Manna

This is a box of Manna. It is a very popular baby snack in Japan.

It is an interesting name, manna. It is from the bible. God provided Israel in the desert with Manna, a kind of bread from heaven.


Taichiro Morinaga was a Japanese Christian.
He was also a confectioner, or candy maker.
Morinaga chocolate is the 2nd largest chocolate maker in Japan. If you notice the trademark on the upper left corner of the box, you will see that it is an angel.

On the back of the box it tells the story of manna from the bible. Cool, huh? You rarely see a company that puts God above profits.

Makudonarudo

So this morning we decided to eat breakfast out. In Japan, they generally don't serve breakfast at restaurants. If they do, the restaurant doesn't open until like 10:00. Even Mr. Donuts and Starbucks follow this rule. It can be frustrating for breakfast lovers like ourselves. There is one place that opens early -- McDonalds (or as they say it in Japanese, Makudonarudo).



This particular McDonalds is in Urasoe (town) and was the first one in Okinawa.



Emi enjoyed the fire engine and the Dog (toy with the "happy set").

Happy Children's Day

So it is children's day here in Japan.



As part of "Golden Week", it is the last of three consecutive national holidays. Many people take advantage of the time off and travel.

We went on a small (close by) trip in our city (Naha). We actually went first to a shrine to see a monument to Bettelheim (see next entry).



Then we went to Kokusai Dori (International Street). They have some interesting things for sale:

In Okinawa they don't waste ANY part of the pig.



These charbroiled snakes (center) are for medicinal purposes. I don't ever want to be THAT sick!

Bettelheim

Bettelheim is an interesting figure in Okinawan Christian History.
A Christian Jew born in Hungary, he came to Okinawa as a Medical Missionary in 1846. He was the first missionary to come to Okinawa. He was also forced to live on Shinto shrine grounds, where a monument to his work can be seen:



Bettelheim took the book of James seriously: he met people's physical as well as their spiritual needs. He helped to control cholera and was the one to introduce the smallpox vaccine to Japan.