Fantastic Okinawa

Okinawa Marathon 2015

By Bill Charles

The sheep becomes king nextThursday as the Lunar New Yearbegins. Lunar calendar traditionsare both common and popular in

Okinawa, where fishermen will hoist spe-cial flags to adorn their boats in hopes of abig catch. Across the prefecture’s fishing

communities, the sense of hustle and bustlewill be evident as people scurry about buy-ing ingredients for the Lunar New Year’sfeast.

The Zodiac is a bit complicated thisyear, with Chinese viewing it as the Yearof the Sheep, or the Year of the Ram, or theYear of the Goat. They all count. ThisYear of the Sheep follows the year of the

Horse, an astrological sign of people whoare popular, cheerful, hardworking, intelli-gent, friendly, and strong lovers, who likemusic and entertainment, and ones whomanage money well. People born underthe sign of the horse are also said to beimpatient, act hastily and have short tem-pers, often think of themselves as moreimportant than others, selfish and egotisti-

cal. That’s over next week, and the docilesheep takes charge.

The Sheep is close to the final sign inthe zodiac, representing birth years 1919,1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991 and2003. Life in the year of the Sheep isexpected to be laid back and relaxed.People say they like the sheep/goat/rambest of all animals because it is gentle andcalm.

People born in the year of the Sheepare tender, polite, filial, clever, and kind-hearted. They have special sensitivity to artand beauty, faith in a certain religion and aspecial fondness for quiet living. They arewise, gentle and compassionate and cancope with business cautiously and circum-spectly. In their daily life, they try to beeconomical. Women born in this year arewilling to take good care of others, but theyshould avoid pessimism and hesitation.They are kind in heart and commonly havesymmetrical figures and features.

On the other hand, Sheep year peopleare described as worrywarts who are alsoshy, pessimistic, moody, indecisive, over-sensitive, weak-willed and puzzled aboutlife. They are easily inclined to be deeplyreligious, and are timid in nature and liketo be looked after by others. They like flat-tery, compliments and suggestions fromfriends but do not dare to express their loveopenly and usually have interests in strangetheories.

Unless someone ventures into ItomanCity this weekend, it’s unlikely that anyonewould realize that Thursday is Lunar NewYear. The Lunar New Year, also known asthe Chinese New Year, is celebrated on agrand scale in Taiwan, China, Korea and afew other countries that traditionally counttime using the lunar calendar. In Okinawa,mainly Itoman City celebrates the lunarnew year, and even there, it’s not all thatbig a thing.

In Okinawa the celebration of thelunar New Year centers on fishing townsand villages. Although it was celebrated inpre-war days, following World War II theRyukyu government recommended shifting

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Itoman welcomes Lunar New Year in traditional style

Sunday’s Okinawa Marathon is a wideopen event, as more than 11,000 run-ners toe the Awase starting line forthe kick off of the 26.2-mile event.

The days of well known favorites havedisappeared, with dozens of young runnersputting pressure on the veterans in this, aswell as other marathons. Even the differentrunning clubs around Okinawa and mainlandJapan are reluctant to pick favorites forSunday’s full marathon and 10km road race.

The Okinawa Marathon is the bestknown of the island prefecture’s marathons,offering a grueling, challenging 42.195-kilo-meter course that takes runners through cen-tral Okinawa. The Association of OkinawaCentral Local Governments expects the

event to be an inter-cultural exchange as wellas an international road race. Organizershave also plotted a 10km road race that kicksoff one-forty hour after the marathon start, at9:00 a.m. Registration has been closed forweeks, with an expected 11,000+ runnersready to hit the street from theComprehensive Park starting line.

The weather’s expected to be fine for aSunday run, with meteorologists predictingan almost zero chance of precipitation.Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-60’s (18C~19C). Temperatures will varyacross the 26.4 mile race route, as elevationsshift from flatlands in the first eight kilome-ters to before moving a bit higher aroundYokatsu and Kawata, then to areas more

than 10 meters above sea level in the Kadenaarea.

The course works its way throughKadena Air Base, and the Air Force’s 18thWing will provide support. Runners will

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Sunday’s Okinawa Marathon issues challenges

Fishing boats fly colorful banners at Itoman Port on Lunar New Year.

Over 11,000 runners take part in theannual Okinawa Marathon this Sunday.

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The 15th Ayahashi Road Race iscoming up in Uruma City on April5th, but the race is more than just arunning event, as this year marks

the 10th anniversary of the birth of UrumaCity but the merger of four municipalitiesin central Okinawa into one.

The race course is on the bridge con-necting Okinawa’s main island with theoutlying islands of Henza and Hamahiga.Runners set forth on a course that takesthem though the sea while enjoying a fan-tastic view of the blue ocean on the bothsides of the road.

Registration is now open throughFebruary 20th, for the series of races.People can register through the officialwebsite and Fami Port terminals inFamilymart convenience stores, or at thecounter in Uruma City Hall. The gueststarter performer at the event is HY, a

music group well-known throughout thenation that is a representative of Okinawafrom Uruma City.

The races won’t take place until April5th,, but runners are invited to take part asthe deadline for submitting an applicationis Feb. 20.

The Ayahashi Marine Road Races area half-marathon, trim marathon and a thirdrace for runners younger than high schoolage. Runners can still sign up for the21.097 kilometer half marathon, whichstarts at 9 a.m. Sunday, April 5th, the10km trim marathon that begins at 9:00a.m., and the junior high school andyounger race that begins at 12:10 p.m. Allstart from the Uruma City Marine Road.The Half marathon is for eligible peoplewho were born before 1999. Adults pay¥3,500 while children are charged ¥1,500.For the 10 km trim marathon, people who

are junior high school students and olderpay ¥3,000, while younger children pay¥1,500. For the 3.8km trim marathon inwhich anyone can participate, registrationfor adults is ¥3,000, and ¥1,500 for kids.

Registration is still possible at thewebsite, http://www.i-sam.co.jp/aya-hashi_roadrace/entry.html, , at JTB Sportsstation at https://jtbsports.jp/, and at FamilyMarts across the island. Final registrationwill be a week from Friday at the UrumaCity Hall Yonashiro Branch, YonashiroCommunity Center Hall. Organizers say noentrants may sign up on race day, but spec-tators are welcome.

The races run a common route of quietsettings on the island, a beach at Hamahigaisland, and the 4.7km stretch on Nakamichiway on Miyagi Island. The theme is “Let’srun the Marine Road, enjoying the scent of

the sea” as a watchword from the Katsurenpeninsula to the main course.

Traffic restrictions will be in place atthe entrance to Marine Road in Uruma CityYonashiro general park athletic field 8:30a.m ~ 1:30 p.m. with all traffic stopped,, atthe entrance of marine road at the crossingto the entrance of Hamahiga bridge 8:30a.m. ~ 10:45 a.m., when traffic will be sin-gle lanes, at the crossing of the entrance toHamahiga big bridge and Henza turningpoint, where all traffic stops 9 a.m. ~ 10:45a.m., and from 9 a.m. ~ 11:10 a.m. atHamahiga turning point at the entrancecrossing to Hamahiga big bridge, when alltraffic will stop.

Details about the course can bechecked at the official website:http://www.i-sam.co.jp/ayahashi_road-race/course.html.

Ayahashi Road Race marks anniversary of birth of Uruma City

MarathonContinued from page 1enter the base through Gate 2 onKuter Boulevard, turn left ontoVincent Avenue at Chapel 2, thenleft on Schreiber Boulevard atKadena High School, and exitthrough Gate 5. Gates 2 and 5will be closed to vehicles from8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A publicaffairs spokesman says pedestri-ans will still be able to enter bothgates Sunday with authorizedbase passes.

Drivers should expect delayson Kadena, as marathon runnerswill have priority over vehicletraffic. Officials say pedestrianswill be allowed to cross themarathon route at the Main StreetFood Court crosswalk, the cross-walk at the USO, and at a tempo-rary crosswalk that will be set up

behind the Officers Club to crossKuter Blvd. Traffic will be con-trolled by Security Forces.

The Okinawa Marathonbegins at Awase, then carries run-ners through Takahara, nearKoza, to Yonashiro Town, northto Kawata and then AgenaIntersection, and on to the mid-way point near Camp McTureous.The race continues to the north-ernmost checkpoint at Enobi, thenturns southwest throughKariyushien, Chibana and Ikentoubefore moving onto Kadena AirBase, then out through Chatantown. The final 10 kilometerstravel through Yamauchi, along-side Camp Foster and into thehome stretch to ComprehensiveAthletic Park finish line.

An awards ceremony for the10km road race is set for about10:30 a.m., honoring the top sixmale and female finishers. A full

marathon awards ceremony beginsabout noon, and a third ceremonyin early afternoon will honor topfinishers in categories includingoldest male and oldest female fin-ishers, and year-group finishers.

There are nine designatedparking lots along the course:AEON (JUSCO) Gushikawa,Awase Fishing Port, OkinawaBiotech Industry Center,Nakagusuku Port East Wharf,Okinawa City Hall, OkinawaNaritasan, Okinawa HealthBiotechnology Research Centre,Okinawa Shinryo IT Park, orNakagusuku Port Atta Area.Parking is prohibited at OkinawaComprehensive Park on race day.Parking Lots are available from07:00 a.m. on the race day . Totake public transportation: Buses,Taxies, and Carpools are highlyrecommended. Tow trucks willremove any illegally parked car

around Okinawa ComprehensivePark.

Shuttle buses will be running

on race day, and buses, taxis, andcarpools are highly recommend-ed.

3,000 runners are expected to participate in the half marathon.

The race course follows the Sea Road connecting Henza and Hamahiga island toKatsuren on Okinawa main island.

Lunar New YearContinued from page 1to celebrate the new New Year, and celebra-tion of the Lunar New Year decreased. Inlocales where fishing is prosperous such asItoman city and O Island, the lunar-calendaris an event that still remains. At a fishingport, many colorful good-catch flags arehung up over fishing boats, and the bumperfish crop for one year and the safety of voy-age are prayed for.

Food remains a key element of cele-brating the lunar new year, with a mandarinorange and charcoal rolled with kelpoffered on a Buddhist altar, while peoplepray to it with hands joined. After that, peo-ple eat pork dishes, such as the soki soupand suchikah, pork preserved in salt.Refrigerators weren’t common in the past,either, so salt was a common part of thediet. Customs were different, but as ameans to save meat, since preserving in saltwas used, the custom of eating Suchikah

remains from the time when pork was eatenonly at special events.

Since the mandarin orange is viewedas an offering and is orange in color, itexpresses prosperity, and since charcoaldoes not deteriorate, a healthy long life andkelp are offered as “ Yorokonbu.”Yorokobu means being glad, konbu is kelpin English.

Before becoming a prefecture ofJapan, Okinawa celebrated the New Yearbased on the ancient Chinese lunar calen-dar. The lunar year has 12 months, each 29or 30 days long. The lunar month beginswith the new moon, and the full moonalways falls on the 15th. To keep this cal-endar in line with the solar calendar, an"extra" month must be added every 30months. All traditional festivals in China,including the Chinese New Year, take placeaccording to the lunar calendar.

Also introduced to Japan from China,are the twelve symbols of the zodiac. Afterthe system was introduced to Japan, theJapanese used animal names to denote thetwelve positions of Jupiter.

Lunar new year traditions vary fromcountry to country across Asia, but in most,it is the year’s biggest holiday. In neigh-boring Korea, the Je-sok, or New year’sEve, is the night of the last day of thetwelfth month, at a time when the moon isnearly hidden. Koreans break out thestarched and ironed white holiday clothing,while children are adorned in bright, color-ful costumes. Everyone’s up early for thelunar new year, with women heading tokitchens while men gather in order of fami-ly seniority to join in ceremonies, pouringwine, and preparing for the feast.

The men make the rounds of friendsand relatives after the meal, welcoming thenew year. The women stay home. In theevening, torches are lit throughout thehouse to keep the evil spirits away. Thereare also ceremonies honoring ancestors,where tea and sake are placed in front ofthe ancestral tables.

China is similar, with family gatheringon the new year’s eve to exchange gifts andeat. New Year’s Day is dedicated to bothfeasting and visiting relatives.

Supporters welcome a runner to the finishing line.

Okinawan Lunar New Year centersalmost exclusively on fishing ports.