LOCAL CULTURE
•Tipping is not expected in taxis, restaurants or anywhere else off base. • It is not customary to bargain when shopping on Okinawa. • Wearing shoes inside an Okinawan or Japanese person’s home is a definite no-no. Shoes should also be removed when entering certain public buildings and restaurants— check the entrance for rows of shoes or a kutsu-bako, a cabinet specifically designed to hold shoes. • Some Japanese toilets are built into the floor. Don’t panic—simply face the flushing handle, squat without touching any porcelain and proceed. Maintaining a limber torso and hamstrings can pay dividends.
Cultural Tips Okinawa is a tropical paradise with an intricate web of traditions. The following information can help newcomers become better guests and ambassadors.
• The many turtleback and squareshaped concrete structures are tombs where the spirits of family members and ancestors are honored. It is highly inappropriate to trespass on or pass too near these tombs. • Show respect for Okinawa’s sacred natural places (utaki) and family altars (butsudan) inside an Okinawan home. Sacred places can be distinguished by incense, three upright stones, white garlands made of paper or people that appear to OKINAWA GUIDE 2022–2023 | 63
