Mion Kokusai Street

When I visited Naha, I went to a local izakaya at night and chose Kaion Restaurant. Their toriyaki and grilled fish are a perfect match with beer. So delicious!

Please pretend that this is a text with sound. It is said that you must listen to local music when you come to Okinawa. If you can enjoy a delicious dinner with singing, it must be a very good experience. On the noisy Kokusai-dori, clear but ethereal beautiful songs can be heard from time to time. Following a nice folk song, we walked into a tavern. The uncle who greeted us at the door looked energetic and asked loudly how many people were dining. The music was too loud. Before I had time to look at the menu, the performance had reached its climax. Almost all the seated diners stood up under the encouragement of the singers and spontaneously formed a circle, waving their hands and twisting their bodies to the music. The guy who just received us was like an instigator of the atmosphere, standing in the middle and leading everyone to have fun. For a moment, I didn't quite believe that this was the legendary Japan that was always very depressing. During the meal, a familiar melody floated into my ears. I hummed a few sentences with the music and realized: Isn't this Zhou Huajian's "Flower Heart"! ? It turns out that "Flower Heart" is a cover of "Flower" by Japanese singer Masayoshi Kina. In the past few days in Okinawa, I can always hear some songs with similar melodies in the streets and alleys or scenic spots, and they are all mixed with the sound of stringed instruments full of ocean style. At this moment, the mystery is also revealed. This beautiful sound comes from an instrument called "Sanshin", which is the instrument held by the woman in the middle of the stage, which is very similar to the traditional Chinese folk instrument Sanxian. In fact, Okinawa's "Sanshin" is indeed influenced by Sanxian, and it is not an exaggeration to call Sanxian the ancestor of "Sanxian". If you are interested, you might as well listen to the songs of the Begin band. This is a band composed of three singers from Ishigaki Island, Okinawa. The unique instrument "Ichigoichikai" they created inherits and carries forward the characteristics of Okinawan folk songs. Although we don't understand Japanese, music is our common language. The familiar and beautiful melody lingered in my ears for a long time, so that even if I returned to my country, I would still be excited when I heard Okinawan folk songs by accident. ​​​​