put them in:
This is the king's chair:
This is the chair he sat in during ceremonies (such as a New Year's festival). The black grid on the red wall opens up to the courtyard below:
These are the actual ruins from the very last castle that was destroyed. In order to preserve them they built the new one above it:
Here is a mock setup of a New Year's ceremony:
There were traditional dancers outside performing (I have video and I'll upload it once I get everything else on here):
Me with one of the Shisa in front of the castle:
Afterwards we were given free reign on Kokusai Street (A gigantic shopping/eating district). This was our first time getting to go down here! 
This cake was huge:
The finished pumpkins on the front porch:
Right after the 16th hole there was a water hazard that had tons of turtles in it! They came right to the edge like they were used to getting fed so I gave them some M&M's :)
