Naha in the south of the main island of Okinawa is the capital city of the Prefecture and the center of business, culture, arts, entertainment and politics. Nearly all visitors will begin their visit to Okinawa by arriving at the Naha International Airport or Naha's Tomari Sea Port. The city is ..
If your idea of a holiday is the sound of the spinnaker flapping in the breeze or the gentle waves lapping while you are making your sand castle kingdom, then put Aharen village on the west coast of the Kerama islands on top of your list for your next holiday. The village of Aharen, on the west c..
Kadena is a small town of about 13,000 residents on the East China Sea along the western shoreline of the main island of Okinawa. More than 80% of the towns land is leased by the Japanese Ministry of Defense for use as the United States Kadena Air Base as a part of the two nations' mutual defens..
I wonder what Hiromi's grandmother would have made of this. Generations of Okinawan wisdom, which dictates the pairing of pork belly with daikon radish, was being cast aside. The digestive qualities of the radish were meant to offset the heavin..
What is it about coffee that rouses the sleeping giant within? Is the aroma from the freshly roasted beans, at just the right temperature? Or the careful selection of the finest blends, with just the right mixture of flora and spice? How do they extr..
This was the Garden of Eden that the folks in downtown Naha forgot, let alone those in the far away capital of Tokyo. Perched on an steep hill above the beaches of north-west Okinawa Island, there are stunning and uninterrupted views out to what appe..
Hyakuna Garan is very much a symbol of the resurrection of Okinawa. Located near the epicentre of the Battle of Okinawa, these bleeding hills south east of Naha were, for the post war generation, a place associated with sadness and destruction. These..
If you're a budget-conscious traveller still intent on exploring the best that Okinawa has to offer, consider the Kitchen Hostel Aoi in Naha city. Its convenient location and comfortable low-cost rooms will allow you to stay in comfort and enjoy ..
Japan is acclaimed for its hospitality, so much so that there is a word for it called omotenashi. In Okinawa, you need to be careful with the locals, least they adopt you into their family. Once I was having lunch at a beach shack, and soon struck up..
We visited Tokashiki Island (Okinawa) in June for a week and the small island is truly amazing. Not many tourists stay that long as most of them choose the ferry from Naha to go there in the morning and return in the evening. So there is enough free ..
Let's face it, it's hot in Okinawa. Why not cool off under the sea? The Pacific Okinawa Players brings you Disney's "The Little Mermaid Jr" opening this week. The story is the classic tale about a beautiful princess who ..
Okinawa's story is the story of baked goods. Not roast pork or pastries, but of ceramics, like the famous red roof tiles that grace the palaces and the everyman's houses all throughout the archipelago. Yachimun Street in Tsuboya is the go..
