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[New Release] I created a second Okinawa relocation essay, 'I'm Home, Okinawa!'

2026年1月7日 13:30

I have produced an essay collection themed around my second relocation to Okinawa, “I’m Home, Okinawa! ~My Second Okinawa Relocation Life~”.

I plan to sell it at 'Literature Flea Market Kyoto 10' and 'ZINE Fes Okinawa' held in January, so I am announcing it along with an introduction to the book. Yippee!

*I have included some screenshots for a trial read in the middle of the article, so I would be happy if you could take a look if you have the time and interest (smiling Chiikawa emoji)

The orange aloha shirt on the cover is my best outfit
I will wear it to the event

I moved from Tokyo to Okinawa in the summer of 2016, and after various things happened, I left the prefecture for a while, but after more things happened, I returned to Okinawa in the summer of 2021.

It seems that it is quite rare for a migrant who has left the prefecture to return to Okinawa so soon, and I was often asked by people around me, 'Why Okinawa again?' I have included 10 essays in total that start with that answer.

There is absolutely no information useful for Okinawa relocation or tourism; it is strictly a glimpse into my life in Okinawa, for example...

・The story of a writer unsuited for desk work who changed jobs to become a Thai massage therapist in Okinawa

・The story of how I ended up dating an 'Okinawa eldest son' who became a hot topic in various ways on the NHK morning serial TV drama 'Chimudondon' (*The article has been checked by the person involved)

・The story of receiving a mysterious fortune-telling session called 'Kintama Judgment'

・The story of participating in the 'NAHA Marathon,' a full marathon in the middle of summer even though it is winter, which has the lowest completion rate in Japan, and simply seeing hell

・A literal 10-day diary of the storm, written during the direct hit of a super-large typhoon that ravaged Okinawa for about a week

・The story of how Okinawa became an 'inescapable island' for a while because the enthusiasm in Okinawa due to the great leap forward of Okinawa Shogaku High School in last year's Koshien was just too amazing

・The story of Yukky, an Okinawa gourmet blogger who passed away from scirrhous gastric cancer the year before last, who was an editor and drinking buddy who helped me too much both publicly and privately

These are the episodes included.

Also, the scenery I see in my second life in Okinawa has changed quite a bit from the first.

Actually, the scenery from my first time was so full of fresh surprises (e.g., Okinawa place names are way too hard...!), so I took the opportunity to write down those fresh experiences from back then as a mini-column called 'First Okinawa Relocation Column.' These four short pieces are meant as a palate cleanser.