Today is Monday January 5, 2015 1-5-15 ! Even though you will still see those shimekazari (twisted straw) decorations on many doorways, the extended New Year holiday in Japan is officially finished (until next year). Today is very important in Japan because it is the first regular business day (including government and financial market functions) of the New Year. Most business will hold a brief special ceremony for employees to usher in the start of the year. According to the Lunar/Chinese Calendar 2015 is the Year of the Sheep. Baaaaaaaack to everyday life and livelihoods! Back to work, back to the office, back to school. Back to shopping at the farmers markets, grocery stores and specialty food stores! Back to looking for and buying fresh produce and great foods (hopefully more than just strawberries and jalapeños). All markets and stores should be open regular hours today. However, some markets may not be fully stocked with regular items. ###################### As a reminder to everyone, especially newer members to this group, please take some time to look at and use the incredible amount of information that already exists in this Farmers Markets of Okinawa Facebook Group page which was established, and is maintained and administered by Casey Lee. Here is a review of what you can find and how to access information within this Group. Up at the top of the page under the title banner are: --PHOTO ALBUMS-- Farmers markets and other food specialty stores are listed, with numerous photos showing the location and products. Information and directions are provided as the last photo of each album. These albums also have map pins provided along with many helpful comments posted. In addition to the photo albums for markets and stores there are some special albums that provide additional information helpful when shopping. Scroll down through the album list for these files: --Local Produce --Local Recipes Two photo albums which Casey Lee has recently started contain photos and descriptions of various typical food products. These albums are currently at the top of the album list: --Meat, Fish & Seafood --Dairy Products --FILES-- In the files is a document which contains all those written directions and information for the markets and stores listed in the Photos albums (the last photo of each album). This document has the markets listed in alphabetical order. Other files are provided which are useful for reading and learning how to decipher product labels and nutrition information. --PINNED POST-- Inside the pinned post are rules for the group. There is also a link to the special Google map which was created (by Stephany Beulah) based on the information in the Photo albums and files. Click on that link to start using that very handy map. --SEARCH-- This group has discussed a widely diverse range of food related topics, particularly in the past few months. There is a SEARCH function available for Facebook groups (this can be accessed even when using a web browser on smartphone; I use it with Safari on iPhone, in Facebook desktop mode). Please try to use that search function; your question may have already been answered in a previous topic or comment. --OKINAWA MARKET FOODS-- This is an independent website on Pinterest but can be extremely helpful to learn more about products in the local stores. https://pinterest/sparkleaz/okinawan-market-foods/ --POSTED TOPICS and COMMENTS-- Besides using the search function, please also kindly take some time to scroll down the page feed to review topics and the comments and photos recently posted. If you do this regularly I am certain you will realize how helpful many people are in this group and you will learn more about shopping and products, primarily at off base markets and stores. As you scroll or search thru topics, you will likely notice that some topics get posted repeatedly. This may happen because people are not aware of the existing information in this group or functions available to access that information. It is productive and efficient (and effective) for members to familiarize themselves with all that this group offers. When you locate and read a particularly interesting topic, bookmark it in your web browser for future reference, or take a screenshot and save it to your own photo library. I highly recommend you bookmark this topic now to remind you of the vast resource that Casey Lee has created; the very popular and helpful-- Farmers Markets of Okinawa Facebook Group. ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥&¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥ Have a great day and wonderful year shopping for fresh produce and foods here in Okinawa! :-)
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 01:36:45 +0000