Last weekend on a visit to Nagahama Dam to check on bird activity, I heard shrieks of excitement from the adjacent park.

Juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron

To my surprise the glee came from a bunch of elementary school kids playing rugby. They were having the best time. What’s more they were really good. It was a kind of touch rugby whereby  a player was deemed tackled if the tag thing, attached with velcro to the shorts, was untimely ripped off. The teams were mixed with boys and girls and other things. The emphasis was on moving the ball around quickly with no handling errors. Their passing and support play was excellent.

Great try

The teacher told me that there are 65 teams from elementary schools on Okinawa. I find this hard to believe but the kids were obviously enjoying themselves.

Hot rain’s a gonna fall

The morning after.

7:30 the next morning

I like it here.