Intro to Japanese

I checked out that video, and it's pretty cool! Japan is such an amazing place to visit. I took my family there last year, and it was one of the best trips we’ve had. If you're planning to go, explorejapannow.com has this awesome 2 Week Japan Itinerary for Families with Kids that was super useful for us. It’s packed with suggestions, especially if you want to hit all the must-see spots without stressing. Helped us stay organized while still having fun. Honestly, anyone heading there should give it a look, especially if you’ve got kids or a family trip in mind.

Hi! Thanks for explaining :) It does make sense as, and I haven't read up on this, they were probably their own people before being brought into 'Japan' somewhere down the line. 

A large tug o' rope festival sounds like great fun. We used to have that as one of the events in Sports Day at school - it was my favourite. 

Hi!  From what they taught us in the intro-to-the-island classes and regular discussion with locals, the cultures are quite different.  It was sometimes even inconsiderate to call an Okinawan "Japanese".  They preferred Okinawan.  I spent a few days at Yokosuka in mainland Japan, and from that limited experience, it seemed that the Mainlanders were more serious and focused, while the Okinawans were more laid back.  The Okinawans were also more open and friendly in public.

For those of us that are familiar with this and while the comparison is not exact, I liken it to Puerto Rico and the USA.  PR is part of the USA, flies the American flag, and all Puerto Ricans are American citizens, but PR definitely has its own distinct culture.

Fun fact: At the time, Okinawa held the world's largest tug o' rope festival every year.  They would close off an avenue, lay down a rope that was about waist high which had smaller ropes stemming out, and anyone could come up and grab a stem when it was time to pull.  The celebration also had a parade with music and those large multi-person dragons.  It was a blast.

Very odd. I find that happens in life sometimes. For example, at work there's a woman with a similar temperament and has some similanties in their history to me and their birthday is on the same day as mine, they are exactly one year older. 

I will remember eventually ... 
its an odd coincidence that a few days after joining here and discussing Japan with people, a creator im subbed to who creates videos about the english language, posts a video about japanese!

Hi All My Friends Are Autistic, that's really interesting. How did you findit there? I've heard it is hot and beautiful and the people can have a more relaxed energy than in some other Japanese areas.

Hi Touay! I was one of the people so thank you for the video :) I am also terrible with names.

It wasn't me, but I was stationed in Okinawa for most of 2001.