Melissa Nazario

Magazine Editor & Graphic Design

Melissa has published articles on Okinawa businesses, travel, and culture in Total Okinawa Magazine, Stars and Stripes Okinawa, and on the blog Okinawa Hai. She was an editor and graphic designer for the Marine Corps Installations Pacific Public Affairs Department, before moving back to the U.S. in 2015. She also created the blog Little Okinawa, and is currently working on writing and illustrating a children’s book about Okinawa. Melissa enjoys anything creative, including drawing, graphic design, writing, and knitting. Contact her at [email protected] if you’re interested in working with her for editing or graphic design services.

Chizuru Nakamura

Executive Assistant

Chizuru is originally from Hiroshima, but currently lives in Ginowan, Okinawa. In college, she studied hospitality management at Florida Community College at Jacksonville in the U.S., and English language and communication at Kansai Gaudai University in Osaka. Her interests include dogs, especially her golden retriever, and Hawaii. Chizuru also works as a freelance translator and interpreter.

Louise Dupuy

Staff Writer

Louise has lived in Okinawa since 2015, moving from sunny England! Her hobbies include travel, photography, food, writing, music, and animals. She enjoys cultural and historical visits and writing, and also anything quirky or unusual.

Annabell

Staff Writer

Annabell was born and raised in Germany, studied languages and design for basically all of her school years, and then moved to Okinawa in 2009. She finds it a joy to live on a tropical island, as it is what she has dreamed about when she was little. Okinawa is now her home, and she hopes to share some of it with you.

Chris Enriquez

Staff Writer

Chris is an Engineer by trade but likes to travel as much as the funding will permit. Aside from  that, his primary passions are what he calls the 3G’s, Gaming, Golfing, and Grilling. Just like anyone, he enjoys travelling and tasting good food but one thing that’s different is he likes to travel to collect and taste different types of beer from around the world. Currently, he has tried over  30+ variations on location and his goal is to expand that to over 100+ in the near future.

Aaron Gruenthal

Staff Writer

Aaron grew up on the east coast of America – about an hour outside of New York city – where restaurants and cafes can get competitive. This, combined with an addiction to the Food Network show “chopped,” sparked a love of food and restaurant analysis in him from a young age. He’s always gravitated toward creative people, so he has a naturally developed love for photography, writing, and music as well. Right now he’s attending a small college in Okinawa which gives him a perfect chance to feed his passion for food by getting out and trying some of the most creative and delicious food in the world!

Ashley Owen

Staff Writer

Ashley is a freelance writer from the UK, who has been living in Japan since 2017. Her hobbies include travelling, yoga, reading and learning Japanese. She has a soft spot for anything cute and fluffy!

Elizabeth Stoney

Staff Writer

Elizabeth is from the UK where she worked as a research scientist before
moving to Okinawa with her family in 2016. She now spends her time
exploring the island with her two young children. She loves to travel both
within Japan and around Asia and is passionate about showing her children different cultures and inspiring other parents to do the same. She loves photography and has been featured in various Okinawa-based publications such as Okinawa Living, Starsand Magazine and visitokinawa.jp . Her other hobbies include cooking, improving her Japanese, reading and watching Studio Ghibli anime.

Alice Boddy

Staff Writer

Hi, Im Alice. I’m a 29 year old ex-bartender from California. I moved here in June 2019 with my husband, who is a geotechnical engineer and got a job in Okinawa after we had only been dating for six months. I ask myself two questions before I make any major life decisions: “If not me, then who?” and “If not now, then when?”… They are sort of rhetorical questions after i have pretty much already made up my mind, so here we are. I lived all over the world as a kid, but have not made an international move as an adult until now. Im excited to explore this new place I call home with you.