I had the honor to be part of an international branding team that introduced the local spirit of Okinawa Awamori to the West. During are extensive Discovery exercise with Chuko, Zuisen, and Kumesen on the island I often found myself being spirited away by my extraordinary hosts at Blueship and sampling the hundreds of different Awamoris founded on the island late into the wee hours of the morning. Okinawa then known as Naha, was originally the meeting point for the courts of Siam, China and Japan. The Okinawans are among the longest living people in the world, with the woman actually being the oldest women in the world. SInce the end on WW2 Japan agreed to America having a strategic military location on the island. The locals are humble, laid back and in no rush of any kind.

This picture was taken between Sunshine bar and the steak stands throughout Okinawa and Japan that serve a perfectly cooked 2:00AM steak with onions, and butter. The neighborhood we passed through had several rival gangs that would gather around you with laminated photos of girls who would keep you company as your drank through the night. These two patiently waited as the next round of revelers climbed the stairs.

Because the “kamas” would be placed underground to age the spirits, snakes would sometimes get inside the vats and drown themselves. This became a delicacy with the mystical properties of the snake transferred.