If you’re looking for something new on the island, you should check out Little Universe Okinawa.

It was by accident that I went to Ukabijima in Okinawa. On a day in late June, I hit the road and drove down south.

One day as I was driving, a funny tune caught my attention coming from a radio, going “Afee! Afee!”

The New Year’s holiday is an important tradition in Japan. The customs surrounding the holiday include everything from toshikoshi soba (soba noodles to be eaten on New Year’s Eve) to hatsumode (the first visit of a year to a shrine), and you’ll find many traditional events taking place across the country.

Last year I visited Kissa Gitano, an eatery in the Sunabe Seawall known for their tasty Cuban sandwiches, a go-to when I lived in South Florida almost 10 years ago.

U.S. Marine Corps Brigadier General Kevin G. Collins, left, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Logistics Group (3rd MLG), and Cpl. Logan Matthews, a metal worker with 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd MLG, pose for a photo on Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, Nov. 22, 2024

Goat meat, like Chui jhal, Boodog or Kaldereta, is usually associated with Bengal, Mongolian or Filipino cuisine. It is not what you normally associate with Japanese cuisine, so how did it make as a powerhouse dish in this oversized counter bar and dining room they call Misaki?

We loved all of your spooky and fun costumes for this year’s Halloween photo contest! Many Stripes readers sent their submissions but for best costume there can only be two!

Sakaemachi is a miniature Showa period town filled with alleyways and hundreds of pubs and hole in the wall eateries, where liveliness and darkness coexist, making it a curious discovery day and night, like an odyssey in multiple acts.

Bingata is a traditional cloth-dyeing method that spans generations and has a 500-year history on Okinawa. This craft consists of colorful patterns painted onto fabric used for tapestries, clothing and more.