Here's some great questions we got by email and figured if one of you had 'em, more of you were probably wondering, as well.  Sometimes we're not sure what's of interest to people, so keep those questions coming!

Q: Because the ocean is so close, should I worry about hurricane season? Seems to me that might be a worry?

A: They call hurricanes “typhoons” here. There are approximately three to four that come close to Okinawa every year, but we have reliable data that supports the fact that they haven’t had a big one through here in years (they haven’t had a “typhoon day” at work in several years.) While we can see the sea from our apartment, the Sea Wall is about 2 blocks walk. We may get pelted by rain and wind, but that’s about it. (And just to take away any further worry, the glass windows/sliding glass doors in our bedroom and several other rooms are reinforced glass. As they say in Jamaica, “No worries, mon!”)

Q: Even though you're not in what "feels" like Japan to you, will you get to see any of your friends from there? Is it close enough to catch them?