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..
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..
If you love tapas style dining and you are in Okinawa, then look no further. I have easily found my preferred tapas style restaurant on the island. So what is tapas? Traditionally, it comes from Spanish culture and a "tapa" is a starter. ..
One of the best things about food in Okinawa is the amount of accessible ramen or noodle shops on the island. If you like ramen, Taketora is a great idea for a relaxing lunch or dinner. Luckily, my husband and I love ramen so we were very excited to ..
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..
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..
Looking for something fun and different to do in Okinawa? Check out the Pacific Okinawa Players' production of Something's Afoot. Pacific Okinawa Players is an all-volunteer theatre group in Okinawa that produces shows for the community. ..
As an island nation that itself is subdivided into smaller and smaller islands across the archipelago, Japan lends itself well to being understood as a series of self-contained cultures within cultures, all bound together strongly, which only accentu..
