December 17, 2015 • mccsokinawa.com
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agano, a mountain-laced temple town, is a wintertime wonderland. It’s a place filled with friendly locals offering a warm nod and sweet hello. A place to revel in fresh snow flurries, luxuriate in an onsen (hot spring bath), share a moment with a Japanese snow monkey, explore rich history or shred new powder at Japan’s largest ski resort, then end the day cuddled up to a bowl of piping hot soba. Escape to snow-blanketed Nagano with MCCS Tours+ for a four-day, three-night vacation from February 12 to 15. The tour arrives February 12 via train from Tokyo Station. After a day of travel, you can kick back in your hotel room and order room service, or get a head start exploring the city and try some local bites.
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Spend the first full day venturing off on your own, or join the optional MCCS tour to see wild snow monkeys, or macaques, at Jigokudani Monkey Park. Jigokudani, considered a mini Yellowstone, is bubbling with onsen. To escape the forest’s harsh winter, these silvertufted creatures soak in the open-air onsen. With steam curling into the frosty air and their beet-red faces glowing with relaxation— it is a photographer’s paradise. After braving the cold, steep in a nearby onsen yourself. While enveloped by the warmth, watch sleepy snowflakes melt into the steaming hot spring. On Valentine’s Day, create your own Nagano adventure. Carve the fresh powder on the slopes of the Japanese Alps, breaking only for hot chocolate. At the end of the day, soak your
Living at Large: Drink Champagne, Dance All Night | 3 Culture Corner: New Year’s in Japan | 5 Japanese Phrase of the Week | 5 Happy Holidays from Taiyo | 9
sore muscles in another onsen dip. Although host of the 1998 Olympics (leading to a new bullet train station opening the once relatively inaccessible Nagano to visitors), Nagano has retained its small-town feel. So, after visiting the auspicious Zenkoji temple and the six-story Matsumoto Castle (Japan’s oldest standing castle), go café hopping to meet the locals that make Nagano such a warm place, even in deep winter. Return to balmy Okinawa on February 15, thankful for a wintery getaway nestled in the Japanese Alps. For more information about this trip, please contact Tours+ at 646-3502 or stop by your local Tours+ office.
Off-Base Events: Yomitan Pottery Market | 11 Photo of the Week | 11 Spotlight: Buffets and Ugly Sweaters | 13 Semper Fit Events | 15
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livingatlarge
Drink Champagne, Dance All Night
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elcome the New Year at one of the MCCS clubs. At Camp Kinser’s Surfside, enjoy hors d’oeuvres, giveaways and champagne from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. On MCAS Futenma, head to Thirsty’s Enlisted Lounge from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. or the Habu Pit SNCO Lounge from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. for a live DJ, prizes and finger foods. The Globe & Anchor, inside the Ocean Breeze on Camp Foster, will host a midnight balloon drop, champagne sangria toast and prize drawings from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. At Chesty’s, breakfast snacks will be served after midnight and prizes will be given from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. At the Butler Offi-
cers’ Club on Plaza Housing, come for hors d’oeuvres, music, games, prizes and more at this elegant, black-and-white affair from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. At Legends Officers’ Lounge and Hashmarks SNCO Lounge on Camp Courtney, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and music from 6:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. The Bayview will host a night of dancing and finger foods from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
The Palms SNCO and Enlisted Lounges on Camp Hansen will provide hot and cold food stations and giveaways from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Finally, the Landing Zone Enlisted Lounge inside the BeachHead on Camp Schwab will offer finger foods, music and prizes from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. For more details on these events, call the nearest participating club or visit mccsokinawa.com/clubs.
Events and Happenings Youth Sports Basketball Halftime Candy Drop December 18 Youth Sports, Camps Foster, Courtney & Kinser 645-3533/3534 Holiday Celebration with Refreshments December 24, 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Education Centers, all camps 645-3486 Christmas Eve Hawaiian Luau December 24, 5–9 p.m. Habu Pit, MCAS Futenma 636-3081
Free Dinner Buffet December 25, 5–7 p.m. Surfside Enlisted Lounge Camp Kinser 637-3137
New Year’s Eve Extravaganza December 31, 7 p.m.–2 a.m. The Palms Enlisted & SNCO Lounges, Camp Hansen 623-4375
The Cove Holiday Party December 26, 7–11 p.m. The Cove, Camp Lester 645-3666
FREE Snacks & Goodies December 31, 9 p.m. Bayview, Camp Courtney 622-9300
Free Stall Fees for Active Duty Marines & Sailors December 26–31 Typhoon Motors, Camps Foster, Courtney, Hansen & Kinser 645-7169
Functional Fitness Frenzy Through January Fitness Centers, All Camps 645-3910
Various Camps
Best of Okinawa Living
The Best of Okinawa Living, a 300+ page pictorial guide to the island’s treasures, is an ideal gift for the holidays. Pick up a copy at your Exchange and select retail locations island-wide. mccsokinawa.com
Top photo: flippo/bigstock.com
Various Camps
Tsunami Scuba Holiday Sale
Now–December 31 Receive 15% off select retail items with even deeper discounts on select items. mccsokinawa.com/tsunamiscuba
Chief Marketing Officer | Jim Kassebaum Managing Editor | Ryan Anastoplus Art Director | Corrinne McKenna Cultural Research Specialist | Ayako Kawamitsu Graphic Arts Manager | Henry Ortega Graphic Designers | Margie Shimabukuro, Lisa Miyagi, Kelli Davis, Hector Nieves, Catherine Newquist Editor-in-Chief | Mike Daley Editor | Caylee Reid Photographer | Thomas Alan Smilie Ad/Sponsorship Manager | Roy Forster Ad Sales | Yoshihiro Shinzato, Aya Chilcote, Yoriko Yamashiro, Carina Fils-Julien, Lisa Hicks, Distribution | Gideon Juko, Sho Vivas Marketing Accounts Manager | Andrew Menges Accounts & Research | Amanda Bakun, Katherine Melrose, Kayla Christen, Jenessa Reutov, Jennifer Dowd, Marissa DeSmet Broadcast | Victor Mercado, Kathlene Millette, Gabriel Archer Career practicum internS | Michael Johnson, Skylor Stevens Questions? Comments? Please e-mail OLW@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org To advertise in Okinawa Living Weekly, call 645-2245, fax 645-0975, or email sales@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org. MCCS is not responsible for designing and editing outside ads. No Department of Defense, U.S. Marine Corps or Marine Corps Community Services endorsement of commercial advertisers or sponsors implied. This publication printed with
Various Camps
FREE Stuff
The best things in life are FREE. Check out all the FREE things you can get from MCCS today! mccsokinawa.com/free
Various Camps
Tool Sale
Now–December 31 Enjoy markdowns on select hand tools just in time for the holidays! mccsokinawa.com/typhoonmotors
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japanese phrase
culturecorner
of the week
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Akemashite omedetōgozaimasu Happy New Year
Clockwise from the top right: Sandralise/bigstock.com, Mike Daley
For details about FREE Japanese language classes, please call Marine & Family Programs–Resources at 645-2104/2106.
New Year’s in Japan
he New Year inspires rituals on both a cultural and personal level—it signals a new start in our lives—and we do a lot of things to make this idea seem as authentic and real as possible. Spaniards eat one grape for each of 12 chimes at midnight for good luck; Greeks hang onions on their door to symbolize rebirth; Americans watch a giant ball creep down a pole; and in Denmark, throwing dishes on someone’s doorstep brings them many friends. In Japan, a number of rituals serve to wipe the previous year’s slate clean and to foreshadow good fortune ahead. Two of the most popular New Year’s rituals in Japan are also the most practical when trying to start the year fresh and forgetting the past—it involves parties with friends and coworkers and throwing out all your old junk. Osōji and bōnenkai
mean end-of-year cleaning and forget-the-year party, respectively. Typically held by companies or groups of friends, bōnenkai are the mostattended parties of the year. Participating in annual osōji symbolizes independence from material things collected throughout the year. Another popular tradition, which dates back to the Edo period,
is eating noodles. On New Year’s Eve, having a bowl of noodles wards off evil spirits, and noodles represent long life. In a similar token of good fortune is the first temple visit of the year. Called hatsumōde, people flock to shrines to offer the first prayers of the year and collect omikuji—yearly fortune.
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Get it right the Happy Holidays from Taiyo first time
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Nelosa/bigstock.com
Give the gift they really want. MCCS Gift Certificates are available at any MCCS retail facility island-wide.
elebrate Christmas on the greens of Taiyo Golf Club. Unwrap Taiyo’s gift of free cart and green fees on December 25. This offer is available to E-4 and below. Are you looking for a present for a golfer or someone who is taking up the game? How about picking up a new driver, putter or golf bag from the Taiyo Golf Club Pro Shop? The Pro Shop carries the best in name brands like Nike, Titleist and Mizuno. Everything in the store is on sale until December 25 if you like the thrill of last-second shopping. You can also sign up your golfer for private lessons with one of the club’s golf professionals. Another terrific gift idea is located on the second floor of the clubhouse. Buy a few MCCS gift certificates and pair them with dinner reservations at Taiyo Steakhouse—one of the premier on-base dining establishments on island. At Taiyo Steakhouse, each
steak is hand-selected, aged and broiled at over 1,200 degrees. Taiyo Steakhouse offers brunch, lunch and dinner. In the interest of providing an unforgettable dining experience, the dresscode for dinner is semi-formal and reservations are required. For reservations, call 622-2020.
For more information on the Taiyo Golf Club Pro Shop Sale and its holiday promotions, or to request a weekday tee time, please call 622-2004. For weekend tee time requests, visit mccsokinawa.com/ request_a_teetime.
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off-base events get out and explore.
Yomitan Pottery Market December 18–20 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Yachimun no Sato Yomitan Village Uruma City Industrial Festival December 19–20 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Ishikawa Gym Uruma City Tonan Night Decoration December 17–February 14 5–10 p.m. Southeast Botanical Gardens Okinawa City Tickets: ¥1,200
tours+
adventure begins here. Shuri Castle New Year Celebration January 2, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Adults $23, Child (3–11) $16, (under 3) FREE Celebrate the new year with a traditional tea ceremony at Shuri Castle and enjoy lunch and shopping on Kokusai Street.
Farm and Fish Market January 9, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Adults $20, Children (3–11) $13, (under 3) FREE Explore and shop the freshest foods available on Okinawa at the JA Farmers’ Market, Vege Vege store, Mini Mini Zoo and Payao Fish Market.
Battle Sites Tour January 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Adults $28, Children (3–11) $18, (under 3) FREE Visit the Battle of Okinawa Historical Society’s museum on Camp Kinser. Explore the Japanese Naval Underground Headquarters and end the day at Peace Prayer Park.
Ocean Expo Park & Aquarium January 3, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Adults $37, Children (16–17) $32, (12–15) $26, (6–11) $22, (under 6) FREE Head to Ocean Expo Park where you can visit Okinawa’s four-story Churaumi Aquarium and watch a free dolphin show, visit an Okinawan village or relax on Emerald Beach.
Northern Highlights Tour January 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Adults $36, Children (4–12) $24, (under 4) FREE Visit Nago Pineapple Winery, Nago Glass Factory and the Orion Beer Factory. Enjoy a buffet lunch at Yanbaru Ikoi no Mura.
Bios on the Hill January 13, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Adults $33, Children (4–12) $20, (under 4) FREE Enjoy a boat ride while viewing the flowers, plants and wildlife native to Okinawa in this tropical forest park.
Bring yen for additional food, drinks and/or purchases. For more information, contact MCCS Tours+: Camp Foster 646-3502 | Camp Hansen 623-6344 | Camp Kinser 637-2744 | U.S. Naval Hospital 646-7013
All photos this page: Thomas Alan Smilie
photooftheweek
MCCS’ new coffee shop, Bonsai Coffee Company, is now open in the Camp Foster Community Center Auditorium. Grab a cappuccino, macchiato or latte, and warm up with the rich textures of Bonsai’s full-bodied espresso. Pair it with perfectly crisped almond biscotti, and you’ll be glad it’s winter.
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onthe
spotlight
menu
Buffets and Ugly Sweaters
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From top right: nito/bigstock.com, Subbotina Anna/bigstock.com
Dive into Christmas buffet desserts: warm, flakey and buttery pies, decadent cakes layered with happiness, heartwarming bread and butter pudding and more.
t’s not officially Christmas without two things: buffets and ugly sweaters. Get your dose of curious holiday culture and seasonal delights at your nearest MCCS club. Start the day with a lazy brunch on Camps Kinser, Foster, Courtney or Hansen. These Christmas buffets will feature holiday classics like turkey, ham, stuffing, pumpkin pie and all the fixings. The buffet on Camp Kinser’s Surfside will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tengan Castle on Camp Court-
ney and the Butler Officers’ Club on Plaza Housing (reservations recommended) will hold their buffets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you’re not quite out of your pajamas by 11 a.m. on Christmas, go for dinner instead. The Ocean Breeze Dinner Buffet runs from 5 to 9 p.m. The holiday celebrations continue into the evening—pop on your loudest holiday sweater and head to one of the many ugly sweater contests featuring free hors d’oevres,
prize giveaways, karaoke, dancing and more. The party at Legends will host their party on December 18 from 6 p.m. to midnight. On December 19, Globe & Anchor Enlisted Club will celebrate the holidays from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Celebrate Christmas Eve at the Landing Zone on Camp Schwab from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. And on Christmas night, come to Chesty’s SNCO Lounge, the Globe & Anchor Enlisted Club on Camp Foster or The Cove on Camp Lester from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Finally, the Bayview on Camp Courtney will have their party from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. For more information on these events, call your nearest participating club or visit mccsokinawa. com/clubs.
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Athletics/Adult Sports 645-3521/3522 Aquatics 645-3180 Courtney Ironworks 622-9261/7297 Futenma Semper Fit 636-2672 Gunners Fitness Center 645-3985/2235 Hansen House of Pain 623-5558/4831 Health Promotion 645-3484/3910 Kinser Fitness Center 637-1869/1114 Schwab Power Dome 625-2654/2442 Taiyo Golf Club 622-2004 Tsunami SCUBA 645-9500 Youth Sports 645-3533/3534
semperfitevents Northern Camps Commanders’ Cup Flag Football January 2–3 Camp Schwab Softball Field Register at any MCCS fitness center by 1 p.m. on December 28. This FREE event is open to teams on Camps Courtney, Hansen or Schwab. Awards will be given to first, second and third-place teams. Tournament brackets and rules will be emailed to each player. Details: 625-2654
classof theweek
Hansen Ultimate Kickball January 8–10 Camp Hansen House of Pain Register at any MCCS fitness center by 1 p.m. on January 4 for $80. This event is open to participants island-wide. Awards will be given to first, second and thirdplace finishers. Tournament brackets and rules will be emailed to each player. Details: 623-5569/5558.
Softball Tournament January 8–10 Camp Schwab Softball Field Register at any MCCS fitness center by 1 p.m. on January 4 for $95. This event is open to participants island-wide. Awards will be given to first, second and thirdplace teams. Tournament brackets and rules will be emailed to each player. Details: 625-2654.
Zumba
This aerobic interval training class mixes body sculpting movements with Latin-inspired dance steps. Dancing skills are not necessary.