I’ve mentioned before that our family rarely does anything tourist-y in Okinawa.
It is one of the top vacation spots for domestic travel in Japan. And I’m quite curious to explore this motherland of mine (I was born here). But I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve actually eaten out, much less hit the tourist attractions.
The reason for this is: family get-togethers.
We have a lot of these. Especially when we visit during the holidays. Okinawa is said to have a very strong sense of family and community, which means everyone comes to these gatherings. It can get very lively and last late into the night.
This time it was just my grandmother’s younger sister’s family and us (because there just wasn’t enough space to invite my grandmother’s other two sister’s families). We spent the entire day getting ready for the get-together, cleaning the house and cooking, cooking and cooking some more. Apparently, there really is no such thing as too much food on occasions like this. Or at least that’s what my grandma says.
We rarely get to spend time with our Okinawan-side of the family so it was really nice to have the time to catch up with all my relatives, especially with a feast like this! Oh, what a night!
What are your family get-togethers like?
Here are some photos:
My brother good and ready to eat!
Our second cousins teaching us a new pose…still have no idea what it was.
A lot of my favorite dishes…mmmh!
So hard to choose where to start with this much food!
Chimaki is delicious and filling, made from things like rice, beans, and meat.
It’s finally my turn to hand out otoshidama (お年玉) now 😀
My great aunt, grandma, and baby sister taking a break from eating to chat!
For once in my life, I was too busy eating and chatting to take photos…and you can see why! x
Kaori Square Feet 
It's the same for me when I go home to Vancouver. Just eat and catch up with as many friends and family as I can. It is a very hard thing to do but I do my absolute best. The extra 5kg that I come back with in my stomach is a good testament to that too!
As for going to the Saviour's hometown, we always eat out. Her parents are too old to cook a lot, although her mother doesn't mind too much. We usually go to sushi, but last time we went to a craft beer shop because I wanted to. Very touristy but it was good food and beer. 😉
I hope I can go to Okinawa this year. My fingers are crossed but looking at my luck lately, it isn't happening. 😦
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Yeah, I think when you have family and friends in the area, that is going to take up most of your time. Which is as it should be, really 🙂
I hope you get to go to Okinawa, too! Check out the extra early flights, they really aren't that expensive. Or if you need accommodation, there are some tour packages that include rental cars that are really cheap, too. Try looking through トラベルコちゃん, which is my go-to travel booking site!
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Lucky you are, who have a family like this!
Great photos!
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Thank you! I do feel blessed to have my family! 😀
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