We’ve just added Blue Ribbon Billiard Hall into the directory. It’s a great place to visit if you’re looking for somewhere for some serious billiard play. We all know there are plenty of places around with a table stuck in the corner of the bar, but where do you go when you are looking for somewhere a bit more professional where you can have a serious game and maybe join in a tournament against other players.
They have over 10 tables as well as bar and darts. When we visited they had their weekly house tournament on. That takes place on Thursday night at 9pm and only costs Y500 and is open to everyone.
They’re open 7 days a week as well from 1pm until late. Click here for their website
Posted 8 months, 3 weeks ago at 1:27 am. Add a comment
Kokusai Dori is a great place to visit on Sunday. The road is closed for most of the day so you can wander up and down without worrying about getting mown down by the usually busy traffic!
Apart from the road being closed and the numerous shops most of which are quite touristy, great if you’re looking for a gift to send back home, there are usually several groups or bands entertaining the crowds. When we visited, they had a rock violin group playing outside Tower Records called “Asia Aria” who were very good and there were also several drum groups dancing in formation. One we saw was doing a traditional Japanese drum dance to hip hop music! A definite must see!
Borjan Hair Salon has just opened in Sunabe along the seawall!
You can get a stylish hair cut or color while relaxing in a modern clean salon with beautiful views over the East China Sea. Yukari the owner and stylist arrived from Tokyo in March 2009, but she has worked worldwide including London, New York, Washington D.C and Sydney. She speaks great English so communication is not a problem!
If you’re tired with the busy noisy salons or lack of English speaking staff then Yukari and Borjan is for you. Be treated like a Queen and relax while having your hair colored or styled with a relaxing scalp massage.
She also does styling for weddings, kimono and make-up.
In case you need another reason to visit there is a 50% discount off the menu until the end of June so stop by soon and try it out!
Well more than a month has passed since we bought Blackberry Bolds for our staff so we thought we would do a mini review for all those thinking of buying one.
Firstly, one of the units we ended up with had the “hot” problem! As of writing I am not sure if Docomo has restarted selling them but they were pulled off the shelves due to an overheating problem.
From what we discovered the issue appears to be that they fail to stop charging. OK if you plan on using it to dry out your damp Okinawa home but not so good if you don’t happen to enjoy overheating batteries that have the potential to explode!
We took that one back and were initially surprised by the return policy that although it could be replaced it had to be sent away to verify there was a problem with it! We politely pointed out that it wouldn’t look too good if a Blackberry Bold exploded in Japan for either Docomo or Blackberry, and after some rather worried looks and a couple of phone calls from the staff, had it replaced on the spot and the replacement has been fine.
What we noticed is that the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) on the faulty model was different to the new one. Unfortunately we didn’t take a picture, but if you have one that is getting hot, then it is definitely NOT normal. The faulty PCB we had had two circular white logos printed on either side of the camera when you lifted the back off. The new perfectly cool model does not.
So if you’ve bought one, and your new toy is literally burning a hole in your pocket then take it back and demand a replacement.
It does surprise us here at total okinawa, that the Bold has been customized by NTT with Japanese and their branding yet no-one spotted this potentially dangerous flaw in their stock. Full credit though for removing them from sale until they and RIM workout what the problem is.
More to come on the Bold itself and how it works in Okinawa!
Posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago at 2:09 am. Add a comment
We know it’s not exactly earth shattering news, but we thought we could do the whole classifieds thing better than anyone else.
We took a look at all the other systems out there and they usually involve money or have no photos or they want to know all your personal details…
So although we can’t claim to have something new and amazing, what we do have is probably the simplest, easiest to use and cheapest classifieds system in Okinawa.
Let us know what you think!
Posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago at 11:40 am. Add a comment
If you’ve not got round to buying an iphone yet or haven’t been able due to purchasing restrictions from Softbank then you may want to check out the latest gadget from Docomo and RIM coming to Docomo stores sometime in the next few days of February, the Blackberry bold.
Japan is a bit behind other countries in getting this gadget, but if you love typing emails on your phone then this is the gadget for you. Full qwerty keyboard, worldwide coverage and wifi so you can use it at home to browse the internet as well as on the move.
What’s also interesting is that Docomo has dropped the price for the actual Blackberry service to around 1575 yen. They are also adopting a similar data pricing model as Softbank for the iphone starting at 1029 yen and then moving up in tiers.
So in theory if you are light on data use, then the Blackberry bold will cost around half the cost than the previous 8707 version.
No idea if they will reach Okinawa at the same time, but unlike the previous version that had to be ordered from Tokyo this does seem to be a mainstream model, so if you are interested in a smartphone and haven’t dipped a toe in the Apple yet, then stop by a Docomo store towards the end of the month and see if they have them in!
The special website is only in Japanese right now but you can check it out here:
In a speed breaking announcement, Okinawa Cable Network will be supplying 120Mbps internet connections from around March!
This is well worth checking out if your building can receive cable internet. It’s faster than an NTT fibre connection and cheaper as well. The fee starts from only Y4725 which is seriously cheap for this speed! Click the image below for a link to their English information page.
120Mbps High Speed Internet
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 11:26 am. Add a comment
After a couple of years of suffering from all the lovely flora and fauna that Okinawa has to offer, we thought it was a good idea to do a series of health and home articles on what to do when the flora is not so friendly! If you live on or off base, you are likely to encounter several critters that you maybe wouldn’t at home. Whether it’s the guiness book winning cockroaches or huge spiders, you are bound to come across something you either need to evict or kill at some point!
We’re starting off with Dani which are Japanese dust mites. At this time of year, they’re not prevalent but when it starts to get hot and humid again, you may start noticing bites and irritation especially from sofas or beds. They normally live in Tatami mats, which most of you won’t have at home but they are also capable of living within any soft furnishings.
Dani - Japanese Dust Mites
The temperature and humidity of Okinawa make it a perfect environment for them.
So the question is, if you think you have the little critters how do you prevent or get rid of them:
1. Ventilate your apartment daily. Keeping the humidity down not only reduces the chance of mould but also reduces the nice friendly atmosphere for dust mites. Also consider a de-humidifier, locally sold ones are now small and pretty effective. We’ll do a future article on links to Amazon on which ones to buy.
2. Vacuuming. Dani can be sucked up by a regular vacuum cleaner, so get sucking and clean the apartment regularly. Don’t forget to hoover curtains, sofas as well as carpets.
3. Bedding. This is probably the most important. Whether you have Japanese futons or a regular matress it’s important to air it regularly. Dust mites and mould will still grown beneath a regular matress in Okinawa unless its aired regularly.
Finally, get hold of some Dani insecticide if you need it. Ask for dani sacchuzai in the drug store or supermarket. You can also identify the correct chemical as the can has a small metal nozzle for inserting into tatami mats. Apart from the spray there are also paper sheets with chemicals to put between carpets and other soft furnishings and powders.
So if you feel a scratch in the night or wake up with lumps and bumps then Dani might be the cause!
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago at 8:46 pm. Add a comment
We’ve spent a great deal of time crawling the web for the best Okinawa based used and new car dealerships. It’s not easy finding English information on where to buy a car. Rather than promoting one or two businesses we have put everything we can find with links to their car sales pages on one page. That way you can visit each site in turn and decide who to buy from.
In general when it comes to buying a car in Okinawa make sure you get a good warranty as you can’t test drive cars here unless they have number plates which the majority don’t. 3 months minimum is common at reputable dealers.
Check out our Okinawa car sales page by clicking here and if you have any questions or comments feel free to post them below and we will do our best to answer them.
Posted 1 year, 4 months ago at 10:59 pm. Add a comment
Looking for a job in Okinawa?No problem, we’ve put together a listing of the employment websites related to Okinawa, Japan. Most of the military branches submit their jobs to usajobs.gov; however, there are sometimes local positions that don’t seem to make that listing.
WashingtonTechnology.com puts together a great listing of Contracting Companies each year – Most of these companies have a careers page where you can search for jobs in Japan.Washington Technology Top 100 – http://www.washingtontechnology.com/top-100/2008/
Also, please feel free to post any job websites that we missed.
Posted 1 year, 5 months ago at 10:25 am. Add a comment
