Okinawa was its own kingdom for four and a half centuries, and the buildings say so.
A hire car makes this day. The monorail covers the first stop.
09:00 Shuri Castle, on the hill above Naha · 11:00 Shikinaen, the royal garden · 12:30 lunch — Okinawa soba · 14:00 the south coast: Sefa-utaki and the sea at Chinen · 16:30 a beach on the way back · 18:30 Kokusai-dori, and dinner
The palace of the Ryukyu kingdom, on a hill with the sea on two sides. Vermilion and Chinese-influenced, and unlike anything on the main islands.
The gate on the ten-thousand-yen note before this one.
Curved limestone, quite unlike a mainland castle.
The royal garden, with a pond and a Chinese pavilion. On the World Heritage list.
The main hall has been rebuilt after the 2019 fire and opens to visitors on 23 November 2026. Entry to the hall is by timed booking.
Thirty minutes from Naha the road runs beside the sea. The south has the oldest sacred places on the island and the water is pale over coral sand.
A kilometre and a half of shops, and the food here is its own cuisine. Not the food of the main islands, and the names are different too.
Wheat noodles in pork broth. Nothing to do with buckwheat soba.
Bitter melon with tofu and egg. The bitterness is the point.
Buy fish downstairs, and they cook it upstairs for you.
The monorail runs from Naha Airport into the city in fifteen minutes and reaches Shuri at the far end of the line.
A place can be better known than the prefecture it sits in. Use the prefecture pages below to work out where to eat, where to stay, how to get around and who to call.
