An Okinawan Weekend

This weekend, Kevin and I went out to enjoy the sun. It's currently the rainy season here on Okinawa, so you really have to enjoy the nice weather while you can. With the sun in the sky, we headed north to Cape Zanpa to do a bit of exploring. We climbed around on the rocks, found a cave, and even enjoyed the sea spray in the air.




On our way home, we stopped off at the Onna Village market(off of Route 58 near the Renaissance Hotel). This market is unlike any other fruit/vegetable markets I've been to (it's open all year round) and they have the most AMAZING assortment of local produce. A friend of mine who owns a home based business delivering vegetables turned me onto this place. Funny thing is, I had no idea it existed until she took me here. Kevin and I are real lucky because, it's only about 15 minute drive from our house. So now, whenever we are in need of fresh local vegetables or fruit, we come here.





It's also a nice thought to know that Kevin and I are supporting our local farmers by buying the vegetables. And you can't beat the prices, especially when you compare them to the lousy produce we often find at the base Commissary. Today, Kevin and I bought some salad greens, tomatoes, and even some zuchinni. Last time I saw zuchinni at the Commissary, it was $6.00 for two. Yikes. Compare that to the $2.00 I spent for three of them today. Needless to say, we try to buy most of our veggies here. It's just much cheaper and better this way...



The best part of Onna Village Market, however, has to be the outdoor vendors/food stalls. They have an Okinawan soba food stall, a place where you can get the most yummy Okinawan donuts (known as "sata andagi"), an ice-cream stall, a place for other Okinawan goodies, as well as a fisherman's market, and a Parisian boulangerie. Sound strange?! Believe it! Actually, a local blog here on Okinawa called "Okinawa Hai" wrote about the boulangerie already, so I'll let you read about it there.







The Fisherman's Market is a pretty cool place. Most of the fish items are already cooked, but for those of you who like raw stuff, don't worry there's plenty of that! You can either buy the stuff to eat there or take some for the road!







All in all, we had a nice weekend. We even got home just in time to close all the windows before a huge rain storm hit. Whew...Did I mention how much I love the rainy season?

~Chrissy