IT'S CONTAGIOUS!! Stay Away From Niya-Thiya Cave Ladies

Ok, so next stop on the short bus was Niya-Thiya Caves! It says in my nifty little pamphlet that this cave held 1,000 people during the two-week time period in which Iejima Island was a hot spot of WWII action. Hence it's nickname as "The 1,000 person cave." Yes, it's very clever I know.

Now I have to admit, when I used to think of the Japanese flocking to Pearl Harbor to see the underground ruins of the devistation they caused, it really made me upset. I thought to myself, how impersonal and just plain rude is it to come marvel at something so tragic in our country's history. it really got under my skin... well, the tide had turned.

When I was walking through this cave, I couldn't halp but look at the little memorials that had been set up for people who lost their lives in this cave. They had food offerings, money set out, candles once lit, sake and amowari... it really touched home. I felt like I was intruding on something that was so personal to the people it effected, and I felt like a vouyer. I felt like I was trespassing and trying to be a part of something terrible that I caused. It was something to really make you humble. I realized we had suffered, but we weren't the only ones. Japan's main land had offered Okinawa and her surrounding islands up as a sacrificial lamb during the war, and they suffered great losses too.

For all of you out there who felt like I did... really, come step into this cave that felt crowded with 100 in it, look at the memorials and offereings, take in the surroundings, and then tell me how you feel.

Now a little less heavy of a topic... the "what is it" of the day... Ladies, that pic up top... it's actually a fertility rock. Legend has it that if you are having trouble getting pregnant, all you must do is lift this rock, and within a year you will be expecting. Needless to say, I stayed very clear of said rock and watched as others lifted it and I sent a little prayer their way, hoping to deflect whatever oogey boogey-ness away from myself and back on to those poor woman... Now the question is... how in the world did that fertility rock end up way down in a cave... I do not know. Maybe they thought a woman must show she was worthy by getting down there or some crap like that... who knows...