Okinawa

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the Ryūkyū islands — Naha, the main island, Kerama, Miyako & Yaeyama

Naha 103 places · area 1 of 7

Kokusai-dōri · Makishi Public Market · Tsuboya · Shuri Castle · Naminoue · Sakaemachi

1 Must see within Naha

Shikinaen Royal Garden (識名園)

The Ryūkyū royal family’s largest villa garden, built around a pond with jagged coral-limestone bridges two kilometres south of Shuri Castle; used to receive Chinese envoys and now a UNESCO component.
Look for Royal villa garden
421-7 Maaji, Naha, Okinawa 902-0072, Japan

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2 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Urizun (古酒と琉球料理うりずん)

Opened 15 August 1972 by gathering bottles from every awamori distillery in Okinawa — the bar that brought awamori back to the people. Order duru-ten, the fried taro croquette Okinawa Times traces to this kitchen, and a flight of kūsu (aged awamori).
388-5 Asato, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

3 Must see within Naha

Tamaudun Royal Mausoleum (玉陵)

Limestone tomb of the second Shō dynasty, built in 1501 under King Shō Shin and modelled on Shuri Castle, its balustrades carved with dragons, phoenixes and lions. A National Treasure as well as a UNESCO component.
Look for Royal tomb, National Treasure
1-3 Kinjo-cho, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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4 Must see within Naha

Tsuboya Yachimun-dōri pottery street (壺屋やちむん通り)

The Ryūkyū Kingdom's ceramics quarter: a 400 m stone-paved street between Kokusai-dōri and Route 330 lined with potteries, kilns and shops selling yachimun ware and shisa, with wheel-throwing classes.
Look for Historic pottery street
Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

5 Must see within Naha

Kokusai-dōri (国際通り)

Naha's 1.6 km main street of shops, cafés, bars and awamori stores, rebuilt so fast after 1945 it was nicknamed the 'Miracle Mile'; the gateway to Makishi market, Tsuboya and the arcades, and the stage for the city's big festivals.
Look for Main street
Kumoji–Makishi–Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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6 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Shuri Soba (首里そば)

Lunch-only Shuri shop carrying on the noodle technique of a vanished Shuri original: unbleached flour pressed and rested over two days, a single soba on the menu, queues from before opening and sold out early.
Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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7 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Mendokoro Tiandaa (麺処てぃあんだー)

Cult Naha soba shop known for house-made noodles; the fūchibā soba arrives fragrant with Okinawan mugwort. In both Okinawa Traveler's soba feature and Mapple's Okinawa-soba round-up.
Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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8 Must see within Naha

Karakara to Chibugwā (カラカラとちぶぐゎ〜)

Naha's awamori-specialist bar: bottles from every distillery in the prefecture and aged kūsu past thirty years, with three awamori sommeliers to steer you; prefecture-certified for Ryukyu cuisine.
Yamako 2nd Bldg 1F, 3-15-15 Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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9 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kozakura (小桜)

A seventy-year-old koryōriya off Kokusai-dōri, believed to be the oldest surviving restaurant of its era in Naha; the third-generation owner keeps both old and new Okinawan dishes on the menu.
3-12-21 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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10 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Keishoku no Mise Ruby, Tomari (軽食の店ルビー)

Sixty-plus-year-old Tomari diner whose name belies mountainous portions: some 80 dishes from champuru to loco moco, but half the room orders the C-lunch. Namie Amuro used to drop in after dance practice.
Tomari, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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11 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Fujiya Tomari Honten (富士家泊本店)

The name many Okinawans give first for zenzai: fluffy shaved ice frozen from the bean-cooking syrup so it never dilutes, heaped over sweet kintoki beans. Open daily, later hours in summer.
2-10-9 Tomari, Naha, Okinawa

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12 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kokusai-dōri Yatai-mura (国際通り屋台村)

A food-stall village opened in 2015 just off Kokusai-dōri, with more than 20 counter stalls cooking Okinawan and island dishes from local ingredients — gurukun and parrotfish sushi, Agu pork dumplings, Ishigaki beef — from 11:00. A central stage hosts island songs and dances.
Kokusai-dōri, Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

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13 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Okinawa Daiichi Hotel breakfast (沖縄第一ホテル薬膳朝食)

A five-room hotel founded in 1955 whose medicinal-herb breakfast, devised by founder Shimabukuro Yoshiko from her mother's recipes about 40 years ago, uses some 50 ingredients across 20+ Okinawan dishes (about ¥3,300). One of Naha's famous breakfasts; reservation advised.
1-1-12 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

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Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

14 Must see within Naha

Shuri Castle (首里城)

Palace of the Ryūkyū Kingdom from 1429 to 1879 and the centrepiece of the UNESCO Gusuku Sites. Destroyed in 1945 and again by fire in 2019; the rebuilt Seiden (main hall) exterior is complete, its interior due to reopen on 23 November 2026.
Look for UNESCO World Heritage gusuku; Seiden rebuild
1-2 Kinjo-cho, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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15 Must see within Naha

Makishi Public Market (第一牧志公設市場)

Naha’s kitchen since 1950: 75 ground-floor stalls of spiny lobster, reef fish, pork and island produce, with upstairs restaurants that cook what you buy (mochiage). Reopened in a new building on 19 March 2023.
Look for Post-war market, rebuilt 2023
2-10-1 Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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16 Must see within Naha

Kinjō-chō Ishidatami-michi stone-paved road (金城町石畳道)

About 300 m survive of the c.1522 limestone-paved royal road that ran south from Shuri Castle, winding steeply between old stone walls and red-tiled houses.
Look for Ryūkyū-era cobbled lane
Kinjo-cho, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

17 Must see within Naha

Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum (沖縄県立博物館・美術館)

The prefecture's flagship museum in Shintoshin: Ryūkyū history, nature and crafts from prehistory to the US era, with a modern Okinawan art wing.
Look for History & art museum
3-1-1 Omoromachi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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18 Must see within Naha

Jack's Steak House (ジャッキーステーキハウス)

Opened in 1953 under the US occupation and still displaying its 'A-sign' — the US-military approval certificate; the benchmark of Okinawa's post-war steak culture, open till 1 a.m.
1-7-3 Nishi, Naha, Okinawa 900-0036, Japan

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19 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Yūnangi (ゆうなんぎい)

Family-run Okinawan restaurant on a side street off Kokusai-dōri, serving home cooking since 1970 under US administration — hard to get a seat, rated among the best Okinawan food in Naha.
3-3-3 Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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20 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Ryūkyū Cuisine Mie (琉球料理美榮)

Founded in 1958 to reproduce the Ryūkyū royal court cuisine of Shō Junnan, gourmet son of the last king, in a wooden two-storey ryōtei behind a formal gate in Kumoji.
Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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21 Must see within Naha · Kissaten & coffee

Tamagusuku Coffee Roasters (タマグスクコーヒー)

Ten-seat roaster-café off Kokusai-dōri often called the island's best cup: the owner asks what you like, then drips light-to-dark single origins one cup at a time.
2-19-39 Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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22 Must see within Naha

Benriya Yulinglong, Sakaemachi (べんり屋玉玲瓏)

The pioneer of Sakaemachi market's night drinking: when the stalls shutter, tables fill the alley for its hand-made gyōza. Both Rurubu and Mapple name it first among the market's after-dark haunts.
388-1 Asato, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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23 Must see within Naha · Sushi & kaisen-don

Tomari Iyumachi Fish Market (泊いゆまち)

The Okinawa fisheries co-op's market by Tomari Port, where about 70 percent of the catch sold is tuna, delivered unfrozen the day it is landed. Stalls sell sashimi, seafood bowls, shellfish and mozuku to eat on the upstairs terrace.
1-1-18 Minatomachi, Naha, Okinawa

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24 Must see within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Ryūkyū Ryōri Nuchigafū (琉球料理ぬちがふぅ)

An elegant hilltop restaurant above the southern end of Tsuboya pottery street that Lonely Planet singles out for a memorable dinner of Ryūkyū cuisine. It is on Okinawa Prefecture's certified list of restaurants serving authentic Ryūkyū cuisine.
Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa (hilltop off the southern end of Tsuboya Yachimun-dōri)

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25 Worth the detour within Naha

Shuri Ryusen bingata & coral-dye studio (首里琉染)

Bingata workshop and shop five minutes' walk from Shuri Castle Park, selling bingata and its own 'coral-dye' (sango-zome) textiles. Upstairs visitors can try coral dyeing (about 50 minutes) and watch artisans dyeing in the third-floor studio.

Look for Try Ryūkyū coral-dyeing beside Shuri Castle

1-54 Shuri Yamagawa-chō, Naha, Okinawa 903-0825, Japan

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Kume Shiseibyo Confucius temple (2015, after 2013 rebuild) — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

26 Worth the detour within Naha

Kume Shiseibyō Confucius Temple (久米至聖廟)

Naha's Confucian temple, a centre of Chinese learning for the Ryūkyū Kingdom since the original was built in 1671–75; its precinct holds the Meirindō, Okinawa's first public school. Rebuilt in Kume in 2013 beside Fukushū-en, on the old Chinese-émigré Kume village.

Look for The Ryūkyū Kingdom's Confucian temple, in old Kume village

2-30-1 Kume, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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27 Worth the detour within Naha

Bin-nu-utaki / Bengadake Sacred Grove (弁之御嶽・弁ヶ嶽)

At 165.7 m the highest point in Naha, about 1 km east of Shuri Castle. In the Ryūkyū Kingdom it was a state place of worship where the king, or his envoy, prayed for his health and the nation's peace; designated a National Historic Site as 'Bin-nu-utaki' on 15 October 2018.

Look for Naha's highest hill, a royal prayer site behind Shuri

Shuri Torihori-chō, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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28 Worth the detour within Naha

Asato Hachimangū Shrine (安里八幡宮)

One of the Ryūkyū Hassha, founded in the Tianshun era (1457–64) and enshrining Emperor Ōjin, Empress Jingū and Tamayori-hime; the only Hachiman shrine among the eight. A short walk from Asato and Omoromachi stations.

Look for The Ryūkyū Eight's 15th-century Hachiman shrine

124 Asato, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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29 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Ryōtei Naha, Tsuji (料亭那覇)

A ryōtei founded in 1949 in Tsuji, Naha's old entertainment quarter, now over 70 years old. Dinner is a set Ryūkyū or Japanese-Ryūkyū course served while professional dancers perform classical Ryūkyū dance. It holds the 'Ryūkyū ryōri ga ajiwaeru mise' certification and is listed by OCVB and Rurubu.

2-2-11 Tsuji, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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30 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Yaeyama Ryōri Kotōzan Tantei, Shuri (八重山料理虎頭山潭亭)

A reservation-only Yaeyama-cuisine restaurant on Torazuyama hill in Shuri, looking out over Naha and Shuri Castle. Most ingredients come from Ishigaki, and the owner does every step of the cooking. It is a certified Ryūkyū-cuisine shop and is profiled by OCVB, Tabirai and Okinawa Traveler.

2-40-1 Shuri Akahira-chō, Naha, Okinawa 903-0811, Japan

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31 Worth the detour within Naha · Ramen & tsukemen

Ryūkyū Shinmen Tondō, Oroku Honten (琉球新麺通堂小禄本店)

The flagship of Okinawa's best-known ramen brand, billed as the world's first 'ramen with a gender': a thick, smooth tonkotsu 'men's taste' and a clear salt-chicken 'women's taste'. Open straight through from 11:00 to late night and packed with locals and visitors. The brand was also selected as a guest shop at the Shin-Yokohama Rāmen Museum.

5-4-6 Kanagusuku, Naha, Okinawa 〒901-0155

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32 Worth the detour within Naha

BAR Owl, Kumoji (バーオウル)

Cocktail bar in Naha's Kumoji business district behind a heavy door, with a counter lined with tropical fruit; known for showy seasonal-fruit cocktails such as Okinawan mikan, and awamori cocktails. Selected for Tabelog's Bar 100 (2022).

Kanetomo Sangyō Bldg 2F, 1-8-7 Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa 〒900-0015

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33 Worth the detour within Naha · Kissaten & coffee

Kōhī Sakan Inshallah, Kokusai-dōri (珈琲茶館インシャラー)

Coffee house on Kokusai-dōri trading since 1974, themed on Arabia as coffee's birthplace and serving Turkish and Arabic coffees. Its signature 'Paris no Romance' has rose cream swirling in the cup as the coffee is poured at the table.

1-3-63 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

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Tomari International Cemetery, Naha — Photo: Abasaa · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

34 Worth the detour within Naha

Tomari International Cemetery (泊外人墓地)

A small walled cemetery on the north bank of Tomari Port holding about 22 foreigners from the 18th to early 20th centuries and some 300 post-war burials, with a monument to Commodore Perry's 1853 landing. Its oldest Western grave, of the British sailor 'WM HARES', is dated 1816.

Look for Historic foreigners' cemetery & Perry landing monument

Tomari, Naha, Okinawa (north shore of Tomari Port)

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35 Worth the detour within Naha

Arakaki Family Residence, Tsuboya (新垣家住宅)

The only surviving 18th-century Tsuboya potter's compound — red-tiled main house, workshop, climbing kiln (the former royal 'Higashi-nu-kama') and stone pigsty-toilet — designated an Important Cultural Property in 2002.

Look for Important Cultural Property · Tsuboya potter's house & climbing kiln

1-28-32 Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa

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Tsushima Maru Memorial Museum, Naha — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

36 Worth the detour within Naha

Tsushima Maru Memorial Museum (対馬丸記念館)

Museum (opened 22 Aug 2004) on the 1944 sinking of the evacuation ship Tsushima Maru, in which hundreds of Okinawan schoolchildren died; run by the Tsushima Maru Memorial Association beside Gokoku-ji and Naminoue.

Look for WWII memorial museum · 1944 child-evacuee ship

1-25 Wakasa, Naha, Okinawa 〒900-0031

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37 Worth the detour within Naha

Heiwa-dōri Shopping Arcade (平和通り商店街)

Covered arcade of around 200 shops branching off Kokusai-dōri toward Makishi Public Market, nicknamed the 'labyrinth arcade'. Named 'Peace Street' by public competition in 1951 after the Heiwa-kan cinema at its mouth; a new generation of shop owners has revived it since the 2000s.

Look for Naha's roofed 'labyrinth arcade' off Kokusai-dōri

3-3 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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38 Worth the detour within Naha

Yogi Park cherry blossoms (与儀公園)

City park that is Naha's best-known cherry-blossom spot, with more than 400 Kanhizakura (Taiwan cherry) trees. They flower among Japan's earliest, and the Naha Cherry Blossom Festival is held here in early February.

Look for Naha's February cherry-blossom park

1-1 Yogi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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39 Worth the detour within Naha

Shikina-gū Shrine (識名宮)

One of the Ryūkyū Hassha, the eight shrines given royal patronage by the Ryūkyū Kingdom, near Shikinaen in Hantagawa. Its origin story centres on a sacred cave, which the shrine opens to visitors on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Look for Royal-patronage shrine of the Ryūkyū Eight, with a sacred cave

4-1-43 Hantagawa, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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40 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Arakaki Chinsukō Honpo, Kokusai-dōri Makishi (新垣ちんすこう本舗牧志店)

The Kokusai-dōri shop of the old Ryūkyū confectioner whose line goes back to Arakaki Shukiki, a royal-kitchen cook at Shuri Castle. Its founder is credited with turning chinsukō from a steamed cake into the baked biscuit sold today, and the shop still makes it by hand. Listed by OCVB, Mapple and Rurubu.

1-3-68 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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41 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Takara Shokudō, Wakasa (高良食堂)

A neighbourhood shokudō in the residential streets behind Wakasa beach, serving Okinawan home cooking. Its champurū is seasoned with miso for a gentle taste, and the clear soup of pork bone and bonito is its most praised point. Listed by OCVB, Mapple and Rurubu.

1-7-10 Wakasa, Naha, Okinawa 900-0031, Japan

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42 Worth the detour within Naha

Sennichi (千日)

Naha's classic zenzai parlour near Naminoue Shrine, in business since the 1950s (the founders' Yafune Shokudo, then 'Sennichi' in Kume from 1962). Order the Okinawa zenzai: plump, slow-stewed beans under a triangle of hand-shaved ice.

Kume, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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43 Worth the detour within Naha

Steakhouse 88 Tsuji Honten (ステーキハウス88 辻本店)

Flagship of the Steakhouse 88 chain, descended from 'CLUB88', an A-sign restaurant licensed for US personnel in 1955. Neon diner room, 20-plus steak cuts, open till 1 am — the classic Okinawan 'shime' (end-of-night) steak.

2-8-21 Tsuji, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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44 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Pork Tamago Onigiri Honten, Makishi (ポークたまごおにぎり本店)

The flagship of the 'Pōtama' shop that turned Okinawa's pork-and-egg onigiri into a takeaway icon; each one is pressed to order so the rice is hot and the egg fluffy. Opens early (7:00) for breakfast, closed Wednesdays.

2-8-35 Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa

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45 Worth the detour within Naha

Ryūkyū no Shuki to Awamori Oninoude, Tsuboya (琉球ノ酒器ト泡盛オニノウデ)

Awamori bar opened in July 2016 by sake-vessel collector Sakukawa Nagamasa, about 10 minutes' walk from Kokusai-dōri toward the Nōren market; some 400 awamori, many from the outer islands, poured from Okinawan karakara/chibugwā flasks and works by noted potters. Named for the long 'ogre's arm' bottle of old Ryūkyū; picked in BRUTUS's Naha bar issue.

1-7-13 Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa

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46 Worth the detour within Naha · Soba & udon

Daitō Soba Kokusai-dōri (大東そば国際通り店)

Near Midorigaoka Park off Kokusai-dōri, the one place in Naha serving the Minami-Daitō Island soul food: thick curly noodles meant to evoke the island's rough seas, in a light pork broth, with Daitō-zushi. The owner spent a year recreating the original shop's recipe after it closed in 2022 and kept its logo.

1-2-17 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

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47 Worth the detour within Naha

Yappari Steak 1st, Cocktail Plaza (やっぱりステーキ 1st カクテルプラザ店)

The founding store of the Okinawa-born steak chain: it opened in Matsuyama in February 2015 as a six-seat counter selling a ¥1,000 steak, drew queues by word of mouth and grew into a nationwide chain of some 90 shops within eight years (profiled on TV Tokyo's Cambria Palace). Continues Okinawa's post-war steak-dinner culture.

Cocktail Plaza 1F, 1-34-3 Matsuyama, Naha, Okinawa 〒900-0032

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48 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Live House Shimauta, Kokusai-dōri (ライブハウス島唄)

Home stage of Nēnēs, the women's vocal group credited with sparking the shima-uta boom; they play several nights a week (three sets a night), with other local acts on the rest. Okinawan food and drink served, no time limit on the live charge.

Haisai Okinawa Bldg 3F, 1-2-31 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

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49 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Teshiraji Soba, Shuri (てぃしらじそば汀志良次)

A small soba shop on Route 82, about halfway between Shuri and Gibo monorail stations. It takes its name from the old village of Tishiraji. The owner, who quit an office job to open it, makes and hand-rubs the curly noodles from the day before and serves them in a very clear broth topped with needle ginger rather than red pickled ginger. It closes when the soba sells out.

1-1 Shuri Teira-chō, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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50 Worth the detour within Naha

Sonohyan-utaki Ishimon (園比屋武御嶽石門)

Stone gate to the sacred grove behind it, where Ryūkyū kings prayed for safe journeys before leaving Shuri; a UNESCO component standing beside Shuri Castle Park.

Look for Sacred stone gate

Shuri Castle Park, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Naminoue Shrine, Naha — Photo: Rickard Törnblad · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

51 Worth the detour within Naha

Naminoue Shrine (波上宮)

Okinawa’s ichinomiya (chief shrine), perched on a coral bluff above Naminoue Beach; long the place where fishermen and sailors prayed for a safe voyage.

Look for Clifftop chief shrine of Okinawa

Wakasa, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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52 Worth the detour within Naha

Sakaemachi Market (栄町市場)

Showa-era covered market by Asato station: groceries by day, and after dark a warren of tiny bars and izakaya where locals drink on stools in the alleys.

Look for Retro market & bar alleys

381 Asato, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Fukushu-en Chinese garden, Naha (2008) — Photo: LordAmeth · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

53 Worth the detour within Naha

Fukushū-en Garden (福州園)

Walled Chinese garden opened in 1992 for Naha's sister city Fuzhou, built with materials shipped from Fujian — pagoda over a waterfall, ponds and moon gates in old Kume, the Chinese scholars' quarter.

Look for Chinese walled garden

Kume, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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54 Worth the detour within Naha

Tsuboya Pottery Museum (那覇市立壺屋焼物博物館)

Municipal museum on Yachimun-dōri with some 7,000 pieces — from a 6,700-year-old shard through Ryūkyū-kingdom wares to today's masters — plus a preserved climbing kiln.

Look for Pottery museum

1-9-32 Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa 902-0065, Japan

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55 Worth the detour within Naha

Benzaitendō & Enkaku-ji, Shuri (弁財天堂・円覚寺跡)

Islet hall to the goddess of sea voyages in Enkan-chi pond, opposite the gate of Enkaku-ji — the royal family temple whose National Treasures were lost in 1945.

Look for Royal temple & pond hall

Shuri Castle Park, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Sueyoshi Park, Naha — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

56 Worth the detour within Naha

Sueyoshi-gū Shrine & Sueyoshi Park (末吉宮)

One of the Eight Shrines of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, perched on a forested limestone ridge in Sueyoshi Park; a stone path climbs through jungle to the rebuilt hall — a quiet counterpoint to Shuri Castle.

Look for Ryukyu-kingdom shrine in forest park

Sueyoshi-chō, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Sogen-ji stone gates, Naha — Photo: LordAmeth · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

57 Worth the detour within Naha

Sōgen-ji Stone Gate (崇元寺石門)

The surviving stone gate of the Ryūkyū royal temple founded in 1527, where all who entered — even the king — had to dismount; the temple was destroyed in WWII but the gate was restored and has been an Important Cultural Property since 1972, fronting a small park.

Look for Ryukyu royal temple gate (Important Cultural Property)

Tomari, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Naminoue Beach with Naminoue-gu — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

58 Worth the detour within Naha

Naminoue Beach & Naminoue Umisora Park (波の上ビーチ・波の上うみそら公園)

Naha's only city beach, sitting below the cliff-top Naminoue Shrine, with free entry and swimming from mid-April to October. The adjoining Umisora Park's enclosed man-made bay is a favourite with people learning to dive.

Look for City beach below Naminoue Shrine

1-25 Wakasa, Naha, Okinawa

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59 Worth the detour within Naha

Sugar Loaf Hill (シュガーローフ / 安里52高地)

The low hill the US Marines called Sugar Loaf and the Japanese 'Asato Hill 52', locally Kerama-chiiji, was fought over by the 6th Marine Division and the Japanese 32nd Army in May 1945. Today it is the Asato reservoir park beside Omoromachi monorail station, with an inscribed marker amid the new city centre.

Look for Battle of Okinawa hill in the middle of Shintoshin

1-6 Omoromachi, Naha, Okinawa (Asato Haisuichi Park)

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60 Worth the detour within Naha

Gokoku-ji Temple, Naminoue (護国寺)

Shingon temple founded in 1367 beside Naminoue Shrine, once the Ryūkyū Kingdom's royal prayer temple and head of Shingon in the kingdom. Missionary Bernard Bettelheim occupied it 1846–1853, and its 1465 bell was given to Commodore Perry (long kept at Annapolis).

Look for Ryūkyū royal temple · Bettelheim & Perry's bell

1-25-5 Wakasa, Naha, Okinawa

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61 Worth the detour within Naha

Okinogū Shrine, Onoyama Park (沖宮)

One of the Ryūkyū Hassha, dedicated to Kumano Gongen and long prayed to for safe voyages by tribute ships. Founded beside Naha harbour (per the 1713 Ryūkyū-koku Yuraiki), designated a National Treasure in 1935, destroyed in 1945, re-established in 1961 and moved to Onoyama Park in 1975.

Look for Ryūkyū's harbour shrine for safe voyages, rebuilt in Onoyama Park

44 Ōnoyama-chō, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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62 Worth the detour within Naha

Zuisen Distillery (瑞泉酒造)

Shuri awamori maker descended from the distillers who supplied the royal court; free tour of the stills and fermentation tanks, a look into the kusu ageing cellar and a tasting of Zuisen and Omoro.

1-35 Sakiyama-cho, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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63 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Mikasa Matsuyama (三笠松山店)

Round-the-clock homestyle shokudō near the Prefectural Office: gōyā champurū, spam and egg, and the house 'chanpon' — Okinawa's stir-fry-on-rice take — in a room that feels like grandma's kitchen.

Matsuyama, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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64 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Suunumee (すーぬめぇ)

Soba in an old Okinawan house in Kokuba; the 'special' piles on soki, belly and the owner's prized tebichi. On the Okinawa Times 2023 reader-poll list.

40-1 Kokuba, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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65 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

OKINAWA SOBA EIBUN

A newer-generation Naha soba shop that made both the Okinawa Times 900-reader noodle poll and Okinawa Traveler's five soba shops locals recommend with confidence.

Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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66 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Dachibin Naha Kumoji (沖縄居酒屋抱瓶那覇久茂地店)

The Naha outpost of an Okinawan izakaya that made its name in Tokyo, in a Shōwa-era wooden house; prefecture-certified for Ryukyu cuisine.

Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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67 Worth the detour within Naha · Kissaten & coffee

Coffee Yatai Hibari-ya (珈琲屋台ひばり屋)

An open-air coffee stall tucked into a leafy back alley near Makishi Station — ground-to-order hand drip and a famous deep-roast iced coffee on mismatched chairs.

3-9-26 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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68 Worth the detour within Naha · Kissaten & coffee

rokkan COFFEE SHURI (ロッカンコーヒーシュリ)

Second shop (Oct 2023) of Naha roaster rokkan COFFEE CREATORS, opening at 6 am near Shuri Castle — a 'sixth sense' coffee before the castle crowds.

Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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69 Worth the detour within Naha

Nakamura-ya, Kumoji (海産物料理とあわもりの店なかむら家)

Seafood-and-awamori izakaya in Kumoji where regulars come for whatever the boats brought in — island fish sashimi and simmered fish, washed down with awamori.

Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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70 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Hanagasa Shokudō (花笠食堂)

A popular old-style shokudō off the Heiwa-dōri arcade serving Okinawan home cooking as set meals: pick white, brown or red (sekihan) rice and one of five soups including inamuruchi and nakami-jiru. Its sweet house iced tea is famous enough to have been sold in cartons.

3-2-48 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

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71 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Yagi Ryōri Misaki, Sakaemachi (山羊料理美咲)

A goat-meat specialist in the Sakaemachi Market alleys — goat is a traditional Okinawan celebration food. Featured by both Stars and Stripes' Sakaemachi guide and Mapple's Sakaemachi restaurant roundup.

Sakaemachi Market, Asato, Naha, Okinawa

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72 Worth the detour within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Arakaki Kashiten, Shuri Samukawa (新垣菓子店首里寒川店)

A confectioner founded in 1932 by descendants of a cook to the Ryūkyū royal court, making chinsukō and other traditional Ryūkyū sweets at its Shuri shop.

Shuri Samukawa-chō, Naha, Okinawa

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73 Worth the detour within Naha

Adachiya, Makishi (足立屋)

Morning-opening standing kushikatsu bar in the covered arcade by the old public market — Naha's best-known senbero (three drinks and a dish for about ¥1,000), with motsu-nikomi, kushikatsu and squid rings; busy with locals and visitors alike.

Market arcade beside the former Makishi Public Market, Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

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74 Worth the detour within Naha · Kissaten & coffee

Kinjō Bakery, Shuri (金城ベーカリー)

Neighbourhood bakery founded in 1952 by Kinjō Mutsuhide, a minute from Gibo monorail station, still baking about 50 kinds of nostalgic breads; added an 'omiso melon pan' using miso from Shuri's royal-era Tamanahauso. Eat-in space runs a one-hour bread buffet.

2-51-3 Shuri Akahira-chō, Naha, Okinawa

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75 Worth the detour within Naha

Sakaemachi Bottleneck (栄町ボトルネック)

Shōwa-mood sakaba in a former house down an alley at the west entrance of Sakaemachi Market, credited as one of the core shops of the 'second Sakaemachi boom' that drew a younger crowd to the post-war market; awamori, Okinawan snacks and a soba to finish.

385 Asato (inside Sakaemachi Market), Naha, Okinawa 〒902-0067

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76 Deep cut within Naha

Naha Traditional Arts & Crafts Center, Tenbusu Naha (那覇市伝統工芸館)

City-run crafts centre on Kokusai-dōri with exhibition rooms, a shop and hands-on workshops for five Naha traditional crafts, including Ryūkyū glass, bingata, Shuri-ori weaving, lacquerware and Tsuboya pottery. Featured on the OCVB's Naha traditional-crafts walking course.

Look for Try five Naha crafts on Kokusai-dōri

Tenbusu Naha 2F, 3-2-10 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa 900-0013, Japan

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77 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Shima-uta to Jiryōri Tubarama, Kokusai-dōri (島唄と地料理とぅばらーま)

An Okinawan-cuisine restaurant on Kokusai-dōri, a one-minute walk from Makishi Station, with an interior that recreates a pre-war Okinawan townscape. Lunch is Okinawa soba and chanpurū set meals, and sanshin shima-uta (island-song) bands play every night. OTV Okitive featured it for blending tradition with modern twists such as an Okinawan-style fried rice.

2-7-25 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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78 Deep cut within Naha

Great Akagi Trees of Shuri Kinjō (首里金城の大アカギ)

A grove of six huge akagi (Bischofia) trees and one Ryūkyū hackberry behind the Uchikanagusuku shrine just off the Kinjō-chō stone road, designated a national Natural Monument in 1972; the largest is 5.2 m round and 13 m tall. No other such grove of giant akagi survives in a settled area of Okinawa.

Look for National Natural Monument grove off the stone road

3-18-20 Shuri Kinjō-chō, Naha, Okinawa

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79 Deep cut within Naha

Mekaru Tomb Site, Shintoshin (銘苅墓跡群)

National Historic Site (2007): a hillside necropolis of 330+ tombs spanning the Gusuku era through the Ryūkyū Kingdom to Meiji, the oldest from the 14th–15th c.; its largest turtleback tomb is 22 m wide and 30 m deep. Survived the build-out of Naha Shintoshin.

Look for National Historic Site · 330 Ryūkyū tombs in the new city centre

Mekaru 2-chōme (hill opposite the Naha City Fire Department HQ), Naha, Okinawa

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80 Deep cut within Naha

Poké Lid — Arcanine, Tenbusu Plaza, Kokusai-dōri (ポケふたウインディてんぶす広場)

Naha's original Pokémon manhole cover, an Arcanine design on the OCVB 'Flying Pikachu' Poké Lid trail, set in Tenbusu Plaza on Kokusai-dōri. In April 2026 a photo of it covered by pipe chairs during an event drew more than 24 million views. Naha City then said it was considering moving the lid and was in talks with The Pokémon Company. Check it is still here before you go.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Pokémon (Poké Lids / Flying Pikachu Project) — Naha's Arcanine lid; went viral in 2026 when buried under event chairs (relocation under review) · Viral Pokémon manhole on Kokusai-dōri

Tenbusu Plaza (Tenbusu Naha), 3-2 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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81 Deep cut within Naha

Mie Gusuku Fort (三重城)

Gusuku built by King Shō Sei in 1546 on the north mouth of Naha harbour, paired with Yarazamori Gusuku to guard the port and town. A coast-guard watchtower stands on it today, but the stone site is open to the public as a sea-view lookout.

Look for 1546 harbour fort, now a quiet sunset lookout

3 Nishi, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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82 Deep cut within Naha

Ameku-gū Shrine, Tomari (天久宮)

One of the Ryūkyū Hassha, founded in the Chenghua era (1465–87) and enshrining Izanami with Hayatamao and Kotosakao (the Kumano deities); annual festival on 15 May. Tucked into a hillside in Tomari.

Look for Hillside Kumano shrine of the Ryūkyū Eight in Tomari

3-19-3 Tomari, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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83 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Taishū Shokudō Ikariya, Maejima (大衆食堂いかり屋)

A big-menu harbour canteen on the ground floor of the seafarers' hall by Tomarin port, cooking champurū, Okinawa soba and Japanese, Western and Chinese plates. Okinawa Times' 'driver's meals' series covered its all-you-can-eat curry, and Ryukyu Shimpo and OTV both profile it as a lunch-and-dinner local favourite.

Okinawa Sailors Hall 1F, 3-25-50 Maejima, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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84 Deep cut within Naha

BACAR OKINAWA, Kumoji (バカールオキナワ)

Neapolitan pizzeria by Nakamura Daisuke, trained at Tokyo's SAVOY/Seirinkan: wood-fired pies with charred, chewy and crisp textures in one slice, plus starters built on Okinawan produce. Dinner only, closed Tue–Wed.

3-16-15 Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa

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Ryutan Pond with Shuri Castle behind (2017) — Photo: Abasaa · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

85 Deep cut within Naha

Ryūtan Pond, Shuri (龍潭)

The 'Dragon Depths' pond below Shuri Castle, dug in 1427 under King Shō Hashi by the official Kaiki to entertain Chinese envoys; the classic reflection view of the castle walls.

Look for Royal pond & castle view

Shuri Castle Park, Shuri, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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86 Deep cut within Naha

Shuri Kannondō (首里観音堂慈眼院) — Jigen-in

A Rinzai Zen temple at the end of the old royal road out of Shuri, founded in 1618 by King Shō Kyū to give thanks for the safe return of his son (later King Shō Hō) from Satsuma captivity, and rebuilt after the Battle of Okinawa. Envoys bound for Edo prayed here for a safe voyage; free to visit.

Look for Thousand-armed Kannon temple of the Ryūkyū kings

3-1 Shuri Yamakawa-chō, Naha, Okinawa

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87 Deep cut within Naha

Okinawa Gokoku Shrine, Onoyama Park (沖縄県護国神社)

The prefecture's gokoku shrine for its war dead, set inside Onoyama Park on an islet in the Kokuba River. One of Okinawa's most-visited shrines for hatsumōde New Year prayers.

Look for Okinawa's shrine to the war dead, a top New Year spot

Onoyama Park, Ōnoyama-chō, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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88 Deep cut within Naha

Gajanbira Park night view (がじゃんびら公園)

Hilltop park on the Oroku heights, the night-view spot closest to Naha Airport: a 500 m promenade looks across Naha port to the city lights. The name comes from Okinawan dialect, gajan (mosquito) + bira (slope).

Look for Naha's airport-side night-view hill

1-chōme Kinjō, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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89 Deep cut within Naha

Stand Suehiro, Sakaemachi (スタンド末広)

A small standing-style bar on the edge of Sakaemachi Market, named after the shokudō the owner's grandmother ran in Osaka. OTV's Sakaemachi bar-hop series calls its house-made otōshi the 'strongest' it found, and Smart Magazine singles out the meat pie as the popular order.

Ōyama Apartment 1F, 388-9 Asato, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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90 Deep cut within Naha

Okinawa Kushikatsu Senbero-ya, Sakaemachi (沖縄串カツせんべろ家)

A red-lantern kushikatsu counter inside Sakaemachi Market, sister shop of the bone-broth specialist Honejiru-ya. It fries Osaka-style kushikatsu and runs a 'senbero' set (4 items for ¥1,000); beef kushikatsu is the best seller, and OTV's Sakaemachi bar-hop series also praises its chicken wings.

385 Asato (Sakaemachi Market), Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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91 Deep cut within Naha

BOULANGERIE BZ, Yogi (ブーランジェリービズ)

A neighbourhood counter bakery in Yogi where staff fetch the breads you name. Its glazed mini croissants, ¥50 each and sold by the bag, are the famous item and are often reserved a day ahead; RETRIP and the local site TAGOO both list it among Naha's favourite bakeries.

368-22 Yogi, Naha, Okinawa 902-0076, Japan

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92 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Shuzen Maeda, Kume (酒膳眞榮田)

A small Ryūkyū-cuisine dining bar in Kume holding the 'Ryūkyū ryōri ga ajiwaeru mise' certification. Okinawa Traveler's feature on the certified shops recommends its white-miso rafute, jīmāmi-dōfu and minudaru, a court-cuisine dish of pork steamed in a black-sesame crust.

2-11-22 Kume, Naha, Okinawa 900-0033, Japan

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93 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Matsubaraya Seika, Matsuo (松原屋製菓)

A family confectioner more than 70 years old off Kokusai-dōri, selling everyday Okinawan sweets: sātā andāgī, pōpō crepe rolls, mūchī and the celebratory nū-manjū. OTV's Okitive profiles it as a long-standing shop, and Rurubu lists it.

2-9-9 Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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94 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kiraku, Makishi Public Market 2F (きらく第一牧志公設市場)

One of the upstairs restaurants of the rebuilt Makishi Public Market that carries on the market's 'mochiage' custom. You buy up to three kinds of fish or meat from the stalls on the ground floor and Kiraku cooks them for a ¥500 fee, for example parrotfish as sashimi, in garlic butter or simmered in soy. Ryukyu Shimpo walked through the system with its manager, and co-trip's market guide covers the mochiage experience.

2F Naha City Daiichi Makishi Public Market, 2-10-1 Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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95 Deep cut within Naha · Kissaten & coffee

Uchinā Chaya Buku-Buku, Tsuboya (うちなー茶屋ぶくぶく)

A small teahouse on Tsuboya's pottery street that whips bukubuku-cha, the frothy rice-and-jasmine tea with Ryūkyū-dynasty roots, in front of you. Named in Visit Okinawa's Naha guide.

Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa (Yachimun-dōri)

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96 Deep cut within Naha · Kissaten & coffee

C&C BREAKFAST OKINAWA (シーアンドシーブレックファストオキナワ)

A breakfast café a minute off Kokusai-dōri built around 'a delicious breakfast while traveling' — açaí bowls, pancakes and eggs Benedict. Ryukyu Shimpo highlighted its sweet-salty bacon-and-waffle combination.

Takamine Bldg 1F, 2-9-6 Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa

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97 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Okinawan Restaurant Jimanya, Naha (じまんや那覇店)

Okinawan restaurant in a renovated 50-year-old Okinawan house about five minutes from Miebashi station, cooking with Okinawa-raised pineapple pork and island vegetables; signature thick pork-loin tonteki, and an awamori master picks a label to suit you. English menu.

2-17-46 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa

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98 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Yuunami Sakashita (自家製生麺ゆうなみ坂下店)

A local Okinawa-soba shop whose house-made fresh noodles are blended with whole-wheat flour. You can pick thin, flat or mugwort noodles for the signature nankotsu sōki soba, and the pork-and-bonito broth is rich enough to drink to the last drop. Readers voted it into the Okinawa Times 2023 '900 noodle lovers pick' Okinawa-soba ranking (southern edition).

Terrace Sakashita 1F, 301-15 Matsukawa, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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99 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Soba-dokoro Kikuya, Oroku (そば処きくや)

A red-tiled house next to the owner's home, about five minutes by car from Naha Airport. The light broth of pork bone, bonito, kombu and vegetables is simmered for two days. The menu has sanmai-niku soba, yushi-tōfu soba and black-sugar zenzai, and it closes when sold out (around 3 pm). It was picked in the Okinawa Times 2023 reader poll of Okinawa-soba shops (southern edition).

1-6-2 Tahara, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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100 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Okinawa Jiryōri Angama, Kokusai-dōri (沖縄地料理あんがま)

An Okinawan-cuisine and folk-song restaurant just inside the south entrance of Kokusai-dōri. The entrance is built like a red-tiled, stone-walled house and is topped by a giant mask from Ishigaki's Angama Bon festival. The menu has about 60 dishes made with island vegetables, pork and local seafood, including gōyā chanpurū, tebichi and sōki-ni, plus four set courses. Min'yō singers play every night in the third-floor hall.

1-2-2 Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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101 Deep cut within Naha

Sakaemachi Kai Senmon Sakaba Hiikiya (栄町貝専門酒場ひいき屋)

A red-lantern counter bar in Sakaemachi Market that serves only shellfish. It usually has 25 or more kinds of seasonal shellfish from around Japan and Okinawa, rising past 35 at peak season. The counter faces the market lane, and Tabirai describes it as a place where you easily get talking to locals ('ichariba chōdē').

379 Asato, Naha, Okinawa 902-0067, Japan

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102 Deep cut within Naha · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Okinawa Soba Senmonten Charu Soba, Sakaemachi (沖縄そば専門店ちゃるそば)

An Okinawa-soba specialist inside Sakaemachi Market. Okinawa Times called its cloudy, bonito-scented broth 'one of a kind'. Soft-bone sōki and pork-belly soba come with jūshī rice, and the evening menu adds a senbero drinks set.

388-1 Asato (Sakaemachi Market), Naha, Okinawa 902-0067, Japan

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Closed — kept for the record 103

Naha City Museum of History (那覇市歴史博物館) — CLOSED

Opened in 2006 to show the National Treasure 'Materials related to the Shō Family of Ryūkyū Kings' (1,166 documents and 85 art objects, including the royal crown). It closed on 31 August 2025; the treasures are due to be shown at the former Nakagusuku Udun site, opening date not yet set.

Look for Closed Aug 2025 — home of the Shō royal National Treasures

Palette Kumoji 4F, 1-1-1 Kumoji, Naha, Okinawa, Japan

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Chūbu 85 places · area 2 of 7

Central Okinawa · Chatan & American Village · Okinawa City/Koza · Ginowan · Urasoe · Yomitan

1 Must see within Chūbu

Jimmy's Ōyama (ジミー大山店)

The first shop of Jimmy's, the American-style bakery, deli and import grocery founded in 1956 and loved by Okinawans ever since. Its fresh-baked pies, apple pie above all, cream puffs and other pastries are the draw, alongside imported groceries, wine and awamori.

2-22-5 Ōyama, Ginowan, Okinawa

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2 Must see within Chūbu

Cafe Ocean, Gate 2 Street (カフェオーシャン)

Founded in 1967, Ocean is the oldest taco shop on Koza's Gate 2 Street in front of Kadena Air Base, frying hand-made tortillas to order with a home-style sauce taught by Americans. A taco-and-music café-bar from the post-war 'A-sign' era.

2-15-2 Chūō, Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-0004, Japan

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3 Must see within Chūbu

Pokémon Center Okinawa, Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom (ポケモンセンターオキナワ)

Okinawa's first Pokémon Center (opened 11 Aug 2022, Japan's 16th), themed on the island's nature: Pikachu and Arcanine greet you at the entrance, with Okinawa-only goods and a video zone. Pair it with a hunt for the prefecture's 16 Pokémon manhole 'Poké Lids'.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Pokémon — the prefecture's only Pokémon Center, with Okinawa-exclusive merchandise · Pokémon flagship store

Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom 1F, 1 Raikamu, Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa 901-2306, Japan

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Nakamura House, Kitanakagusuku — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

4 Must see within Chūbu

Nakamura House (中村家住宅)

A wealthy farmer's homestead built in the 1720s — the island's prime surviving example of early-modern Okinawan domestic architecture, with red-tiled roofs, a coral-stone wall and fukugi-tree windbreak; a National Important Cultural Property near Nakagusuku Castle.

Look for 18th-century Ryūkyū farmhouse

106 Ōshiro, Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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5 Must see within Chūbu

Sakima Art Museum (佐喜眞美術館)

Private museum opened in 1994 on land reclaimed from a corner of US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Its centrepiece is Iri and Toshi Maruki's 4 × 8.5 m 'Battle of Okinawa' panel, painted from survivors' testimony by the artists of the Hiroshima Panels.

Look for The Marukis' Battle of Okinawa mural beside Futenma

1-22 Uehara, Ginowan, Okinawa 901-2204, Japan

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6 Must see within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Hamaya Soba (そば専門店浜屋)

Soba specialist by the Sunabe seawall, a local and tourist favourite for its soft-boned cartilage soki in a clean, salt-seasoned broth.

Sunabe, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

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7 Must see within Chūbu

Blue Seal Makiminato Honten (ブルーシール牧港本店)

'Born in America, raised in Okinawa': Blue Seal started in 1948 supplying the US bases and moved to this Makiminato drive-in in 1963. The flagship was rebuilt and reopened in 2024 to a 400-person queue — order beni-imo or salt-chinsukō.

5-5-6 Makiminato, Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

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8 Must see within Chūbu

Shinzato Distillery (新里酒造)

Founded in 1846, Shinzato is one of the oldest operating awamori distilleries in Okinawa, now run by the seventh-generation owner. It offers a roughly 45-minute factory tour combining traditional craft and modern technology, and has won the awamori grand prize at the All Japan sake competition.

12-17 Suzaki, Uruma, Okinawa 904-2234, Japan (head office 3-22-8 Koja, Okinawa City)

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9 Must see within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Hanaori Soba, Yomitan (花織そば)

Yomitan's flagship Okinawa-soba house on Prefectural Road 6, founded in 1988 by a former French-cuisine chef. The signature bowl tops medium-thin wavy noodles in pork-bone broth with soft-bone sōki and long-simmered pork belly; tebichi and liver-and-nira soba are also on the menu. It reopened after a renovation in 2026.

2418-1 Hanza, Yomitan, Okinawa 904-0322, Japan

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10 Must see within Chūbu

Nakagusuku Castle (中城城跡)

Best-preserved of the Ryūkyū castle ruins: six enclosures of curved limestone walls on a ridge above both coasts. UNESCO Gusuku component.

Look for Gusuku ruins

Nakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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11 Must see within Chūbu

Yomitan Yachimun no Sato Pottery Village (やちむんの里)

Lane of red-tile workshops and climbing kilns founded after Living National Treasure Jiro Kinjo moved his studio here in 1972; around 45–50 potters, with shops selling cups, plates and shisa.

Look for Pottery village

Zakimi, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

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12 Must see within Chūbu

Mihama American Village (美浜アメリカンビレッジ)

Reclaimed-land entertainment district with a Ferris wheel, Depot Island's colourful facades, US-style diners and boutiques — the clearest expression of Chatan's base-town melting pot.

Look for Base-town shopping & dining district

Mihama, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

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13 Must see within Chūbu

Koza Gate 2 Street (コザゲート通り)

The street running to Kadena Air Base's Gate 2, Okinawa's live-music strip since the 1960s–70s: rock, blues and Latin bars alongside Okinawan folk; home of the November International Carnival.

Look for Live-music nightlife street

Chuo, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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14 Must see within Chūbu

Kaichū-dōro sea causeway (海中道路)

Five-kilometre road laid across turquoise shallows from the Katsuren Peninsula to Henza, then bridged on to Hamahiga, Miyagi and Ikei — the island-hop drive of central Okinawa.

Look for Sea causeway drive

Yonashiro, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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15 Must see within Chūbu

Kakazu Ridge — Kakazu Takadai Park (嘉数高台公園)

One of the fiercest battlefields of the 1945 Battle of Okinawa: US forces attacked Kakazu Ridge on 9 April 1945 and needed about 15 days to take it, with thousands dead on both sides. Today a hilltop park with a globe-shaped observation deck looking over Futenma Air Station and toward the Maeda Escarpment, plus surviving pillboxes.

Look for WWII battlefield & lookout

Kakazu, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan

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16 Must see within Chūbu

Minatogawa Stateside Town (港川ステイツサイドタウン)

A neighbourhood of 1950s–60s white single-storey 'foreign houses' built for US military families, now converted into cafés, bakeries, galleries and shops. Lanes are named after US states (Oregon, Arizona, Michigan, Kansas and more); about 5 minutes' walk from the Minatogawa bus stop.

Look for Retro US-housing café district

around 2-17 Minatogawa, Urasoe, Okinawa 901-2134, Japan

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17 Must see within Chūbu

Mexico, Chatan (タコス専門店メキシコ)

Taco-only shop serving since 1977 — one of the island's most famous taco joints, crisp shells stuffed with seasoned beef in the style US servicemen brought to Okinawa.

Chatan, Nakagami District, Okinawa, Japan

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18 Must see within Chūbu

Charlie's Tacos, Koza (チャーリー多幸寿)

Koza taco counter a short walk from Kadena's Gate 2 where locals, mainlanders and Americans have queued for more than 60 years — one of the A-sign-era base-town originals.

Chuo, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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19 Must see within Chūbu

Teppanyaki Steak House Shiki, Sonoda Honten (ステーキハウス四季園田本店)

A Koza teppanyaki steak house running for close to half a century in the post-war steak heartland by Kadena; chefs sear the steak on the iron in front of you.

Sonoda, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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20 Must see within Chūbu · Kissaten & coffee

oHacorté Minatogawa Honten (オハコルテ港川本店)

The fruit-tart shop (founded 2009) that made Minatogawa's 'Stateside Town' — some thirty shops and cafés in converted 1950s US military housing — a destination; glossy seasonal tarts in a little white house.

#18, 2-17-1 Minatogawa, Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

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21 Must see within Chūbu

Tacos-ya Chatan (タコス屋北谷店)

Small taco shop on a backstreet near the Sunabe Seawall that has fed locals and visitors for about 35 years; it still fries its house-made shells to order for a chewy-crisp texture, and its Tacos-ya Plate piles tacos, taco rice, onion rings and fries on one plate.

1-5 Miyagi, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan (near the Sunabe Seawall)

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22 Must see within Chūbu

Pizza House Honten, Urasoe (ピザハウス本店)

Founded in 1958 (its founders served Okinawa's first pizza), this American-style restaurant near Minatogawa Stateside Town is known for its roast beef and steaks. The main branch reopened in a 1950s-diner-style renovation on 15 March 2026 with the stated aim of becoming a '100-year restaurant'.

2-20-5 Minatogawa, Urasoe, Okinawa 901-2134, Japan

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23 Must see within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Tsurukame-dō Zenzai, Yomitan (鶴亀堂ぜんざい)

Zenzai shop near Zakimi Castle serving Okinawa-style zenzai — kintoki beans simmered for six hours under fluffy shaved ice. Its signature uses Yomitan's own beni-imo purple sweet potato, which dyes the ice violet under a brown-sugar syrup.

248-1 Zakimi, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

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24 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Poké Lid — Growlithe over Mihama fireworks, Depot Island Boardwalk, Chatan (ポケふたガーディ北谷町美浜)

A Pokémon manhole cover installed in August 2025 at the seaside boardwalk of Depot Island in Mihama. It shows Growlithe, Okinawa's 'support Pokémon', against American Village's night skyline and fireworks. It sits just before the boardwalk steps, which is also a popular fireworks-viewing spot. It is one of four Growlithe lids the Pokémon Company gave to Okinawan towns in 2025.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Pokémon (Poké Lids / Pokémon Local Acts) — Growlithe, Okinawa's 'support Pokémon', over American Village fireworks · Pokémon manhole on the boardwalk

Depot Island Boardwalk (seaside), 9-1 Mihama, Chatan Town, Okinawa 904-0115, Japan

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25 Worth the detour within Chūbu

National Theatre Okinawa (国立劇場おきなわ)

Opened 18 January 2004 as Japan's fifth national theatre, built to preserve and present Okinawan traditional performing arts — above all kumiodori, the Ryukyuan court music-drama. A 632-seat main hall and a 255-seat small hall.

Look for Home stage of kumiodori

4-14-1 Jitchaku, Urasoe, Okinawa

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Torii gate in front of Shirumichu sacred cave — Photo: Kugel~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

26 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Shirumichu sacred cave, Hamahiga Island (シルミチュー霊場)

A limestone cave up a 108-step stair behind a torii on Hamahiga Island, held to be where the Ryūkyū creator deities Shinerikyo and Amamikyo lived and raised their children — a place of prayer for fertility and harvest. The cave itself is normally closed and opened for Lunar New Year rites.

Look for Cave home of the creator gods

near 1606-3 Katsuren-Higa, Uruma, Okinawa

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27 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Highway Drive-In Restaurant, Okinawa City (ハイウェイ食堂)

Opened in 1972 by a US Army cook as an A-sign establishment and seemingly frozen in time since: huge diner plates, low prices, fast service, open till 2 am on Route 75.

Route 75, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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28 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Gordie's, Sunabe (ゴーディーズ)

Stand By Me-themed burger joint in a converted former on-base house near the Sunabe Seawall, serving coarse-ground, filler-free charcoal-grilled patties since 2007. Its Special Burger stacks two patties, thick bacon, a fried egg and cheese.

100 Sunabe, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

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29 Worth the detour within Chūbu

TESIO, Koza Gate Street (テシオ)

A ham-and-sausage maker on Koza's Gate Street, opened April 2017 by an Okinawan trained in German charcuterie methods; its products have won gold medals at IFFA, the German international meat-processing competition. Sausages are made by hand daily and a weekend hot-dog counter serves them in-shop.

1-10-3 Chūō, Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-0004, Japan

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Scene at Bios Hill gardens, Uruma — Photo: Hikomi Moneru · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

30 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Bios Hill (ビオスの丘)

A nature theme park in Uruma's Ishikawa hills: water-buffalo cart rides, lake boat rides through subtropical forest and orchid viewing; you can also try on Ryukyu-era costume. Stars and Stripes Okinawa has covered it repeatedly as a family day out.

Look for Water-buffalo carts & jungle lake

Ishikawa-Kadekaru, Uruma, Okinawa

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Urasoe Art Museum building — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

31 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Urasoe Art Museum (浦添市美術館)

Opened in 1990 as Japan's first museum devoted to lacquer art and Okinawa's first public art museum. Its collection centres on Ryukyu lacquerware from the 16th century to today, with 80–100 pieces on show in themed displays that change three times a year; the building is by architect Uchii Shōzō.

Look for Japan's first lacquer-art museum

1-9-2 Nakama, Urasoe, Okinawa

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Urasoe Yodore royal tomb — Photo: Ken FUNAKOSHI from Yokohama, Japan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

32 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Urasoe Yōdore Royal Mausoleum & Urasoe Castle ruins (浦添ようどれ・浦添城跡)

Cliffside royal tombs carved under King Eiso in 1261, below the ridge of Urasoe Castle, seat of the early Chūzan kings. The ridge was a Japanese defensive line in 1945 and the tombs, badly damaged, were later restored; free entry and parking, ~15 min walk from Urasoe-Maeda monorail station.

Look for 13th-century royal tombs

2-53-1 Nakama, Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

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33 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Plaza House Shopping Center (プラザハウスショッピングセンター)

Billed as Japan's first shopping center, opened in 1954 to serve officers and families of the nearby US Ryukyu Command HQ. Its mid-century three-storey atrium and single-storey arcade survive, now holding an international food market, cafés, bakeries, interiors stores and Okinawan crafts; it appears in the Agency for Cultural Affairs' survey of Okinawa's modern architecture.

Look for 1954 American-era mall

Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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34 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Southeast Botanical Gardens (東南植物楽園)

One of Japan's largest outdoor botanical gardens, with about 1,300 species and over 50,000 plants, and a nationally Registered Monument. Seasonal night illuminations draw crowds in winter.

Look for Japan's big outdoor tropical garden

2146 Chibana, Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-2143, Japan

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35 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Koza Music Town (コザ・ミュージックタウン)

Okinawa City's 'town of music' hub, opened in 2007 at the Koza crossroads as part of the city's music-led regeneration: the Ongaku Ichiba (Music Town Ongaku Ichiba) live hall, studios and a music plaza that hosts events tied to the All-Island Eisa Festival.

Look for Hub of Koza's rock and min'yō scene

1-1-1 Uechi, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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36 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

RuLer's TACORiCE Ginowan Honten (ルーラーズタコライス宜野湾本店)

A taco-rice specialist whose Ginowan flagship serves eight original recipes — classic cheese, BBQ, Caesar, teriyaki and the avocado-bacon-cheese ABC — in sizes up to extra-large, with about ten extra toppings. Tabirai lists it among Okinawa's nine top taco-rice shops.

3-8-2 Maehara, Ginowan, Okinawa

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37 Worth the detour within Chūbu

A&W Makiminato (A&W 牧港店)

A&W came to Okinawa in 1963, years before mainland Japan — the 24-hour Makiminato drive-in on Route 58 is the chain's Okinawa flagship. Root beer in a frosted mug, curly fries and a burger is a rite of passage.

4-9-1 Makiminato, Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

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38 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Nuchi Māsu Salt Factory, Miyagi Island (ぬちまーす観光製塩ファクトリー)

Clifftop salt works across the Kaichū-dōro on Miyagi Island, where a patented spray-drying method snows mineral-rich salt inside the factory; free 10-minute tours every 20 minutes, a sea-view restaurant and shop.

2768 Miyagi, Yonashiro, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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39 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Miyanchi STUDIO & COFFEE, Okinawa City (みやんち STUDIO&COFFEE)

Red-tiled café and studio opened in 2012 in the hills of Okinawa City, produced by THE BOOM singer Kazufumi Miyazawa to share Okinawan folk music and food. Its signature is kara-soba, a soup-less Okinawa soba Miyazawa devised after eating a version on Ishigaki.

1-29-22 Yogi, Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-2174, Japan

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40 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Kissaten & coffee

Player's Cafe, Koza (プレイヤーズカフェ)

Opened in 1999 on Koza's Park Avenue, this café hosts live music of all genres and doubles as the lounge of Tripshot Hotels Koza; its menu draws on the owner's memories of 1970s Koza home cooking shaped by US-military canned goods. Ryukyu Shimpo reported its lunch sets as a hit with a wide range of customers.

2-6-47 Chūō (Park Avenue), Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-0004, Japan

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41 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Kissaten & coffee

Zhyvago Coffee Works Okinawa, Chatan (ジバゴコーヒーワークス)

A West Coast-style coffee stand on the Mihama seafront, opened in 2015, that makes each cup to order. The Ryukyu Shimpo profiled Kotaro Mikami, the Chatan Zhyvago shop manager, as the Japan AeroPress Championship winner. The brand also co-developed a coffee with JTA airline to go with chinsukō.

Distortion Seaside Bldg, 9-46 Mihama, Chatan-chō, Nakagami District, Okinawa, Japan

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42 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Sam's Anchor Inn Ginowan (サムズアンカーイン宜野湾店)

The founding branch of Okinawa's Sam's steak chain, opened on Route 58 in Mashiki in August 1970 by American Ray Payne; its then-novel teppanyaki show and original menu of shrimp cocktail and tenderloin made it a pre-reversion steak institution. The Ryukyu Shimpo marked the chain's 55th anniversary in 2025.

624-1 Mashiki, Ginowan, Okinawa 901-2224, Japan

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Chatan Sunset Beach in Chatan Park (2007) — Photo: Ray_go · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

43 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Sunset Beach, Chatan (サンセットビーチ)

Artificial-bay beach beside Mihama American Village on the west coast, about 250 m of sand facing the sunset.

Look for Beach by American Village

Mihama, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

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Zanpa Beach, Yomitan (2013) — Photo: 690 Noda · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

44 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Zanpa Beach, Yomitan (残波ビーチ)

West-coast swimming beach beside Cape Zanpa, reached by airport limousine bus to the cape resort.

Look for Beach

Uza, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

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Cape Zanpa and its lighthouse (2007) — Photo: Hideyuki KAMON · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

45 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Cape Zanpa & Lighthouse (残波岬)

The main island's westernmost cape: 30 m cliffs and Okinawa's tallest lighthouse (31 m), a classic sunset spot, with a park and giant shisa statue.

Look for Cliffs & lighthouse

Uza, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

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Amamichu tomb islet, Hamahiga Island (2015) — Photo: Kugel~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

46 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Amamichu, Hamahiga Island (アマミチュー)

Rocky islet off 'God's Island' Hamahiga, revered as the tomb of Amamikiyo and Shinerikiyo, the creator deities of the Ryūkyū myths; reached on foot across a short causeway.

Look for Sacred creation-myth site

Hamahiga, Katsuren, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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47 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Ikei Beach, Ikei Island (伊計ビーチ)

Reef-sheltered beach on the farthest of the Kaichū-dōro islands, with some of the clearest water reachable by car from the main island.

Look for Beach

Ikei, Yonashiro, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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Rock formation on Hacksaw Ridge (Maeda Escarpment), Urasoe (2019) — Photo: Balon Greyjoy · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

48 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Hacksaw Ridge (Maeda Escarpment, 前田高地)

The Urasoe escarpment where medic Desmond Doss lowered wounded men down the cliff in May 1945; trails lead to Needle Rock and the Doss point above the city.

Look for WWII battlefield

Maeda, Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

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49 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Araha Beach, Chatan (アラハビーチ)

600 m of white sand in southern Chatan, quieter than Sunset Beach, with lifeguards, BBQ rental and water sports; swimming April–October.

Look for Beach

Araha, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

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50 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Michi-no-Eki Kadena observation deck (道の駅かでな)

Roadside station beside Kadena Air Base whose rooftop observation deck looks straight across the runway — the place locals and plane-spotters watch fighter jets take off and land; Mapple ranks it Okinawa's No. 3 michi-no-eki.

Look for Air-base viewpoint & roadside station

Kadena, Okinawa, Japan

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51 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Okitsura pilgrimage — Gushikawa, Uruma (沖ツラ聖地具志川公民館・具志川ビーチ)

The residential Gushikawa district of Uruma is the main real-world setting of the anime 'Fall in Love with Okinawa Dialect' (沖ツラ). Gushikawa Beach appears in episode 2 and other walk-to-school scenes, and pilgrims start from the Gushikawa Community Hall, which hands out Uruma's official location map and has one of three Okitsura manhole covers (the others are at KIN Sunrise Beach and Michi-no-Eki Ginoza).

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Fall in Love with Okinawa Dialect (沖縄で好きになった子が方言すぎてツラすぎる / 沖ツラ, 2025 anime) — set in Gushikawa, Uruma; official city location map and collab manhole · Anime pilgrimage neighbourhood

381 Gushikawa, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan (Gushikawa Community Hall 具志川公民館)

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52 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Chibichiri Gama (チビチリガマ)

A natural cave near the US landing beaches where, in April 1945, 140 villagers sheltered as American forces approached and 83 died in a forced mass suicide. A memorial stands at the mouth; the cave itself is closed to entry out of respect, and memorial services are held each spring.

Look for WWII memorial cave (view from outside)

Namihira, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

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53 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Okinawa Zoo & Museum — Okinawa Kodomo no Kuni (沖縄こどもの国)

Japan's southernmost zoo and the only one in the prefecture, reopened in 2004 with a child-focused layout: Nature Land (the zoo, with Yanbaru and Okinawan native species), the three-storey hands-on Wonder Museum and a Children's Center with petting animals.

Look for Japan's southernmost zoo

5-7-1 Goya, Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-0021, Japan

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Futenma-gu main hall — Photo: そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

54 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Futenma-gū Shrine & cave (普天満宮)

One of the Ryūkyū Eight Shrines granted special status by the kingdom; it began as worship of an indigenous deity in its cave, with Kumano Gongen enshrined in the mid-15th century. The 280 m limestone cave behind the hall, where 3,000-year-old artefacts were excavated, is a Ginowan city Place of Scenic Beauty and can be visited.

Look for Ryūkyū Eight Shrines member with a sacred cave

1-27-10 Futenma, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan

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55 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Rotary Drive-In, Michi-no-Eki Kadena (ロータリードライブイン)

Opened in 1975 as a restaurant with a take-out window, on the site where Michi-no-Eki Kadena stands now. Its American-style menu was a rarity that won over locals and visitors. The founders' daughter took over in 2016; the dining room closed after the renovation and the pandemic, and it now runs as a take-out counter on the roadside station's ground floor, famous for its jumbo cheeseburger.

1F Michi-no-Eki Kadena, 1026-3 Yara, Kadena, Okinawa

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56 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Nemu Isa (根夢伊佐店)

Ginowan soba shop whose broth blends separately made bonito and pork-bone stocks at seven to three; picked in the Okinawa Times 2023 reader poll's central list.

Isa, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan

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57 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Misato Soba (美里そば)

Okinawa City soba specialist with a layered chicken, pork-bone and bonito broth; on both the Okinawa Times 2023 central poll list and KozaWeb's city top ten.

Higashi, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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58 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Komehachi Soba (米八そば)

Awase soba shop known for its 'triathlon' bowl topped with all three Okinawan pork cuts; on the Okinawa Times 2023 central list and KozaWeb's top ten.

Awase, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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59 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Chatan Harbor Brewery & Restaurant (チャタンハーバーブルワリー)

Seafront brewpub a few minutes from American Village brewing five year-round beers on site, with a terrace over the East China Sea at sunset.

53-1 Mihama, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

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60 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Tacos Café Tacoloco, Chatan (タコスカフェタコロコ)

American Village taquería making properly Mexican tacos — spices shipped from Mexico — a counterpoint to Okinawa's crunchy-shell post-war tacos.

Mihama, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

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61 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Takaesu Soba, Urasoe (高江洲そば)

An Urasoe institution counted among the 'traditional royal-road' soba shops by Rurubu and voted into the Okinawa Times noodle-lovers' central-region list.

Iso, Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

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62 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kingetsu Soba Yomitan Honten (金月そば読谷本店)

Yomitan soba house on both Okinawa Traveler's area-by-area soba list and Rurubu's 16 best Okinawa-soba shops.

Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

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63 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Mihama Shokudō, Chatan (みはま食堂)

Local shokudō by Chatan's Mihama known for hone-jiru — pork backbones and tofu simmered in a kombu broth and eaten by hand — and hone-soba heaped with bone-in sōki; both often sell out early.

1-2-10 Mihama, Chatan, Okinawa, Japan

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64 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Sanchōme no Shima Soba-ya, Ginowan (3丁目の島そば屋)

Newer Ginowan soba shop picked among the eight best soba shops of central Okinawa in Okinawa Times' 2023 poll of 900 noodle lovers; Okinawa TV's Okitive praised its noodles, soup and toppings, notably the uneven mix of three noodle cuts.

3-10-1 Kakazu, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan (White Papillon Sato 101)

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65 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Kissaten & coffee

Ploughman's Lunch Bakery, Kitanakagusuku (プラウマンズランチベーカリー)

Bakery café in a renovated former foreign-residents' house on a jungly hilltop in Kitanakagusuku, opened in 2006 by a former Tokyo architectural designer. Its namesake one-plate Ploughman's Lunch — a British farmer's lunch of fresh vegetables with bread baked in-house — and its sandwich plates are the draw.

927-2 Adaniya, Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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66 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Señor Taco, Plaza House (セニョールターコ)

Opened in 1984 inside Plaza House, Señor Taco is a pioneer of Okinawa's taco scene whose shells are fried crisp outside and chewy inside; it has been loved for more than 30 years and also serves Mexican dishes like enchiladas and onion rings.

Plaza House 1F, 3-1-6 Kubota, Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-0023, Japan

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67 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Soba & udon

Suba-dokoro Wachichi, Okinawa City (すば処うゎちち)

An Okinawa-soba specialist in Hiyagon whose seared soft-bone soba was certified as an Okinawa City 'Koza Choice' brand; the clear pork-and-bonito broth comes with a choice of noodles from two well-known local noodle makers. It placed 12th in OTV Okitive's reader soba ranking TOP30.

1-16-27 Hiyagon, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Japan

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68 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Soba & udon

Banjutei, Yomitan (番所亭)

A long-loved Yomitan soba house named after the old Kina banjo (district office), known for its house-made noodles, including turmeric-kneaded soba and yomogi or purple-sweet-potato variations.

473 Kina, Yomitan-son, Nakagami-gun, Okinawa 904-0302, Japan

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69 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Soba & udon

Jikasei-men Okinawa Soba Miyoya, Kadena (自家製麺沖縄そばみよ家)

An Okinawa-soba specialist in Kadena making its own noodles and an additive-free broth from Rausu kombu and Makurazaki bonito; its curry soba is a signature. OTV Okitive ranked it No. 3 in its 2025 island-wide 'must-eat' Okinawa soba 15.

463-13 Kadena, Kadena-chō, Nakagami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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70 Worth the detour within Chūbu · Soba & udon

Maeda Soba, Enobi (前田そば)

A small soba shop near the Enobi crossroads that the Ryukyu Shimpo's gourmet column praised for a simple, deeply flavoured bowl drawing soba fans from across the island; OTV Okitive featured its limited-quantity bone-broth soba made with Kin-Agu pork. Closes when sold out.

19 Enobi (Corpo Ikehara), Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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71 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Zakimi Castle Ruins (座喜味城跡)

Early-15th-century gusuku on a Yomitan hilltop, one of the five castle sites inscribed by UNESCO.

Look for Gusuku ruins

Zakimi, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

Stone walls of the Katsuren Castle ruins — Photo: kanegen · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

72 Worth the detour within Chūbu

Katsuren Castle Ruins (勝連城跡)

Terraced gusuku ruins on the Katsuren peninsula, one of the five castle sites inscribed by UNESCO.

Look for Gusuku ruins

Katsuren, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

Looking up at the walls of Agena Castle ruins — Photo: Juniper · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

73 Deep cut within Chūbu

Agena Castle Ruins (安慶名城跡)

A gusuku built around 1453 by a local lord (aji) of Agena and a nationally designated Historic Site. Its concentric double ring of stone walls is described by Uruma City as the only surviving example of the type in Okinawa.

Look for Okinawa's only double-ring gusuku

Agena, Uruma, Okinawa

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74 Deep cut within Chūbu

Nishihara Kira Kira Beach (西原きらきらビーチ)

A 550 m man-made beach inside Creed Nishihara Marine Park on the east coast, with free entry and parking, sports fields, a barbecue area and beach-volleyball courts. It is the venue of the climactic tournament in the beach-volleyball anime 'Harukana Receive' (2018).

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Harukana Receive (はるかなレシーブ, 2018) — real venue of the series' final beach-volleyball tournament · Beach-volleyball anime setting

Agarizaki, Nishihara, Nakagami District, Okinawa, Japan (Creed Nishihara Marine Park)

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75 Deep cut within Chūbu · Kissaten & coffee

Chiikawa Restaurant Okinawa, PARCO CITY Urasoe (ちいかわレストラン沖縄店)

The second permanent Chiikawa Restaurant in Japan after Ikebukuro PARCO, a family-restaurant-style character café that opened on 13 February 2026 inside San-A Urasoe Nishi-Kaigan PARCO CITY. Alongside the shared grand menu it serves Okinawa-only dishes: the 'sunburnt shīsā' taco rice, a 'mensōre' banana split and a shīsā sanpin-tea tropical drink.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Chiikawa (ちいかわ, Nagano's manga/anime) — only the 2nd permanent Chiikawa Restaurant nationwide, with Okinawa-exclusive menu

San-A Urasoe Nishi-Kaigan PARCO CITY, 3-1-1 Irijima, Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

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Reconstructed pit dwellings at the Nakabaru site, Ikei Island — Photo: Hideyuki KAMON · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

76 Deep cut within Chūbu

Nakabaru Ruins, Ikei Island (仲原遺跡)

A late-Jōmon-period village site near the middle of Ikei Island and a nationally designated Historic Site, with reconstructed pit dwellings. One of Uruma's four national historic sites.

Look for Jōmon village on Ikei Island

Ikei, Uruma, Okinawa (centre of Ikei Island)

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77 Deep cut within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Taishū Shokudō Mickey, Park Avenue (大衆食堂ミッキー)

A decades-old one-woman shokudō on Koza's Park Avenue carrying on her mother's recipes; OTV Okitive profiled its never-shared 'secret' family flavour, and KozaWeb lists it among Koza's taco-rice and A-sign-era diners. The okazu plate of five vegetables and island tofu is the house signature.

3-1-6 Chūō, Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-0004, Japan

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78 Deep cut within Chūbu · Kissaten & coffee

Ippe Coppe, Minatogawa Stateside Town (ippe coppe いっぺこっぺ)

A natural-yeast bakery in a converted 1950s–60s American military house in Urasoe's Minatogawa Stateside Town, specialising in additive-free shokupan made from Hokkaido 'Harutaka' flour; Tabirai and Mapple both single it out and Urasoe's own tourism site lists it. Opens 12:30 and closes when sold out.

No.26, 2-16-1 Minatogawa, Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan

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79 Deep cut within Chūbu

Ginowan Tropical Beach (宜野湾トロピカルビーチ)

City beach by Ginowan's marina park, a long-time base-family BBQ and swim spot minutes from Naha.

Look for City beach

Mashiki, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan

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80 Deep cut within Chūbu

Toguchi Beach, Yomitan (渡具知ビーチ) — US landing beach

Beach at the mouth of the Hija River where US Marines came ashore on 1 April 1945; now a quiet park beach.

Look for Battle-landing beach

Toguchi, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan

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81 Deep cut within Chūbu

Poké Lid — Solrock & Skiploom, Kumiodori Park, Urasoe (ポケふたソルロック×ポポッコ組踊公園)

Urasoe's Pokémon manhole cover was set into Kumiodori Park, next to the National Theatre Okinawa, in February 2022. That made Urasoe the fifth city in the prefecture with a Poké Lid. Solrock stands for the sun (tida), Urasoe's symbol, and Skiploom carries yellow flowers in the colour of the city flower. It is on the OCVB 'Flying Pikachu' Poké Lid trail.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Pokémon (Poké Lids / Pokémon Local Acts) — Solrock (Urasoe's sun, tida) and Skiploom, beside the home of kumiodori · Pokémon manhole at the National Theatre

Kumiodori Park (south plaza of the National Theatre Okinawa), 4-14-1 Jitchaku, Urasoe, Okinawa 901-2122, Japan

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82 Deep cut within Chūbu

Poké Lid — Tauros & Katsuren Castle, Ishikawa Sports Grounds, Uruma (ポケふたケンタロス×勝連城跡石川運動広場)

Uruma's Pokémon manhole cover shows a charging Tauros, a nod to the city's bullfighting (tōgyū) culture, with the UNESCO-listed Katsuren Castle ruins behind it. It was installed at the entrance of the Ishikawa Sports Grounds as part of Pokémon's 'Flying Pikachu Project' and is on the OCVB Poké Lid trail.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Pokémon (Poké Lids / Flying Pikachu Project) — Tauros for Uruma's bullfighting culture, with Katsuren Castle · Pokémon bullfight manhole

Entrance of Ishikawa Sports Grounds, (石川運動広場), 2316 Ishikawa, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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83 Deep cut within Chūbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Umi-no-Eki Ayahashi-kan, Kaichū-dōro (海の駅あやはし館)

The 'sea station' halfway along the 5 km Kaichū-dōro causeway: local produce and the Kaichū Chaya restaurant upstairs serving soki soba and taco rice over the shallows.

Yonashiro, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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84 Deep cut within Chūbu · Soba & udon

Daruma Soba, Okinawa City (だるまそば)

A hearty, queue-drawing soba shop with a pork-bone and bonito broth, chewy noodles and an unusually long menu; listed 4th in KozaWeb's Okinawa City soba ranking and 19th in OTV Okitive's reader soba TOP30.

2-13-20 Yamazato, Okinawa City, Okinawa 904-0033, Japan

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85 Deep cut within Chūbu · Soba & udon

Subaya Yūbaru Menkata, Uruma (すば家ゆーばる麺方)

A family soba house opened in July 2025 by the min'yō singer Kamiya Chihiro's family under their Tsuken-jima house name, carrying on the 'Yūbaru soba' served at the family's Tsuken Island minshuku. The Okinawa Times and OTV Okitive both featured its local-produce set meals with sanmai-niku and Shirikawa tofu.

433-5 Kyan, Uruma, Okinawa, Japan

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Nanbu 52 places · area 3 of 7

Southern Okinawa · Itoman · Nanjō & Sēfa-utaki · Peace Memorial Park · Tomigusuku

Kudaka Island seen across the water from Cape Chinen Park — Photo: そらみみ (Soramimi) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

1 Must see within Nanbu

Kudaka Island (久高島)

The 'island of the gods', 5.3 km off Cape Chinen: in Ryūkyū belief the creator goddess Amamikyo descended here, and kings once made pilgrimage to it. A slender 1.38 km² island reached by ferry from Azama port, explored by bicycle; some sacred groves are off-limits.

Look for Sacred island (ferry from Azama)

Kudaka, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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2 Must see within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Yagiya (屋宜家)

Soba served in a registered cultural-property red-tiled house; choose classic, soy-milk or seaweed noodles in a light but deep bonito broth.

1172 Ōgan, Yaese, Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan

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3 Must see within Nanbu · Sushi & kaisen-don

Itoman Fishermen's Co-op Osakana Center, Michi-no-Eki Itoman (糸満漁協お魚センター)

Eleven fishmongers run by the Itoman fishermen's co-op inside Japan's southernmost roadside station: choose fish for a kaisendon, nigiri, fish soup or Okinawan tempura and eat on the spot, 10:00–19:00.

4-19-1 Nishizaki, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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4 Must see within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Itoman Gyomin Shokudō (糸満漁民食堂)

Fish restaurant in the fishing town of Itoman, opened in 2013 in a building of stacked Ryūkyū limestone that won a Good Design Award and JCD Design Award. Its signature is the day's local fish butter-grilled until crisp outside and tender within.

Nishizaki, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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5 Must see within Nanbu

Sefa-utaki (斎場御嶽)

The holiest site of Ryūkyūan religion: a sacred grove of limestone clefts overlooking Kudaka Island, where the kingdom’s high priestess was invested. A UNESCO Gusuku component.

Look for Most sacred utaki

Chinen, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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6 Must see within Nanbu

Okinawa Peace Memorial Park & Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum (平和祈念公園)

The main memorial to the Battle of Okinawa, on Mabuni Hill where the fighting ended in June 1945. The museum traces the lead-up, the battle and the rebuilding; outside, the Cornerstone of Peace lists every fallen soldier and civilian of every nationality.

Look for Battle of Okinawa memorial & museum

Mabuni, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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7 Must see within Nanbu

Himeyuri Peace Museum (ひめゆり平和祈念資料館)

Museum beside the Himeyuri Monument, telling the story of the schoolgirls drafted as nurses into army cave hospitals in 1945, most of whom died. Opened 23 June 1989.

Look for WWII student-nurse memorial museum

671-1 Ihara, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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8 Must see within Nanbu

Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters (旧海軍司令部壕)

Several hundred metres of hand-dug tunnels and rooms that served as the Imperial Navy's command post in 1945; the walls still bear the shrapnel marks of the officers' last stand.

Look for WWII tunnels

Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan (Navy HQ park, south of Naha)

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Inside Gyokusendo limestone cave — Photo: FoxyStranger Kawasaki · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

9 Must see within Nanbu

Okinawa World & Gyokusendo Cave (おきなわワールド玉泉洞)

Culture park built over Gyokusendo, a 5 km limestone cave (850 m open) — the longest in the south and second-longest in Japan — with a craft village of old houses and a habu snake museum.

Look for Limestone cave & craft village

Maekawa, Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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10 Must see within Nanbu

Senaga Island & Umikaji Terrace, Tomigusuku (瀬長島ウミカジテラス)

A small island ~600 m off the southern west coast and 1.5 km south of Naha Airport, returned by the US military in 1977; since summer 2015 its slope is lined with the white, Mediterranean-style shops and cafés of Umikaji Terrace, with planes landing overhead and sunset views.

Look for Sunset terrace by the runway

174-6 Senaga, Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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11 Must see within Nanbu · Soba & udon

Yonabaru-ya, Yonabaru (与那原家)

A Yonabaru soba house founded in 1985, serving homemade noodles in two broths — a light pork/chicken/bonito/kombu soup and a rich multi-bone one — with nankotsu-soki soba the most popular bowl. It was one of eight southern shops chosen in Okinawa Times' 2023 poll of 900 noodle lovers, and also ranks in an ITmedia Netorabo reader poll of Okinawa soba.

1040 Yonabaru, Yonabaru-chō, Shimajiri-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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12 Must see within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Tamakaya Soba Honten (そば処玉家本店)

Soba specialist prized for the balance of broth, noodles and toppings — first on the Okinawa Times 2023 reader poll's southern list.

913-1 Furugen, Ōzato, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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13 Must see within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Ganso Nakamoto Tempura, Ōjima (元祖中本てんぷら店)

The queue-every-day tempura stand facing Ōjima fishing port, attached to a fish shop: thick-battered Okinawan tempura of fish, squid, mozuku seaweed and vegetables, eaten hot by the sea.

9 Ōjima, Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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14 Must see within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Chadokoro Makabe Chinā, Itoman (茶処真壁ちなー)

Soba and herb tea served in a red-tiled, stone-walled homestead whose house and grounds are a national Registered Tangible Cultural Property — the old southern-village Okinawa landscape intact.

223 Makabe, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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15 Worth the detour within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Okinawa Soba Kintarō, Nanjō (沖縄そば金太郎)

A local soba shop in Tamagusuku-Funakoshi known for a rich pork-bone soup and huge 'Jirō-inspired' bowls heaped with vegetables, with a three-meat Okinawa soba as its standard. Its owner chairs the Nanjō Okinawa-soba stamp rally promoting the city as a soba town.

1197 Funakoshi, Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa 901-0618, Japan

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Cape Chinen Park, Nanjō — Photo: そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

16 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Cape Chinen Park (知念岬公園)

A grassy clifftop park at the tip of Chinen Cape, about 40 m above the sea, with a roughly 250-degree view over the reef toward Kudaka and Komaka islands, a short walk from Sefa-utaki. It is one of the settings of the 2021 anime 'The Aquatope on White Sand', the reason the Anime Tourism Association named Nanjō one of its '88 Anime Pilgrimage' sites.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — The Aquatope on White Sand (白い砂のアクアトープ, 2021) — cape park shown in the series; Nanjō is an Anime Tourism '88' site · Cape viewpoint (anime pilgrimage)

523 Kudeken, Chinen, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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17 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Haebaru Army Hospital Shelter No. 20 (南風原陸軍病院壕 20号壕)

Hand-dug tunnel used as a ward of the Okinawa Army Hospital in 1945, where the Himeyuri student nurses were first assigned before the retreat south. Guided visits by appointment through the Haebaru Town Culture Center (¥300).

Look for WWII hospital tunnel (guided, by reservation)

Kyan, Haebaru, Okinawa, Japan

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Cape Kyan cliffs, Itoman — Photo: Mccapra · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

18 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Cape Kyan & the Peace Tower, Itoman (喜屋武岬)

The south-western tip of the main island, 10–20 m cliffs where the Pacific meets the East China Sea; this coast saw the last desperate fighting of the Battle of Okinawa, and the 1969 Peace Tower memorial stands at the point, inside Okinawa Senseki Quasi-National Park.

Look for Southwest tip, war-memorial cliffs

Kyan, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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19 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Shimashi Ōzato Castle Ruins, Nanjō (島添大里城跡)

A 14th-century gusuku on the eastern end of a ~150 m limestone ridge, seat of the Shimashi-Ōzato lords until Shō Hashi took it in 1402 on his way to unifying the Ryūkyū Kingdom; designated a National Historic Site in 2012.

Look for Shō Hashi's first conquest

Ōzato, Ōzato, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan (Ōzato Castle Ruins Park)

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20 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Poké Lid — Wartortle & Sandygast, Michi-no-Eki Itoman (ポケふたカメール×スナバァ道の駅いとまん)

A Pokémon manhole cover showing Wartortle and Sandygast on an Itoman sandy beach. It is set inside the covered eating area of Michi-no-Eki Itoman, the roadside station that houses the fishermen's co-op fish market. It is one of three south-Okinawa lids unveiled together for Itoman, Tomigusuku and Nanjō, and is on the OCVB Poké Lid trail.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Pokémon (Poké Lids) — Wartortle with Sandygast on Itoman's beach; the southern-Okinawa Poké Lid set (Itoman/Tomigusuku/Nanjō) · Pokémon manhole at the fish-market roadside station

Michi-no-Eki Itoman (covered eating area), 4-19-1 Nishizaki-chō, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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21 Worth the detour within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Inamine Hiyashimono Senmon Oshokujidokoro, Itoman (いなみね冷し物専門お食事処)

A long-running Itoman cold-sweets and set-meal shop (31 years per OCVB's Itoman listing) famous for its shirokuma — a mound of kintoki shaved ice decorated as a bear's face — alongside Okinawa soba and champurū set meals. Ryukyu Shimpo's 'Uchinā Aji Māi' column profiled the shirokuma, a house speciality for about 30 years, and Rurubu lists it as a signature Itoman sweets stop.

1486-3 Itoman, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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22 Worth the detour within Nanbu

JA Farmers Market Itoman Umanchu Ichiba, Michi-no-Eki Itoman (ファーマーズマーケットいとまんうまんちゅ市場)

Opened in November 2002 inside Michi-no-Eki Itoman, it is one of Okinawa's largest farm stands, with 1,000+ contracted growers and the highest footfall of the prefecture's ten JA farmers markets — Okinawa Times reported it passing 16 million visitors, and Ryukyu Shimpo covered its 10-millionth. OCVB's official Itoman gourmet course recommends its handmade onigiri, sweets and tropical fruit.

Nishizaki-chō, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan (inside Michi-no-Eki Itoman)

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23 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Ryukyu Glass Village, Itoman (琉球ガラス村)

Okinawa's largest handmade-glass factory, with galleries and shops of colourful Ryukyu glass and first-come glass-blowing classes at its Workshop Think Think. Rurubu lists it as a southern-Okinawa craft stop and Stripes Okinawa has covered its hands-on workshop.

Look for Watch — and try — Ryukyu glass-blowing

169 Fukuchi, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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24 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Ōjima Island (奥武島)

Tiny bridge-linked fishing island off Nanjō, famous for cheap fresh-fish and seaweed tempura stands and its many cats.

Look for Tempura island

Ōjima, Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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Valley of Gangala, Nanjo — Photo: Bernie Ongewe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

25 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Valley of Gangala (ガンガラーの谷)

Collapsed-cave valley of banyan-draped limestone opposite Okinawa World, where remains linked to the 18,000-year-old Minatogawa people were found; visits by guided tour only.

Look for Guided cave-valley walk

Maekawa, Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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DMM Kariyushi Aquarium, Tomigusuku (2020) — Photo: Kugel~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

26 Worth the detour within Nanbu

DMM Kariyushi Aquarium (DMMかりゆし水族館)

Okinawa's second-largest aquarium, in the iias Toyosaki mall near the airport: projection and AR-enhanced tanks, penguins, and a walkway over a big shark-and-ray tank.

Look for Tech-forward aquarium

iias Okinawa Toyosaki, Toyosaki, Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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Gushikawa Castle ruins, Itoman (2008) — Photo: Captain76 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

27 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Gushikawa Castle Ruins, Itoman (具志川城跡)

Gusuku perched on sea cliffs at the southern tip of the island, surrounded by sea on three sides — a National Historic Site with sweeping coastal views.

Look for Clifftop gusuku

Kyan, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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Itokazu Castle ruins, Nanjo — Photo: Shig ISO · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

28 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Itokazu Castle Ruins (糸数城跡)

Fourteenth-century gusuku at 180 m — the highest castle ruin in the south — its curved limestone walls built to guard Tamagusuku; views over the southern coast.

Look for Gusuku ruin

Itokazu, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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Tamagusuku Castle arched stone gate — Photo: Dwcarlso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

29 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Tamagusuku Castle Ruins (玉城城跡)

The oldest castle on Okinawa Island, said to have been built by the creator goddess Amamikiyo; its arched gate in the natural rock frames the solstice sunrise. National Historic Site.

Look for Mythic gusuku

Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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Azama Sun-Sun Beach from Route 331 (March 2015) — Photo: そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

30 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Azama Sun Sun Beach (あざまサンサンビーチ)

Shallow family beach by Azama port (the ferry to Kudaka), fringed with lawns, with a beach house and reservable BBQ sets.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — The Aquatope on White Sand (白い砂のアクアトープ, 2021) — the beach's wooden swing appears in the series; Nanjō named an 'Anime Pilgrimage 88' site (Ryukyu Shimpo entry-1580769) · Family beach

Azama, Chinen, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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31 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Mibaru Beach & glass-bottom boats (新原ビーチ)

Two kilometres of natural sand on the south-east coast, launch point for glass-bottom boats over the reef.

Look for Beach & glass-boat tours

Hyakuna, Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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Nirai Kanai Bridge (August 2022) — Photo: Kugel~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

32 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Nirai Kanai Bridge overlook (ニライカナイ橋)

A sweeping U-shaped road bridge that switchbacks down the Chinen hillside with the Pacific and Kudaka Island ahead — best seen from the tunnel-top viewpoint. It appears in the 2021 anime 'The Aquatope on White Sand', which earned Nanjō a place among the Anime Tourism Association's 88 anime pilgrimage sites.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — The Aquatope on White Sand (白い砂のアクアトープ, 2021) — bridge shown in the series; Nanjō named an 'Anime Pilgrimage 88' site · Coastal bridge & viewpoint (anime pilgrimage)

Chinen, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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33 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Okinawa Karate Kaikan (沖縄空手会館)

The prefecture's home of karate, opened March 2017 on a 3.8 ha site near Naha Airport: a museum on the art's Okinawan origins, training dojo and the ceremonial Shureikan hall.

Look for Karate museum & dojo

Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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34 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Nanjō City Regional Products Hall — Midori no Yakata Sēfā (南城市地域物産館緑の館・セーファ)

The roadside products hall at the foot of Sēfa-utaki, with about 200 local souvenirs downstairs and a restaurant and café upstairs. It is the official Aquatope pilgrimage base: Nanjō keeps its Anime Tourism Association '88 Anime Pilgrimage' certification plate and goshuin-style memorial stamp here.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — The Aquatope on White Sand (2021) — holds Nanjō's Anime Tourism '88' certification plate and pilgrimage stamp · Aquatope pilgrimage stamp & plate

539 Kudeken, Chinen, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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35 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Konpaku-no-tō memorial, Itoman (魂魄の塔)

The first war memorial raised after the Battle of Okinawa, built by residents themselves in February 1946 from gathered remains; enshrining some 35,000 people, it is the largest in the prefecture, and families gather here at dawn every Irei-no-hi (23 June).

Look for First post-war memorial (1946)

1441-3 Komesu, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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36 Worth the detour within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Umibudō Farm Umin-chi, Itoman (海ぶどう農園海ん道)

A working sea-grape (umibudō) farm on the Itoman coast with a shop, its own Okinawa soba restaurant and picking experiences; its signature is soft serve folded with fresh-picked sea grapes. Ryukyu Shimpo reported on the farm and OCVB's official Itoman–Tomigusuku 'fishermen's-town gourmet' course includes it as a stop.

1931 Maesato, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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37 Worth the detour within Nanbu · Kissaten & coffee

Hamabe no Chaya (浜辺の茶屋)

Founded in 1994 as Okinawa's first seaside café: a driftwood lodge on a shallow beach whose window counter sits right over the water at high tide.

2-1 Tamagusuku, Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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38 Worth the detour within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kaiyō Shokudō, Tomigusuku (海洋食堂)

Tomigusuku shokudō famous for yushi-dōfu, soft just-made island tofu carried over from the adjoining tofu works and served in soup or soba.

Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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39 Worth the detour within Nanbu

Awamori Masahiro Gallery, Itoman (泡盛まさひろギャラリー)

Gallery-shop of Masahiro Distillery (founded 1883): watch the production line through glass, browse displays on awamori's history and taste for free.

5-8-7 Nishizaki-chō, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan

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40 Worth the detour within Nanbu · Soba & udon

Mozuku Soba Kunnatu, Nanjō (もずくそばの店くんなとぅ)

Facing Ōjima, a mozuku-farming centre, this shop kneads JAS-organic mozuku into its own soba noodles and serves them in a light bonito broth with tempura fried to order.

460-2 Shikenbaru, Tamagusuku, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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41 Worth the detour within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Ōshiro Tempura, Ōjima (大城てんぷら店)

One of the three tempura stands on 'tempura island' Ōjima, under shade trees right by the water; fish, vegetable and squid tempura are fried after you order, for a few coins apiece.

193 Tamagusuku Ōjima, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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42 Worth the detour within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Taco Rice Café Kijimunā, Senaga-jima Umikaji Terrace (タコライスcafe きじむなぁ瀬長島ウミカジテラス店)

The Umikaji Terrace branch of Kijimunā, the shop that created 'omu-taco' (taco rice under a soft omelette) in Onna in 2003 and has since won awards at Okinawa gourmet festivals. Rurubu picks it among Umikaji Terrace's recommended eats and Okinawa Traveler includes it in its seven popular taco-rice shops.

174-6 Senaga, Tomigusuku, Okinawa 901-0233, Japan

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43 Deep cut within Nanbu

Poké Lid — Axew & Jangmo-o on a Hārī boat, Michi-no-Eki Toyosaki (ポケふたキバゴ×ジャラコ道の駅豊崎)

Tomigusuku's Pokémon manhole cover shows Axew and Jangmo-o riding a dragon boat, a nod to the city's claim to be the birthplace of the Hārī boat race. It sits at Michi-no-Eki Toyosaki, the roadside station near Naha Airport. It was installed in the same south-Okinawa set as the Itoman and Nanjō lids, and is on the OCVB Poké Lid trail.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Pokémon (Poké Lids) — Axew & Jangmo-o on a Hārī dragon boat, Tomigusuku's lid in the southern-Okinawa set · Pokémon manhole near the airport

Michi-no-Eki Toyosaki, 3-39 Toyosaki, Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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44 Deep cut within Nanbu

Chinen Castle Ruins (知念城跡)

Compact cliff-top gusuku with a pair of arched stone gates, believed to be the second-oldest castle in the Ryūkyūs; near the sacred Chinen-Ukka spring. National Historic Site.

Look for Gusuku ruin

Chinen, Nanjō, Okinawa, Japan

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overall view of the beach and seaside park — Photo: そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

45 Deep cut within Nanbu

Toyosaki Chura-Sun Beach (豊崎美らSUNビーチ)

Long artificial beach on the Toyosaki reclamation near the airport, with BBQ areas and planes overhead.

Look for Beach near the airport

Toyosaki, Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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46 Deep cut within Nanbu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Do~me Gohan Café, Ryukyu Glass Village, Itoman (土～夢ごはんカフェ)

The café beside the glass-blowing workshop at Ryukyu Glass Village, serving meat and fish mains — notably butter-soy gurukun, Okinawa's prefectural fish — with island-vegetable side dishes on local pottery and Ryukyu glass. JAL's Skyward crew picks recommend it and Stripes Okinawa reviewed it.

169 Fukuchi, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan (Ryukyu Glass Village)

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47 Deep cut within Nanbu · Kissaten & coffee

Café Kurukuma (カフェくるくま)

Cliff-top Asian-herb restaurant café with a terrace and herb-garden promenade looking out over the Pacific.

1190 Chinen, Chinen, Nanjō, Okinawa 901-1513, Japan

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48 Deep cut within Nanbu

Michi-no-Eki Toyosaki (道の駅豊崎)

The roadside station closest to Naha Airport, stocked with Tomigusuku's mango products and island produce — a last-stop for food souvenirs.

Toyosaki, Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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49 Deep cut within Nanbu

Uema Kashiten Factory — Suppaiman (上間菓子店工場見学)

Free factory tour of the maker of Suppaiman, Okinawa's cult dried-plum snack and its mascot; watch the plums and candies being made (video only on Saturdays).

3-64 Toyosaki, Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan

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50 Deep cut within Nanbu · Sushi & kaisen-don

Minatomachi Parlor, Itoman (港町パーラー)

A small counter opened in April 2025 inside Itoman's public market 'Itomāru' by the second-generation head of Kinshiro Sengyo, a fish shop trading in Itoman for 35+ years; the owner fillets the day's catch on the spot for generous local-fish bowls. Ryukyu Shimpo's 'Uchinā Ajimāi' series and OTV Okitive both featured it.

989-83 Itoman, Itoman, Okinawa, Japan (Itoman Market Itomāru)

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51 Deep cut within Nanbu · Kissaten & coffee

Hawaiian Pancake Cafe KOA, Itoman

A beachfront Hawaiian café in Itoman that the Ryukyu Shimpo's 'Uchinā Ajimāi' column (no. 144) calls stylish and generous. Stars and Stripes Okinawa recommends its hearty loco moco and pancakes, with an ocean view, as a refuel stop on a southern-Okinawa drive.

Itoman, Okinawa, Japan (beachfront; Stars and Stripes GPS N26.117810 E127.662568 — street number not captured)

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52 Deep cut within Nanbu · Sushi & kaisen-don

Oyaji no Maguro, Senaga-jima Umikaji Terrace (親父のまぐろ)

A tuna-bowl counter at Umikaji Terrace where a fisherman father line-catches the tuna and his son and daughter-in-law serve it fresh and never frozen. It is known for thick-cut yellowfin maguro-don and an ahi poke rice. Rurubu lists it among the terrace's recommended eats and the Ryukyu Shimpo has profiled it.

Senaga-jima Umikaji Terrace, 174-6 Senaga, Tomigusuku, Okinawa 901-0233, Japan

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Hokubu 78 places · area 4 of 7

Northern Okinawa · Nago · Motobu & Churaumi · Kouri Island · Onna · Yanbaru

1 Must see within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kishimoto Shokudo (きしもと食堂)

Soba shop founded in 1905 near the Motobu market: flat noodles still made with tree-ash lye water, in a light bonito-and-soy broth with thick boneless rib, kamaboko and island onion.

near Motobu Municipal Market, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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2 Must see within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

King Tacos Kin (キングタコス金武本店)

The taco-rice institution in downtown Kin: seasoned taco meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato over rice — the dish created in Kin in 1984 by Matsuzo Gibo of Parlor Senri.

Kin, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

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3 Must see within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Gabusoka Shokudo Honten (我部祖河食堂本店)

Founded in 1966 and billed as the birthplace of soki soba: the founder, then a butcher, simmered unsold spare ribs for hours and laid them on soba. House-made wavy noodles, punchy pork-bone broth.

Gabusoka, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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4 Must see within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Yanbaru Soba (山原そば)

The queue-before-opening star of the Motobu 'soba road' (Route 84): a mellow bonito-and-pork broth unchanged for four decades, soki or three-layer pork on top; closes when the noodles run out.

70-1 Izumi, Motobu, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

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5 Must see within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Ufuya (百年古家大家)

A century-old Okinawan farmhouse compound in the hills above Nago serving soki soba and agu pork; one of Okinawa Traveler's locals-recommend five and on Stars and Stripes' soba trail.

Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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6 Must see within Hokubu

Arakaki Zenzai-ya (新垣ぜんざい屋)

Motobu's half-century-old zenzai shop that does exactly one thing: sweet stewed red kidney beans buried under a peak of shaved ice, bought with a ticket from the door.

11-2 Toguchi, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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7 Must see within Hokubu

Orion Happy Park — Orion Beer Nago Brewery (オリオンハッピーパーク)

Okinawa's own beer since 1957: the Nago plant's tour ends with a tasting of just-brewed Orion Draft; shop, restaurant and a small history gallery.

Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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8 Must see within Hokubu

Onna no Eki Nakayukui Ichiba (おんなの駅なかゆくい市場)

West-coast roadside market that every drive north stops at: island produce, snack stalls frying sata andagi (brown sugar, beni-imo and more), and Ryu-pin's mountainous tropical-fruit kakigōri.

Nakadomari, Onna, Okinawa, Japan

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9 Must see within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Emi no Mise, Ōgimi (笑味の店)

Opened in 1990 by Kinjō Shōko to pass on the food culture of Ōgimi, the 'longevity village'; a farm restaurant whose reservation-only chōju-zen longevity set is built on seasonal island vegetables she grows herself. Her book of Yanbaru grandmothers' kitchen wisdom was published in 2023 (Ryukyu Shimpo).

61 Ōganeku, Ōgimi-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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Churaumi Aquarium building seen from the west — Photo: そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

10 Must see within Hokubu

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (沖縄美ら海水族館)

Widely rated Japan's best aquarium, at the tip of the Motobu Peninsula. Its Kuroshio Tank — one of the largest in the world — holds whale sharks and manta rays.

Look for Whale-shark aquarium

Ocean Expo Park, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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Cape Manzamo cliffs — Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

11 Must see within Hokubu

Cape Manzamo (万座毛)

Grassy clifftop above the Onna coast with the elephant-trunk rock arch; one of the island's most-visited viewpoints.

Look for Clifftop viewpoint

Onna, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

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Hiji Falls waterfall — Photo: Philipmj24 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

12 Must see within Hokubu

Hiji Falls (比地大滝)

The main island's tallest waterfall (25.7 m), reached by a forest trail and suspension bridge through the Yanbaru subtropical woods from the Kunigami campground.

Look for Yanbaru waterfall hike

Kunigami Forest Park, Hiji, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

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Cape Hedo seen from the Yanbarukuina observatory — Photo: Captain76 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

13 Must see within Hokubu

Cape Hedo (辺戸岬)

The northernmost point of Okinawa Island: jagged limestone cliffs where the East China Sea meets the Pacific, with Yoron Island on the horizon and the Yanbaru-kuina observatory on the hill behind.

Look for Northern cape

Hedo, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

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14 Must see within Hokubu

Cape Maeda & the Blue Cave (真栄田岬青の洞窟)

Limestone cape on the Onna coast and the island's most popular snorkel and dive entry; swim or boat into the Blue Cave, where light through the sea floor turns the grotto luminous aquamarine.

Look for Snorkel cave

Maeda, Onna, Okinawa, Japan

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15 Must see within Hokubu

Kouri Ōhashi Bridge & Kouri Island (古宇利大橋・古宇利島)

The 1,960 m toll-free bridge (2005) from Yagaji Island across emerald shallows to Kouri, the 'Island of Love' — one of Okinawa's signature drives, with beaches, Heart Rock and garlic-shrimp trucks at the far end.

Look for Sea bridge & island

Kouri, Nakijin, Okinawa, Japan

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16 Must see within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Shinzan Soba (新山そば)

Nago soba house founded in 1925 and run by the third generation: thick, springy flat noodles in an agu-pork-bone and bonito broth; profiled by the Okinawa Times as a century-old favourite.

1-9-2 Daito, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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17 Must see within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

Pizza Kissa Kajinhō, Motobu (ピザ喫茶花人逢)

Red-tiled old-house café on a hilltop above Motobu serving the same home-made pizza for a quarter-century; on clear days Ie-jima, Sesoko and Minna float on the horizon.

1153-2 Yamazato, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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18 Must see within Hokubu · Soba & udon

Maeda Shokudō, Ōgimi (前田食堂)

Yanbaru noodle shop founded in 1972, on the way to Hiji Falls and Mt Yonaha; its signature gyūniku soba piles pepper-fried beef and bean sprouts on thin noodles, and weekend queues are the norm. Closes when the broth runs out.

Tsuha, Ōgimi, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

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19 Must see within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Shima-buta Shichirin-yaki Manmi, Nago (島豚七輪焼満味)

Reservation-essential grill house for Yanbaru island pork descended from agu: cuts and offal grilled over individual charcoal shichirin, with rare pork tongue and a horumon fried rice to finish. Dinner only (closed Sun–Mon).

251 Isagawa, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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シーサイドドライブイン (22721136639) — Photo: cage.okada · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

20 Must see within Hokubu

Seaside Drive-In, Onna (シーサイドドライブイン)

Opened in 1967 under US administration and kept in its original style, neon signs and all; the signature creamy pork-bone soup is a take-out ritual for west-coast beach days, and a 24-hour take-out counter sells burgers, shaved ice and sides.

Nakadomari, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan (Route 58, seaside)

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21 Must see within Hokubu · Soba & udon

Sawanoya Motobu Honten (さわのや本部本店)

One of the anchors of the 'Motobu Soba Kaidō' noodle road: noodles are hand-made the old way with wood-ash lye, giving firm, flat thick noodles with a distinctive flavour (Mapple); Stars and Stripes Okinawa features it in its guide to slurping noodles like a local.

Motobu-chō (Motobu Soba Kaidō, Prefectural Route 84), Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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22 Must see within Hokubu

Nakijin Castle Ruins (今帰仁城跡)

Hilltop stronghold of the Hokuzan kingdom with long serpentine limestone walls. UNESCO Gusuku component.

Look for Gusuku ruins

Nakijin, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

23 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Michi-no-Eki Ginoza (道の駅ぎのざ)

A roadside station on Route 329, the first on Okinawa's east coast. It is known for its water-play plaza and giant slide, and an All About 2025 survey ranked it second among Okinawa roadside stations to visit with children. One of the three official Okitsura manhole covers, showing the heroines and Ginoza's mascot Gī-no-kun, was installed here as part of the Kin Bay council's pilgrimage campaign.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Okitsura (沖縄で好きになった子が方言すぎてツラすぎる, anime 2025) — official Okitsura manhole (with Ginoza mascot Gī-no-kun) · Okitsura manhole at a family roadside station

1633 Kanna, Ginoza Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa 904-1304, Japan

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24 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Captain Kangaroo, Nago (キャプテンカンガルー)

A burger shop that began as an Osaka bar in 1999 and opened in Nago in 2007, moving to its current Umusa site in 2020. Stars and Stripes Okinawa calls it a hot spot for its taco rice as well as its burgers; OTV Okitive profiles its Mexican-loaded 'Captain Kangaroo taco rice', and Smart Magazine ranks it among Okinawa's top one or two burger shops.

183 Umusa, Nago-shi, Okinawa 905-0006, Japan

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25 Worth the detour within Hokubu

KIN Sunrise Beach (KINサンライズビーチ海浜公園)

An 800 m long-beach seaside park in Kin, listed by the OCVB film office as a location. It is one of the three official pilgrimage stops for the manga and anime 'Okitsura': one of the series' manhole covers was installed here, and the Kin Bay council ran its Okitsura collaboration campaign from the park's management building. The campaign art shows the heroines eating taco rice, the dish that started in Kin, against this beach.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Okitsura (沖縄で好きになった子が方言すぎてツラすぎる, anime 2025) — official Okitsura manhole + Kan-Kin-Bay council collab campaign site · Okitsura manhole & collab beach

10819-4 Kin, Kin Town, Kunigami District, Okinawa 904-1201, Japan

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26 Worth the detour within Hokubu

JUNGLIA Okinawa theme park, Nakijin/Nago (ジャングリア沖縄)

A 60-hectare nature theme park on a former golf course straddling Nakijin and Nago at the edge of Yanbaru, opened 25 July 2025 by Katana Inc. (led by ex-USJ marketer Tsuyoshi Morioka): animatronic-dinosaur rides, buggy safaris, bungee and an aerial course, plus a spa annex and 15 restaurants (Stars and Stripes; The Japan Times; nippon.com/Jiji).

Look for Northern Okinawa's new jungle theme park (opened July 2025)

553-1 Gogayama, Nakijin-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 905-0413, Japan

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27 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Sushi & kaisen-don

Nago Fishing Port Fish Market & Diner (名護漁港水産物直販所)

A fish-sales hall with an attached diner inside Nago fishing port on Route 58, cooking fish auctioned that day at the port. Ryukyu Shimpo's 'Uchinā aji māi' column praised its seafood bowl of many fish, Okinawa Times' driver-lunch column went for the squid-ink soup and tempura, and the Nago tourism association lists it.

3-5-16 Gusuku, Nago-shi, Okinawa, Japan

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28 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Ōgimi Shīkwāsā Park (大宜味シークヮーサーパーク)

Billed by the OCVB as Okinawa's first shīkwāsā theme park, in the citrus's home village of Ōgimi: a free-entry factory where you watch the pressing line, compare juices from each month's harvest and eat in a restaurant cooking with shīkwāsā powder. Ryukyu Shimpo covered its completion as a local-produce revitalisation project; the Yanbaru three-villages tourism portal lists it.

1424-1 Tsuha, Ōgimi-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 905-1318, Japan

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29 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Famille — tacos, Nago

A takeout taco stand opened in July 2025 on the national road to Junglia by a couple who cooked in French hotel restaurants; the meat takes three days to develop its flavour. Covered by Okinawa Times and Ryukyu Shimpo, and ranked No. 2 in the north in OTV Okitive's 2026 Golden Week 30, which says its 200 tacos a day sell out.

35 Yabe, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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30 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

Hammock Garden Anettai Chaya, Motobu (亜熱帯茶屋)

An Asian-style hillside café opened in May 2015 up a single-lane lane in Motobu, near Churaumi, with hammocks, arbours and mostly outdoor seats looking over forest and sea. Stars and Stripes Okinawa reviewed it for its food and coastal view; the OCVB, Mapple and Tabirai list its brunch toasts and Yanbaru-herb chicken gapao rice.

60 Nohara, Motobu-cho, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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31 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

CASA SOL, Nakijin (カーサソル)

A forest-hill café over the Haneji inland sea opened on 17 September 2024 by a YouTuber couple, built from glass-walled containers with a driftwood 'bird's nest' lookout and a giant swing (OTV Okitive, Tabirai). Its menu draws on the owners' world travels — açai bowls made without frozen fruit, poke bowls, smoothies and morning plates; rurubu ranks it among Okinawa's six best Yanbaru forest cafés.

661 Wakugawa, Nakijin-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 905-0412, Japan

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32 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Neo Park Okinawa, Nago (ネオパークオキナワ)

Nago's municipal wildlife and botanical park (opened December 1992): about 100 species in free-roaming Africa, Amazon and Oceania zones, circled by a small light railway.

Look for Walk-through flamingo & bird park

4607-41 Nago, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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33 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Kayauchi Banta cliff, Kunigami (茅打バンタ)

A ~100 m sheer cliff and lookout near the island's northern tip, inside Yanbaru National Park; the name ('banta' = cliff) comes from the tale that a bundle of thatch thrown over the edge was torn apart by the wind.

Look for Yanbaru's 100 m cliff lookout

Ginama, Kunigami-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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34 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Busena Marine Park Underwater Observatory, Nago (ブセナ海中公園海中展望塔)

Opened in 1970 at the tip of Busena Cape, the observatory stands 170 m offshore at the end of a footbridge; a spiral stair descends to round windows 5 m below the surface for watching reef fish. Glass-bottom boats run from the same park.

Look for Walk down to the reef 5 m underwater

1744-1 Kise, Nago-shi, Okinawa, Japan

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35 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Ryukyu Mura, Onna (琉球村)

A hands-on culture village of old Okinawan farmhouses moved here from around the islands, recreating pre-war village life; visitors try indigo dyeing, pottery, weaving and bingata stencil-dyeing and watch Ryukyuan performing-arts shows.

Look for Old Okinawa's relocated farmhouses

1130 Yamada, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 904-0416, Japan

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36 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Poké Lid — Emolga & Pikipek at Hinpun Gajumaru, Nago (ポケふたエモンガ×ツツケラひんぷんガジュマル)

A Pokémon manhole cover (Poké Lid) set beside Nago's Hinpun Gajumaru, the 240-plus-year-old national-monument banyan on Nago's main street. It shows Emolga and Pikipek playing in the tree. Nago installed it in Gajumaru Ryokuchi Park on 15 February 2022, and it is on the OCVB Poké Lid trail.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Pokémon (Poké Lids) — Emolga & Pikipek playing in the Hinpun Gajumaru, Nago's symbol; northern stop on the Okinawa Poké Lid trail · Pokémon manhole under Nago's great banyan

Gajumaru Ryokuchi Park, 2-321-3 Gusuku, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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37 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Yanbaru Kuina Ecological Exhibit 'Kuina no Mori', Kunigami (ヤンバルクイナ生態展示学習施設クイナの森)

The place to actually see the Okinawa rail (Yanbaru kuina), the flightless national natural monument found only in Yanbaru: a live exhibit and learning facility in Ada village, part of the Ada Kuina Fureai Park. The OCVB features it in its ethical-travel series on learning about Yanbaru nature; Mapple lists it (9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30).

Look for Meet the flightless Okinawa rail

1477-35 Ada, Kunigami-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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38 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

Bookcafe Okinawa Rail, Kunigami (ブックカフェオキナワレイル)

An off-grid concrete book café on the forest road toward Yonaha-dake inside Yanbaru National Park, named for the Yanbaru kuina (Okinawa rail), running on solar power and spring water with walls of books. Ryukyu Shimpo covered its opening as a forest reading retreat; OTV Okitive calls it worth the trip, and Tabirai recommends the New York cheesecake and house-roasted coffee.

2040-107 Ōho-shagahara, Okuma, Kunigami-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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39 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Nakamura Soba (なかむらそば)

Roadside soba house near Manza Beach: preservative-free house noodles, a light but bonito-rich broth and pork belly that falls apart at a touch; the aasa soba works sea lettuce into both noodles and topping.

1669-1 Serakaki, Onna, Okinawa 904-0404, Japan

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40 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Helios Distillery (ヘリオス酒造)

Founded as a rum distiller in 1961 and brewing Okinawa's pioneering craft beer since 1996; the free tour shows 2,600 barrels of aging awamori stacked to the roof.

405 Kyoda, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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41 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Michi-no-Eki Kyoda — Yanbaru Bussan Center (道の駅許田)

The roadside station at the end of the Okinawa Expressway, gateway to Yanbaru: produce from the twelve northern towns and a takeout row famous for hot Okinawan tempura and tacos. Renewed in 2021.

17-1 Kyoda, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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42 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

Cafe ichara, Motobu (カフェイチャラ)

A Motobu forest café picked by Rurubu, Mapple and Okinawa Traveler's 'sea or forest?' round-up of northern cafés.

Izumi, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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43 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Okashi Goten Onna (御菓子御殿恩納店)

The red-gated seaside flagship of the confectioner behind the 'original' beni-imo tart, made from 100% Okinawan purple sweet potato from contracted farmers with no preservatives or colouring; the baking line is visible through glass and a reservation-only tart-making class runs here.

Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan (coastal Route 58; red-gated palace-style shop)

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44 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Iejima Distillery, Ie Island (伊江島蒸留所)

The island's rum distillery, set up in a former bioethanol demonstration plant, makes Ie Rum Santa Maria as agricole rum from local sugarcane juice. It won Best Japanese Rum of the Year at the first Tokyo Whiskey & Spirits Competition in 2019. A distillery-limited bottling took a top gold medal in the 2026 edition. The island is a 30-minute ferry ride from Motobu Port.

1627-3 Higashi-Ebusaki, Ie-son, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

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45 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Soba & udon

Nakijin Soba (今帰仁そば)

An Okinawa soba shop in an old Ryūkyū house in a fukugi-lined village near Churaumi, known for its light but rich broth and melting nankotsu sōki. When it faced closure, fans of the shop took it over; it reopened renewed in its 10th year with outdoor seating (Okinawa Times), and ran a limited Naha pop-up in 2026.

181 Moroshi, Nakijin-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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46 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

CAFE FUKURUBI, Kouri Island (カフェフクルビ)

A café-restaurant on high ground near Heart Rock on Kouri Island's north side, with a 180-degree panorama of the horizon from its terrace. It cooks with prefectural ingredients and especially Kouri Island's own pure brown sugar, used in its signature black-sugar French toast.

2516 Kouri, Nakijin-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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Beach on Minna Island, Motobu — Photo: Snap55 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

47 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Minna Island — 'Croissant Island', Motobu (水納島)

A small crescent-shaped coral island (0.47 km², highest point 26.9 m) off the Motobu Peninsula, nicknamed 'Croissant Island' because it looks like one from the air. The OCVB lists it and its Minna Beach as a day-trip swimming and snorkelling spot.

Look for The croissant-shaped coral island off Motobu

Minna-jima, Motobu-cho, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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48 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Kin Kannon-ji Temple, Kin (金武観音寺)

A Kōyasan Shingon temple (mountain name Kinpusan, main image Shō-Kannon) traditionally founded in the 16th century by the monk Nisshū, who was shipwrecked at Kin while sailing from Kii and preached from the limestone cave beside the temple. Kin town's tourism site lists the cave (Nisshū-dō) and the temple's old fukugi trees.

Look for 16th-century temple over the Kin limestone cave

222 Kin, Kin-chō, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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Heart-shaped rocks at Tinu Hama beach, Kouri Island (2020) — Photo: Kugel~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

49 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Tokei Beach & Heart Rock, Kouri Island (ティーヌ浜)

The north-shore cove of 'Love Island' Kouri, reached by the long Kouri Ōhashi bridge, where the heart-shaped rock formation stands in the shallows.

Look for Heart Rock beach

Kouri, Nakijin, Okinawa, Japan

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50 Worth the detour within Hokubu

ASMUI Spiritual Hikes (former Daisekirinzan, 大石林山)

Trails through jagged limestone karst near Cape Hedo, a place of prayer for some 600 years — renamed ASMUI Spiritual Hikes.

Look for Karst trails

Ginama, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

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Bise Fukugi Tree Road, Motobu (2017) — Photo: Abasaa · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

51 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Bise Fukugi Tree Road (備瀬のフクギ並木)

Kilometre of sandy lanes in Bise village tunnelled by centuries-old fukugi windbreak trees, five minutes from Churaumi; walk or cycle to Cape Bise.

Look for Fukugi-tree village lanes

Bise, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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52 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Nago Central Park / Nago Castle Park (名護城公園)

Hillside park on the old Nago gusuku site — the only place in Okinawa on Japan's list of 100 best cherry-blossom spots (deep-pink kanhi-zakura in late January) — with the Tenjo lookout over Nago Bay.

Look for January cherry-blossom park

Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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Mount Gusuku (Tatchu) on Ie Island (2019) — Photo: Kugel~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

53 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Ie Island & Mt Gusuku 'Tatchu' (伊江島城山)

Flat island a 30-minute ferry from Motobu, dominated by the 172 m rock spire of Gusuku-yama ('Iejima Tatchu') — climb for views back to the Motobu Peninsula.

Look for Island & rock-spire climb

Ie, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

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54 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Sesoko Island & Sesoko Beach (瀬底島)

Small bridged island off Motobu with one of the main island area's clearest swimming beaches, facing Minna and Ie islands.

Look for Bridged island beach

Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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55 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Mt Yaedake cherry-blossom road (八重岳桜の森公園)

Japan's first cherry blossoms of the year: about 7,000 deep-pink kanhi-zakura line a 4 km road up the main island's second-highest mountain, with a festival from mid-January.

Look for January sakura road

Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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56 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Emerald Beach, Ocean Expo Park (エメラルドビーチ)

Three-part beach inside Ocean Expo Park beside Churaumi, one of Japan's '100 best beaches'; free entry and parking, swimming April–October.

Look for Beach

Ocean Expo Park, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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57 Worth the detour within Hokubu

Gesashi Bay mangroves, Higashi (慶佐次湾のヒルギ林)

The second-largest mangrove forest on Okinawa's main island — about 10 ha along the Gesashi River estuary, explored by boardwalk or guided kayak.

Look for Mangrove kayaking

Gesashi, Higashi, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

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58 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Izumi Soba (伊豆味そば)

Soba stop on the Route 84 'soba road' through Izumi, picked in Okinawa Times' 2023 poll of 900 noodle lovers as one of the north's best.

Izumi, Motobu, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

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59 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Sobaya Yoshiko, Motobu (そば屋よしこ)

One of the stars of Motobu's 'soba highway' (Prefectural Route 84, 20-plus soba shops): come for the meltingly braised tebichi on a pork-bonito-kombu broth.

Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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60 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

Yachimun Kissa Shīsā-en, Motobu (やちむん喫茶シーサー園)

A red-roofed Okinawan farmhouse swallowed by subtropical forest, with more than a hundred local potters' shīsā lions perched on roofs and walls around the tables.

1439 Izumi, Motobu, Okinawa, Japan

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61 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Okinawa Ryōri Maruoki Shōten, Nago (沖縄料理丸沖商店)

Nago restaurant certified under Okinawa Prefecture's 'shop where you can taste Ryūkyū cuisine' scheme; known for its agu-pork shabu-shabu course.

Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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62 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Soba & udon

Yae Shokudō, Nago (八重食堂)

A 40-plus-year-old Nago soba shop known for topping up bowls with broth from a kettle (OCVB); voted into Okinawa Times' 2023 poll of 900 noodle fans for the best soba in the north.

1-9-3 Gusuku, Nago-shi, Okinawa, Japan

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63 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Soba & udon

Sakihama Seimen, Onna (崎濱製麺)

Reopened in Yamada in April 2024 as the rebrand of a Tomari (Naha) soba shop that ran 8 years; noodles are rested 3+ days and ordered kufa (hard), regular or yafa (soft), in a clear pork-bonito-kelp shio broth with no pork bones (OTV okitive). OCVB's soba-lovers' picks feature it.

847 Yamada, Onna-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa 904-0416, Japan

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64 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Soba & udon

Yaezen, Motobu (八重善)

A soba stop on Motobu's Route 84 'soba road', named by the OCVB soba-road itinerary for its signature bowl that combines Okinawa soba with squid-ink broth made with fresh local white squid. rurubu lists the ikasumi soba as limited to 10 servings a day, plus sōki soba and the seasonal 'Yaezen gozen' set.

342-1 Namizato, Motobu-cho, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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65 Worth the detour within Hokubu · Soba & udon

Marutaka Soba, Nago (丸隆そば)

A Nago soba house founded in 1948 (formerly Ganaha Soba) that OTV Okitive presents as a 70-plus-year institution serving the 'original' sōki soba — flat wide noodles in a bonito-forward broth. Listed by the Nago City tourism association.

1-10-25 Ōkita, Nago-shi, Okinawa, Japan

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66 Deep cut within Hokubu

Kouri Ocean Tower, Kouri Island (古宇利オーシャンタワー)

A white observation tower on Kouri Island whose deck stands 82 m above sea level, looking over the cobalt sea and the Kouri Ōhashi bridge; Okinawa Traveler's northern-cafés feature recommends a meal there with the view. Listed by the OCVB and the Nakijin Village tourism association.

Look for 82 m above the sea, looking down the Kouri bridge

538 Kouri, Nakijin-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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Fukuji Dam, Higashi — Photo: Ray_go · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

67 Deep cut within Hokubu

Fukuji Dam & Lake Fukujō, Higashi (福地ダム・福上湖)

Completed in 1974 on the Fukuji River, Okinawa's largest dam holds the prefecture's biggest reservoir, Lake Fukujō, chosen in 2005 as one of Japan's 100 best dam lakes. The Yanbaru three-villages tourism portal lists its lookouts, lakeside paths and water-resources exhibit hall, with nature-watching boat and canoe trips on the lake.

Look for Okinawa's largest dam lake in the Yanbaru forest

Fukuji River, Higashi-son, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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68 Deep cut within Hokubu

OKINAWA Fruits Land, Nago (OKINAWAフルーツらんど)

A tropical theme park in Nago on the road to Churaumi, where you walk among tropical and subtropical fruit trees and colourful southern birds and taste the fruit; listed by the OCVB and described on Japanese Wikipedia (open daily 10:00–17:30).

Look for Tropical fruit trees and birds, then the tasting

1220-71 Bimata, Nago-shi, Okinawa, Japan

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69 Deep cut within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Ryūkyū Ryōri Nago-magari Restaurant, Nago (名護曲レストラン)

A long-running Ryukyu-cuisine restaurant on the coast road at Yofuke in Nago, listed by rurubu, Okinawa Traveler and the OCVB; rurubu notes the owner builds menus from rare and nutritious seasonal ingredients. The wide menu runs from Okinawan set meals and soba to Western dishes like taco rice and steak.

574 Yofuke, Nago, Okinawa 905-0022, Japan

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70 Deep cut within Hokubu

Nago Pineapple Park (ナゴパイナップルパーク)

Kitsch pineapple-themed park on Route 84 with self-driving pineapple carts through the plantation and tastings of pineapple everything.

Look for Pineapple theme park

Biimata, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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71 Deep cut within Hokubu

Kariyushi Beach (かりゆしビーチ)

Resort beach on Nago Bay's western shore with a long swimming season (March–October) and marine activities.

Look for Resort beach

Kise, Onna, Okinawa, Japan

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72 Deep cut within Hokubu

Okuma Beach (奥間ビーチ)

Year-round beach resort in Yanbaru, inside the World Natural Heritage north; long a favourite of base families.

Look for Yanbaru beach

Okuma, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

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73 Deep cut within Hokubu

Todoroki Falls Park, Nago (轟の滝)

A roughly 28 m waterfall a five-minute drive inland from Route 58, designated a prefectural scenic spot; a small managed park (open 9–18, ¥200) with stream play and barbecue areas.

Look for Nago's 28 m forest falls

594 Sukuta, Nago, Okinawa, Japan

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74 Deep cut within Hokubu · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

GATE1, Kin (ゲート1)

A retro-American diner facing Camp Hansen's Gate 1 in Kin, the birthplace of taco rice; Kin town's tourism site lists its big cheese-and-vegetable taco rice, jumbo burger and fried chicken, and notes it takes US dollars as well as yen. Stars and Stripes Okinawa names Gate 1, with King Tacos, as a long-running taco-rice favourite in Kin.

4257 Kin, Kin-chō, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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75 Deep cut within Hokubu

Michi-no-Eki Yuiyui Kunigami (道の駅ゆいゆい国頭)

The Yanbaru roadside station that gathers Kunigami village's food: Oku-grown green tea, karagi tea and the local Kunigami doughnuts — the last big food stop before Cape Hedo.

Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

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76 Deep cut within Hokubu

KOURI SHRIMP, Kouri Island (古宇利島 KOURI SHRIMP)

Kouri Island's garlic-shrimp stand serving Hawaiian-style shrimp plates; Stars and Stripes notes it has opened a new shop on the island.

314 Kouri, Nakijin, Kunigami, Okinawa, Japan

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77 Deep cut within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

Cafe Hakoniwa, Motobu (Cafe ハコニワ)

A 50-plus-year-old house in the Izumi hills, turned into a café with antique furniture. The signature is the Hakoniwa plate, home-style rice and side dishes made with locally grown vegetables. There are also cakes and shīkwāsā juice. Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays.

2566 Izumi, Motobu-chō, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

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78 Deep cut within Hokubu · Kissaten & coffee

Cafe Kokuu, Nakijin (カフェこくう)

A hilltop café in Nakijin whose cooking draws on Japanese and macrobiotic food. The signature Kokuu plate serves more than ten kinds of organically grown island vegetables, each cooked a different way, on yachimun pottery. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

2031-138 Moroshi, Nakijin-son, Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan

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Kerama & nearby islands 19 places · area 5 of 7

Tokashiki · Zamami · Aka · Kume-jima · Iheya

1 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands

Hate-no-hama sandbar, Kume Island (ハテの浜)

A 7 km ribbon of pure white sand bars in the open sea east of Kume Island, reached only by a 20-minute boat ride — no shade, no buildings, just reef and sky.

Look for Offshore sandbar

off eastern Kume Island, Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan

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宇江城城跡（久米島町） — Photo: Kiken68 · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

2 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands

Uegusuku Castle Ruins, Kume Island (宇江城城跡)

Gusuku ruins on the 310 m summit of Uegusuku-dake — the highest castle site in Okinawa Prefecture — with a 360-degree view over almost the whole of Kume Island. Free. Designated a National Historic Site in 2009.

Look for Okinawa's highest gusuku

Uegusuku, Kumejima, Okinawa (summit of Uegusuku-dake)

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3 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Wayama Mozuku, Zamami (和山海雲)

A mozuku farmer's own restaurant three minutes' walk from Zamami port, serving soba made with thick mozuku grown in the Kerama sea; Okinawa Times praised the firm noodles' match with the seaweed's texture. It also sells its mozuku and runs snorkel tours.

9 Zamami, Zamami Village, Okinawa, Japan

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4 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands

Furuzamami Beach, Zamami Island (古座間味ビーチ)

Zamami's best beach, a 20-minute walk from the port: 'Kerama blue' water and reef straight off the sand; holds two Michelin Green Guide stars per the village.

Look for Kerama-blue beach

Zamami, Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan

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5 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands

Aharen Beach, Tokashiki Island (阿波連ビーチ)

Tokashiki's main beach in the Kerama Islands National Park: a long curve of white sand and 'Kerama blue' reef water, with a campground nearby.

Look for Kerama beach

Aharen, Tokashiki, Okinawa, Japan

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6 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Nantō Shokurakuen, Kume Island (南島食楽園)

Big open izakaya by Eef Beach built around Kume's own produce: kuruma prawns raised in deep-ocean water, sea grapes, island red chicken, grouper and octopus, from Okinawan plates to nigiri.

160-81 Higa, Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan

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7 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Restaurant Marumi-ya, Zamami (レストランまるみ屋)

Five minutes from Zamami port: hearty daily set lunches built on island produce — mozuku seaweed champuru and house-made jīmāmi peanut tofu are the favourites.

Zamami village, Zamami Island, Okinawa, Japan

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8 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kumejima Soba-dokoro Yan-kō, Kume Island (久米島そば処やん小～)

Soba shop in an old Ryūkyū-style house making hand-cut noodles with Kume's deep-sea water; the signature is a rare miso-flavoured soba piled with island-grown bean sprouts. Lunch only (11:30-13:30), closed Sundays.

509 Nakadomari, Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan

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9 Must see within Kerama & nearby islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Yukui-dokoro Washima, Kume Island (ゆくい処笑島)

Kume-jima's kuruma-prawn soba, built on an Okinawa-soba dashi with a paste of the island's farmed kuruma prawns and local miso, won the grand prix at the 'Nippon no Takaramono' world competition held in Singapore. The shop sells around 60 bowls a day and often sells out.

1372-1 Nishime, Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan

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Tatami-ishi rock pavement, Ou Island, Kumejima (2005) — Photo: Snap55 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

10 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands

Tatami-ishi, Kume Island (畳石)

About a thousand pentagonal and hexagonal andesite columns, each 1–1.5 m across, exposed at low tide on the south shore of Ōjima, bridged to Kume Island — a Miocene lava field that looks like tatami mats.

Look for Columnar-jointed rock flat

Ōjima, Kumejima, Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan

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11 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands

Inazaki Observatory, Zamami (稲崎展望台)

Hilltop lookout on Zamami's north side, about an hour's walk from the port; on clear days Aguni, Tonaki and Kume islands are visible, and it is the best spot for watching humpback whales, which frequent these waters December–April. Part of Keramashotō National Park.

Look for Whale-watching lookout

Northern tip of Zamami Island, Zamami-son, Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan

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12 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands

Gushikawa Castle Ruins, Kume Island (具志川城跡)

Fifteenth-century gusuku on a cliff-bound headland in Kume Island's north-west, four low-walled enclosures above the East China Sea; National Historic Site since 1975.

Look for Clifftop gusuku

Nakamura, Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan

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13 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands

Eef Beach, Kume Island (イーフビーチ)

Two kilometres of white sand on Kume's east coast, one of Japan's '100 Best Beaches', facing the lagoon and Hate-no-hama.

Look for Beach

Higa, Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan

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14 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands

Ama Beach, Zamami Island (阿真ビーチ)

The quieter of Zamami's two main beaches, on the southwest shore facing the uninhabited islets of Gahi and Agenashiku; sea turtles graze offshore.

Look for Beach (sea turtles)

Ama, Zamami, Okinawa, Japan

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15 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands

Takatsukiyama Observatory, Zamami (高月山展望台)

Hilltop lookout over Zamami village, Furuzamami Beach and the scattered Kerama islands — the classic Kerama Blue panorama.

Look for Island viewpoint

Zamami, Okinawa, Japan

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16 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Sukeroku Kamaboko, Kume Island (助ろく)

Kume's fish-cake maker, carrying on a 60-year-old craft: chewy island kamaboko flavoured with kuruma prawn, mozuku or squid ink — a classic island snack.

423-1 Kadekaru, Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan

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17 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands

Yonejima Shuzō awamori distillery, Kume Island (米島酒造)

Small Kume Island distillery founded by Tabata Ryōtoku, who was drawn by the island's abundant water and varied geology; shop open 10-12 and 14-17, closed Sundays.

499 Ōta, Kumejima, Okinawa, Japan

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18 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Boku no Mise Ojisan, Zamami (ぼくの店おじさん)

A local favourite three minutes' walk from Zamami port, known for a hearty katsudon alongside soba and chanpurū lunch plates. It is listed on Zamami Village's official guide map.

13 Zamami, Zamami Village, Okinawa, Japan

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19 Worth the detour within Kerama & nearby islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Restaurant Namiji, Kume Island (レストラン波路)

An island restaurant in Janadō that the Okinawa Times profiles for its spread of local seafood — Kume-jima's farmed kuruma-ebi prawns, mozuku seaweed, and ikasumi-jiru squid-ink soup — drawing both tourists and residents. The Kume-jima Tourism Association lists it among the island's eateries and notes the soups can be added to a lunch set cheaply.

548-32 Janadō, Kumejima, Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan

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Miyako Islands 40 places · area 6 of 7

Miyako-jima · Irabu · Ikema · Kurima

Tori-ike pond, Shimoji/Irabu Island — Photo: Paipateroma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

1 Must see within Miyako Islands

Tōri-ike, Shimoji Island (通り池)

Two collapsed-cave sinkholes in the coral of Shimoji's west coast — 75 m and 55 m across, linked to each other and the sea by an underwater cave — the 'dragon's eyes', a national Natural Monument and a celebrated cave dive.

Look for Twin sinkholes

Sawada, Irabu, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Irabu Ohashi Bridge seen from Makiyama observation deck — Photo: Paipateroma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

2 Must see within Miyako Islands

Irabu Ōhashi Bridge (伊良部大橋)

Opened 31 January 2015: at 3,540 m Japan's longest toll-free bridge, arcing over turquoise shallows from Miyako to Irabu Island.

Look for Japan's longest free bridge

Hirara–Irabu, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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3 Must see within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kojasobaya (古謝そば屋)

Miyako soba shop founded in 1932 by the Koja noodle-making family, under a red-tile roof; lunchtime queues for Miyako soba, soki soba and curry soba.

1517-1 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Yonaha Maehama beach, Miyakojima — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

4 Must see within Miyako Islands

Yonaha Maehama Beach (与那覇前浜)

Seven kilometres of white sand on Miyako's south-west tip, facing Kurima Island — the beach that usually tops rankings of Japan's best.

Look for Japan's top-ranked beach

Yonaha, Shimoji, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Sunayama Beach, Miyako Island — Photo: JiroS. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

5 Must see within Miyako Islands

Sunayama Beach (砂山ビーチ)

Cove reached over a tall sand dune 4 km north of Hirara, framed by a natural rock arch — one of Miyako's signature beaches.

Look for Dune-and-arch beach

Nikadori, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Cape Higashi-hennazaki, Miyako Island — Photo: Metatron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

6 Must see within Miyako Islands

Cape Higashi-hennazaki (東平安名崎)

A 2 km finger of land at Miyako's south-east tip, strewn with tsunami boulders, ending at a 1967 white lighthouse with a 320° ocean panorama.

Look for Cape & lighthouse

1221-14 Bora, Gusukube, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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7 Must see within Miyako Islands

17END, Shimoji Island (17エンド)

The shallows off the end of Shimoji Airport's runway 17, where a sandbar appears at low tide in remarkably clear turquoise water — about 15–20 minutes' drive from Miyako over the Irabu Bridge.

Look for Low-tide sandbar & lagoon

Shimoji, Irabu, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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8 Must see within Miyako Islands

Toguchi-no-hama Beach, Irabu Island (渡口の浜)

An 800 m gently curving arc of fine white sand on south-west Irabu, renowned across Okinawa for its powdery sand and clear water, looking across to Miyako and Kurima islands; counted among Irabu's finest beaches.

Look for Irabu's 800 m white-sand arc

Irabu, Miyakojima, Okinawa (south-west Irabu Island)

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9 Must see within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Irabu Soba Kame (伊良部そばかめ)

Irabu Island's soba stop, where the bonito hits you first; reached over the Irabu Bridge and named in both Okinawa Times' Miyako soba coverage and Mapple's Miyako-soba top ten.

Irabu, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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10 Must see within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Maruyoshi Shokudō (丸吉食堂)

Out in Gusukube, a family shokudō serving the owner's mother's Miyako soba: pork-bone broth perfumed with garlic and big soki ribs.

975 Sunagawa, Gusukube, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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11 Must see within Miyako Islands

Awamori to Okinawa Ryōri Gōya, Miyako (泡盛と沖縄料理郷家)

Hirara's classic shimauta izakaya: Miyako's own awamori brands, island home cooking, and nightly sanshin folk-song sets that end with the whole room dancing kachāshī.

Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Painagama Beach, Miyakojima — Photo: Paipateroma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

12 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Painagama Beach, Hirara (パイナガマビーチ)

The closest beach to downtown Hirara, walkable from the port; its name (南長間) means 'long southern beach' in Miyako dialect. A barrier-free city beach popular for sunset and an easy first swim on Miyako.

Look for Miyako's walk-in town beach, minutes from Hirara

338-3 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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13 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Kikunotsuyu Shuzō awamori distillery, Miyako (菊之露酒造)

Founded in 1928 in Hirara, Kikunotsuyu is one of Miyako's oldest and best-known awamori distillers, using the island's mineral-rich hard water from its coral-limestone bedrock; its aged awamori features in the Okinawa Regional Taxation Bureau's awamori appraisal.

290 Nishizato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Ikema Ohashi bridge to Ikema Island (2021) — Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

14 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Ikema Island & Ikema Ōhashi (池間島)

Fishing island off Miyako's northern tip, reached by the 1.4 km Ikema Ōhashi over shallow turquoise reef.

Look for Bridge-linked island

Ikema, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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15 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Miyako Jinja — Japan's southernmost shrine, Hirara (宮古神社)

Founded in 1590 (Tenshō 18), Miyako Jinja is the southernmost Shinto shrine in Japan. It enshrines the three Kumano deities alongside three deified Miyako chieftains (tuyumya), including Nakasone Tuyumya; its annual festival falls on 26 October.

Look for Japan's southernmost Shinto shrine, in central Hirara

5-1 Nishizato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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16 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Imgya Marine Garden, Gusukube (イムギャーマリンガーデン)

A city-run seaside park built around a natural, wave-sheltered inlet (Imgya / Ingya coast) on Miyako's south shore, set up to promote marine recreation and tourism; the calm water suits snorkelling and a walking trail climbs to a lookout over the cove.

Look for Calm natural inlet for snorkelling on Miyako's south coast

605-2 Tomori, Gusukube, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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17 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Cape Nishi-hennazaki, Karimata (西平安名崎)

The cape at Miyako's north-western tip, facing the East China Sea, with a lookout over Ikema Ōhashi and Ikema Island. Its wind turbines were felled by typhoons in 2002–03 and three were rebuilt in 2008.

Look for Wind-turbine cape with a panorama of Ikema Ōhashi

Karimata, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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18 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Okinohikari Shuzō awamori distillery, Miyako (沖之光酒造)

Founded in 1948 (as Kosa Shuzō; Okinohikari since 1979), this Hirara distillery keeps about 70 % of its stock as aged kūsu; its 100 % ten-year-aged Okinohikari won the Okinawa Regional Taxation Bureau Director's Award at the 2005 awamori appraisal.

1174 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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19 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Soba & udon

Cafe Uesuya, Miyako (カフェウエスヤ)

A creative Asian café opened in 2014 on a Hirara back lane (in the owner's grandfather's former dental clinic) and since relocated within Shimozato, Hirara. At lunch it serves three original takes on Miyako soba; the signature 'Asian Miyako soba' is a pho-like bowl topped with coriander, nira and tomato.

43 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Kurima Bridge between Miyako and Kurima Island (2004) — Photo: Metatron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

20 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Kurima Island & Kurima Ōhashi (来間島)

Small island reached by the 1.7 km Kurima Ōhashi from Miyako's south-west, with café stops and Nagamahama beach looking back across to Maehama.

Look for Bridge-linked island

Kurima, Shimoji, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Aragusuku Beach, Miyakojima — Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

21 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Aragusuku Beach, Miyako (新城海岸)

East-coast reef beach where shallow, glass-clear water puts coral and tropical fish within a few strokes of the sand — Miyako's easy snorkel spot.

Look for Snorkel beach

Aragusuku, Gusukube, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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22 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Soba & udon

Oshokujidokoro Sumubari, Karimata (お食事処すむばり)

A shokudō by the approach to Ikema Ōhashi that specialises in Miyako's little-known local octopus: its signature 'Sumubari soba' and an ink-black octopus soba use tako from the nearby fishing ports. Tabirai lists it among nine Miyako soba shops locals vouch for; Smart Magazine explains how the kitchen makes the octopus so tender.

768-4 Karimata, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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23 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Soba & udon

Kaimiru, Ikema Island (海美来)

A pink-fronted seafood shokudō at the Ikema Island end of Ikema Ōhashi, looking out over 'Ikema blue'. Its turban-shell sazae soba is found nowhere else, per Tabirai's list of nine Miyako soba shops locals vouch for; the Miyako island tourism association also lists its handmade purple-sweet-potato mochi.

〒906-0421 1173-7 Ikema, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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24 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Shima Tōfu Haru-obaa Shokudō, Miyako (島とうふ春おばぁ食堂)

A shokudō built around a family island-tofu business of more than 60 years; its most popular dish is yushi-dōfu soba, Miyako soba crowned with soft freshly-set tofu. Tabirai includes it in its nine Miyako soba shops locals vouch for, and Mapple lists it among Miyako's top-ten Miyako soba lunches.

3107-140 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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25 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Kissaten & coffee

Rakuen no Kajitsu, Kurima Island (楽園の果実)

Farm café on Kurima Island using its own tree-ripened mango (July–Aug) and dragon fruit (July–Oct) in parfaits and sweets, plus a Miyako-beef rice bowl.

476-1 Kurima, Shimoji, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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26 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Doug's Burger Miyakojima (ダグズ・バーガー)

Island burger joint using 100 % Miyako-island beef, plus a burger of local yellow-fin tuna — the Miyako take on Okinawa's American-era burger culture.

1153-3-101 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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27 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Inaka Ryōri no Mise Kura, Miyako (田舎料理の店蔵)

Country-cooking izakaya in Hirara using island miso in champuru and rafute; prefecture-certified for Ryukyu cuisine and a Mapple guidebook pick.

654-6 Hisagai, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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28 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Yamato Shokudō (大和食堂)

Hirara regulars' shop serving the same plain, honest Miyako soba for some forty years.

819-3 Nishizato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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29 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Minato Shokudō, Miyako (みなと食堂)

Harbour-side shokudō near Sunayama whose house noodles are kneaded with aosa seaweed and served in a broth from bonito trimmings — a taste found only here.

593-10 Nikadori, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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30 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Jinku-ya (じんく屋)

Counter run by Kusamatsu Seimen, one of Miyako's two big noodle makers: chewy fresh noodles, simple bonito soup.

84 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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31 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

RICCO gelato, Miyako (リッコジェラート)

Italian-trained gelato maker in Hirara churning Miyako's own mangoes, fruits and even island salt and vegetables into some thirty flavours.

550 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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32 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Kissaten & coffee

Shima Café Tunkaraya, Miyako (島cafe とぅんからや)

Hilltop café in southern Miyako looking over the sea, cooking 'made in Miyako' lunches and fruit-heavy desserts.

1214 Shinzato, Ueno, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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33 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands

Yukishio Museum, Miyako (雪塩ミュージアム)

Showroom of the 'Yukishio' salt works, which makes powder-fine salt from limestone-filtered underground seawater; free guided looks at the production line, and the shop's Yukishio soft-serve is the draw.

191 Karimata, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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34 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Sakana-dokoro Shiken-bara, Miyako (肴処志堅原)

Constantly-full izakaya on Hirara's Nishizato-dōri izakaya strip, serving fresh fish from the waters around Miyako as sashimi and salt-simmered mās-ni, with island awamori.

236 Nishizato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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35 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Kissaten & coffee

Blue Turtle, Irabu Island (ブルータートル)

White sea-view café-restaurant on Irabu Island right in front of Toguchi-no-hama, one of Irabu's finest beaches; known for hamburg steak and for ice cream served over hidden layers of coloured shaved ice.

Irabu, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan (facing Toguchi-no-hama beach)

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36 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Soba & udon

Okinawa Soba Marukami, Miyako (沖縄そばまるかみ)

A soba shop in the Kurima settlement on Kurima Island, run by a former hotel-restaurant cook. The house Marukami soba comes with homemade fresh noodles and bonito broth, topped with seasoned pork belly, tender cartilage sōki and a thin egg crepe. A plain su-soba is also on the menu. Lunch only, 11:00–14:30.

91 Kurima (下地来間), Shimoji, Kurima Island, Miyakojima-shi, Okinawa, Japan

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37 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Kissaten & coffee

Ikemajima gelato cafe Ninufa, Ikema Island (ニヌファ)

An Italian-style gelato café on Ikema Island whose name means 'North Star' in Miyako dialect; every seat on its coral-rock terrace faces the sea. Gelato is made without artificial flavouring, colouring or preservatives in local flavours, with wood-fired pizza alongside.

976-1 Maezato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa 906-0422, Japan

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38 Worth the detour within Miyako Islands · Soba & udon

Koshibaru Shokudō, Miyako (腰原食堂)

A Hirara soba shokudō whose house creation is the spicy 'dragon soba', made by adding Chinese-style chicken stock to the bonito-and-pork Miyako soba broth; it also serves a plain Miyako soba. Mapple lists it among Miyako's ten most popular Miyako soba lunch spots.

1325-3 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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39 Deep cut within Miyako Islands

Ikema Wetlands, Ikema Island (池間湿原)

At 38 ha the largest wetland in Okinawa Prefecture, in the centre of Ikema Island; selected as one of Japan's 500 Important Wetlands, and since 1 Nov 2011 the whole island is a national wildlife (bird) protection area. An observation tower overlooks the marsh and its migratory birds.

Look for Okinawa's largest wetland, a birding stop on Ikema

Ikema, Hirara, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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40 Deep cut within Miyako Islands

Mamoru-kun police-officer figures, Miyako (宮古島まもる君)

Life-size painted policeman figures posted at Miyako crossings by the traffic-safety association since the 1990s — now the island's cult mascot.

Look for Quirky roadside figures

Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

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Yaeyama Islands 48 places · area 7 of 7

Ishigaki · Iriomote · Taketomi · Hateruma · Yonaguni

Traditional village on Taketomi Island — Photo: ippei & janine naoi · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

1 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Taketomi Island & village (竹富島)

Fifteen minutes by ferry from Ishigaki: a preserved Ryūkyū village of coral-stone walls, red-tiled houses and white-sand lanes travelled by water-buffalo cart — a national Important Preservation District since 1987 — ringed by Kondoi Beach.

Look for Preserved Ryūkyū village island

Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa, Japan

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2 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Hoshizuna-no-hama star sand beach, Iriomote (星砂の浜)

Small north-shore Iriomote beach whose 'sand' includes millions of star-shaped foraminifera skeletons; snorkelling over the reef straight off the beach.

Look for Star-sand beach

Uehara, Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa, Japan

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3 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Pinaisara Falls, Iriomote (ピナイサーラの滝)

Okinawa Prefecture's highest waterfall — a 54 m drop on the Hinai River, reached by kayaking the Hinai mangroves and a jungle trail inside Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park.

Look for Okinawa's tallest waterfall

Uehara, Taketomi, Yaeyama, Okinawa (Iriomote Island)

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4 Must see within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Shima Ryōri Izakaya Adan-tei, Ishigaki (島料理居酒屋あだん亭)

Ishigaki town izakaya cooking genuinely Yaeyaman dishes from island produce — try the champuru of adan (screw-pine) shoots — and the only Yaeyama restaurant on the prefecture's Ryukyu-cuisine certified list.

East 1F, 430 Ōkawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0022, Japan

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5 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Seifuku Shuzō awamori distillery, Ishigaki (請福酒造)

Ishigaki awamori maker founded in 1949, with a direct shop where the whole Seifuku range can be tasted and free ~15-minute factory tours at set times, no booking needed.

959 Miyara, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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6 Must see within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Pengin Shokudō, Ishigaki (辺銀食堂)

Birthplace of Ishigaki-jima rāyu, the hand-made island-salt-and-chilli oil that started Japan's 'edible rāyu' boom; at lunch the house order is jājan-suba (thick noodles with spicy miso), served until sold out.

Ishigaki city centre (7 min walk from Ishigaki bus terminal), Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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Kabira Bay, Ishigaki Island — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

7 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Kabira Bay (川平湾)

Turquoise-to-emerald bay on Ishigaki's north coast, a national Place of Scenic Beauty inside Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park; swimming is banned, so see it by glass-bottom boat over the black-pearl farms.

Look for Scenic bay

Kabira, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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Mangrove forest along the Urauchi River, Iriomote — Photo: Anagounagi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

8 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Iriomote Island jungle & mangroves (西表島)

Okinawa's second-largest island, about 90 % jungle and mangrove — part of the 2021 UNESCO natural World Heritage site and home of the critically endangered Iriomote cat; explored by river cruise and kayak (Urauchi River, Pinaisara Falls — the prefecture's tallest at 55 m).

Look for UNESCO jungle island

Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa, Japan

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Cape Irizaki, Japan's westernmost point, Yonaguni — Photo: Metatron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

9 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Cape Irizaki, Yonaguni — Japan's westernmost point (西崎)

Cliff-ringed cape at the west tip of Yonaguni, the last place in Japan to see the sunset: lighthouse, lookout and the 'westernmost point of Japan' monument; Taiwan, 107 km away, is visible on clear days.

Look for Japan's westernmost point

Yonaguni, Yaeyama District, Okinawa, Japan

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10 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Nishihama Beach, Hateruma Island (ニシ浜)

The beach that gave its name to 'Hateruma Blue' — powder-white sand and impossibly saturated turquoise water on Japan's southernmost inhabited island; stay overnight for the star-field sky.

Look for Beach ('Hateruma Blue')

Hateruma, Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa, Japan

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Takanazaki headland, Hateruma Island — Photo: Tokyo-Good · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

11 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Takanazaki & Japan's Southernmost Point Monument, Hateruma (高那崎・日本最南端の碑)

Kilometre-long limestone cliffs at the southern tip of Hateruma, Japan's southernmost inhabited island, where a monument to the southernmost point (erected 1970) stands beside Taketomi Town's peace monument and a path of stones from every prefecture.

Look for Japan's southernmost inhabited point

Hateruma Island, Taketomi, Yaeyama, Okinawa (south tip; ~10 min by car from Hateruma port)

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12 Must see within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kinatsuyu (八重山そば処来夏世)

Old-house Yaeyama-soba specialist in Ishigaki town keeping the simple, light traditional flavour; the soba set with jūshī rice draws a noon queue. 'The royal road of Yaeyama soba' in the Okinawa Times 2023 reader poll.

203 Ishigaki, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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13 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Ishigaki-gyū Sumibi Yakiniku Yamamoto (石垣牛炭火焼肉やまもと)

The Ishigaki-beef yakiniku house locals queue for: buying whole animals means rare cuts on the board, grilled over charcoal; opens at 17:00 and closes when the meat runs out.

2-5-18 Hamasaki-chō, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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14 Must see within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Sobadokoro Takenoko, Taketomi (そば処竹の子)

Taketomi's most popular eating house, around forty years old, ladling the previous generation's Yaeyama soba in the red-tile village.

Taketomi Village, Taketomi Island, Okinawa, Japan

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15 Must see within Yaeyama Islands · Sushi & kaisen-don

Maguro Senmon Izakaya Hitoshi, Ishigantō (まぐろ専門居酒屋ひとし石敢當店)

Ishigaki's famous tuna izakaya, packed with locals and visitors alike for heaped plates of just-landed island tuna; book or queue at 16:30.

197-1 Ōkawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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16 Must see within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

KITCHEN inaba, Iriomote (キッチンイナバ)

Iriomote's island-food kitchen near Uehara port: rare local ingredients — irabu sea-snake soup, gazami crab, Ryukyu wild boar in season — alongside traditional and Western-style plates, with jungle-green mountains in the windows.

742-6 Uehara, Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa, Japan

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17 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Yakiniku Takesan-tei, Ishigaki (焼肉たけさん亭)

Ishigaki-beef yakiniku whose owner holds cattle-auction buying rights and buys whole A4–A5 animals, so rarer cuts appear on the menu. Dinner only (closed Tue).

2-2-4 Hamasaki-chō, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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18 Must see within Yaeyama Islands

Sakimoto Shuzōsho — hanazake distillery, Yonaguni (崎元酒造所)

Yonaguni's oldest distillery, still firing a traditional direct-fire pot still by hand; maker of the awamori 'Yonaguni' and of hanazake, the 60% first-run spirit that only Yonaguni is permitted to make. Distillery shop sells brewery-only bottles.

2329 Yonaguni, Yonaguni-chō, Yaeyama, Okinawa, Japan

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19 Must see within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Akashi Shokudō, Ishigaki (明石食堂)

Old-guard north-Ishigaki shokudō about 40 minutes' drive from town, with queues before opening for its soft-bone sōki Yaeyama soba — clean pork-bone broth over round straight noodles. Ranked No.1 in a 2019 Okinawa-soba ranking reported by Ryukyu Shimpo.

360 Ihara, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan (Akashi area, north Ishigaki)

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20 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands · Soba & udon

Taira Shōten, Ishigaki (平良商店)

A Tonoshiro soba shop facing Manta Park that won the grand prix of the Yaeyama-soba division at the 3rd Yaeyama Soba Championship (2017). Tabirai describes it as a locals' favourite for its soft-cartilage sōki soba and spicy miso vegetable soba, made with a broth from island moromi-pork bones; the Okinawa Times reported FamilyMart selling a cup-noodle version supervised by the shop.

506 Tonoshiro, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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21 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands · Soba & udon

Café Tēdun Shidamē-kan, Taketomi Island (カフェてぇーどぅんしだめー館)

A red-tiled café beneath the Nagomi-no-tō lookout in Taketomi village, about 12 minutes' walk from the port. It was one of the winners at the first Yaeyama Soba Championship in 2015, the year Komatsu took the Yaeyama-soba grand prix.

361 Aza-Taketomi, Taketomi-chō, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa, Japan

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Tōrin-ji temple, Ishigaki — Photo: 松岡明芳 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

22 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Tōrin-ji & Gongen-dō, Ishigaki (桃林寺・権現堂)

Gongen-dō, beside Tōrin-ji temple in central Ishigaki, was first built in 1614, destroyed by the great Meiwa tsunami of 1771 and rebuilt; it was designated a national Important Cultural Property in 1981. The Agency for Cultural Affairs' database notes decorative details unusual in mainland shrine architecture and calls it Japan's southernmost surviving early-modern religious building of this scale.

Look for Japan's southernmost Important Cultural Property shrine hall, rebuilt after the 1771 tsunami

285 Ishigaki, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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23 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Yubu Island water-buffalo crossing (由布島)

Tiny island off Iriomote reached by water-buffalo cart across a shallow sandy strait, often to a sanshin song from the driver; a botanical garden and cafés on the island.

Look for Buffalo-cart island

Komi, Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa, Japan

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Urauchi River, Iriomote — Photo: Geomr~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

24 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Urauchi River & Mariyudu Falls, Iriomote (浦内川・マリユドゥの滝)

Okinawa's longest river: a boat cruise up the mangrove-lined Urauchi, then a jungle walk to Mariyudu Falls, a two-tier fall selected among Japan's 100 best waterfalls.

Look for River cruise to a top-100 waterfall

Urauchi, Taketomi, Yaeyama, Okinawa (Iriomote Island)

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Nishi-sanbashi pier, Taketomi — Photo: 松岡明芳 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

25 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Nishi-sanbashi West Pier, Taketomi Island (西桟橋)

A 105 m limestone-and-concrete pier built in 1938 on Taketomi's west coast. Islanders once sailed from here to farm rice paddies on Iriomote. It went out of use around 1971 and was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2005. It is now the island's sunset spot, and it is the key-visual location of the film 'Non Non Biyori Vacation', which the Anime Tourism Association listed in its '88 Anime Pilgrimage Sites' from 2019 to 2024.

Look for ★ Anime & pop culture — Non Non Biyori Vacation (2018 film) — the West Pier is the film's key visual; Anime Tourism 88 Yaeyama/Taketomi entry 2019–2024 · Sunset pier and Non Non Biyori key visual

207 Taketomi, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District, Okinawa 907-1101, Japan

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26 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Yaesen Shuzō awamori distillery, Ishigaki (八重泉酒造)

Founded in 1955; the factory shop shows a 15-minute film of the distilling process and runs a tasting counter with shop-only bottles. Three Yaesen awamori won awards at a UK spirits competition (Ryukyu Shimpo).

1834 Ishigaki, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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27 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Tōfu no Higa, Ishigaki (とうふの比嘉)

A family tofu maker of more than 70 years, now run by the third generation, that opens at 6:30 am and sells out before noon. It is known for yushi-dōfu, tofu ladled out before it sets. The Kariyushi set adds egg, rice or porridge, okara and soy milk. Closed Sundays.

570 Ishigaki, Ishigaki-shi, Okinawa 907-0023, Japan

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28 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Ishigaki City Public Market (石垣市公設市場)

Ishigaki's 'kitchen' since 1899 (on this site since 1904), a three-storey public market in the Euglena Mall arcade: local produce and fish at street level, the Ishigaki City specialty-products centre above and a shokudō on top; an eat-in space was added in the May 2021 renewal.

208 Ōkawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan (Euglena Mall)

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Mount Omoto seen from the southeast (2019) — Photo: Kugel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

29 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Mount Omoto (於茂登岳)

At 525.5 m the highest peak in Okinawa Prefecture, rising from the Omoto range on Ishigaki's north; a forest trail climbs to views over Kabira and the reef. Paired with Kabira Bay as a national Place of Scenic Beauty.

Look for Okinawa's highest peak

Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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Miyara Dunchi residence, Ishigaki — Photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

30 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Miyara Dunchi (宮良殿内)

Residence of a Ryūkyū-kingdom official built in 1819 in the style of Shuri samurai houses — an Important Cultural Property with a rock garden that is a Place of Scenic Beauty; still lived in, so viewed from outside.

Look for 1819 official's residence

Ōkawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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31 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Yonekoyaki Shisa Park, Ishigaki (米子焼工房シーサー園)

Roadside garden behind the Yonekoyaki pottery workshop crowded with giant, psychedelic, pop-art shisa lion-dog sculptures.

Look for Outsider-art shisa garden

447-1 Fukai, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0451, Japan

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32 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Tamatorizaki Observation Point, Ishigaki (玉取崎展望台)

Hilltop platform on Ishigaki's east coast looking over Cape Tamatori, Ibaruma Bay, the hilly Hirakubo peninsula and the reef.

Look for Viewpoint

Ibaruma, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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33 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Ishigaki Yaima Village (石垣やいま村)

Open-air village of century-old Yaeyama houses (designated tangible cultural properties) beside a mangrove, with folk-song shows, crafts and the Anparu Shokudō serving Okinawa soba and jūshī.

Look for Open-air folk village

Nagura, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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34 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Yonaguni Monument underwater formation (与那国島海底地形)

Terraced underwater rock formation found by a diver in 1986 off Yonaguni's south coast — natural or man-made is still debated; reached on dive and glass-bottom boat trips.

Look for Underwater 'ruins' dive

off Arakawabana, Yonaguni, Okinawa, Japan

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Inside Ishigaki limestone cave (cave interior is the place) — Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

35 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Ishigaki-jima Limestone Cave (石垣島鍾乳洞)

Japan's southernmost show cave: 3.2 km of limestone formed over some 200,000 years in southern Ishigaki, with a lit walkway through the formations.

Look for Show cave

Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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36 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Cape Hirakubo & lighthouse, Ishigaki (平久保崎)

The northern tip of Ishigaki's Hirakubo Peninsula; from the white lighthouse the Pacific lies on one side and the East China Sea on the other.

Look for Ishigaki's northern tip

Hirakubo, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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Agarizaki cape and lighthouse, Yonaguni — Photo: Metatron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

37 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Cape Agarizaki, Yonaguni (東崎)

Cliff-top cape at Yonaguni's eastern end, grazed by Yonaguni horses, with views across to Iriomote on clear days.

Look for Eastern cliffs & Yonaguni horses

Agarizaki, Yonaguni, Yaeyama, Okinawa, Japan

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38 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Kondoi Beach, Taketomi Island (コンドイ浜)

Taketomi's west-coast swimming beach: white sand and a long, shallow emerald lagoon calm enough for small children; reached by rental bicycle from the village.

Look for Shallow lagoon beach

Taketomi, Yaeyama, Okinawa, Japan

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39 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Kimi Shokudō, Ishigaki (キミ食堂)

Ishigaki town shokudō famous for its miso-broth take on Yaeyama soba — a noodle-lovers' poll pick and one of Rurubu's 'creative' soba bowls.

Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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40 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Ishigaki-jima Milmil Honpo (石垣島ミルミル本舗)

Dairy-farm gelato stand on a hill above the sea west of Ishigaki town; the plain milk flavour is the best seller. Open until sunset.

1583-74 Arakawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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41 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Mori no Kenja, Ishigaki (森の賢者)

Small Ishigaki-town kitchen cooking island vegetables, fish and Ishigaki beef without chemical seasonings, with awamori, sake and more than 45 home-made fruit and herb liqueurs; book ahead.

1F, 49-2 Arakawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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42 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands · Okinawan & Ryūkyū

Shima Gourmet ROCO, Iriomote (島ぐるめ ROCO)

Uehara dining room cooking Iriomote's sea and mountain catch — grilled crab, sashimi salad, squid-ink rice croquettes and grouper simmered in island salt.

58 Uehara, Taketomi, Yaeyama District, Okinawa, Japan

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43 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Takamine Shuzōsho awamori distillery, Kabira (高嶺酒造所)

Small distillery beside Kabira Park making 'Omoto' awamori by hand — one of the few still using direct-fire (jika-bi) distillation; the process is visible through glass and tastings are offered.

930-2 Kabira, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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44 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Yakiniku Kingyū, Ishigaki (焼肉金牛)

Run by an Ishigaki family that has raised wagyu on the island for over 120 years; serves only its own Ishigaki beef, raised ~30 months and aged. Dinner only (closed Thu).

8-8 Misaki-chō, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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45 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

Fruit Parlour Kōrakuen, Ishigaki (光楽園)

Fruit parlour popular with both locals and visitors on Ishigaki, with a long line-up of chilled sweets built on tropical island fruit; featured in its own Rurubu piece and in Mapple's Ishigaki sweets round-up.

Ishigaki city, Okinawa, Japan

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46 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands

How Tree Gelato, Ishigaki (ハウトゥリージェラート)

Specialist in cold-plate marble ice cream mixing fresh fruit from the owners' own farm with Ishigaki Island milk; seasonal (Feb-Nov).

281 Ōkawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan

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47 Worth the detour within Yaeyama Islands · Soba & udon

Shima Soba Ichiban-chi Ishigaki Honten (島そば一番地石垣本店)

A Yaeyama-soba specialist named for its address, 'Aza-Ishigaki No. 1', a short walk from Ishigaki port's remote-island terminal (it also has a Naha branch). Tabirai's list of ten must-eat Yaeyama soba shops on Ishigaki includes it, and Rurubu features it.

1-1 Aza-Ishigaki, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0023, Japan

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48 Deep cut within Yaeyama Islands

Ikehara Shuzō awamori distillery, Ishigaki (池原酒造)

A family awamori distillery in central Ishigaki, founded in 1951, that makes a single brand, Shirayuri ('white lily'). Tabirai profiles it in its series on Okinawa's awamori distilleries.

175 Ōkawa, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0022, Japan

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How we choose

Named sources recommend every place; review sites never do. Each is pinned to its door and status-checked. Closed places stay, marked closed.

Must see: The places to plan a visit around, graded within each area.
Worth the detour: Strong picks, worth going out of your way for.
Deep cut: For the curious: smaller, odder, more local.

Within each area: by tier, then by named sources, never by popularity. We don’t add ratings, prices or opening hours of our own.

Follow changes — an RSS feed of every closure and status check in this guide.

About this guide

425 places in 7 areas, each recommended by at least two independent sources (119 in all) or one institution such as Michelin.

Every place was checked open and pinned between 3 Oct and 16 Oct 2026. Closed places stay, marked closed.

Photos for 94 places; the rest show a designed cover.

How we choose → Insights →

191 sights and 234 places to eat across Okinawa — the Ryūkyū Kingdom’s castles and sacred groves, Okinawa soba counters and taco-rice joints, from Naha out to the Miyako and Yaeyama islands — every one traceable to its source.

Okinawa 沖縄

Okinawa

Naha 103 places · area 1 of 7

Shikinaen Royal Garden (識名園)

Urizun (古酒と琉球料理うりずん)

Tamaudun Royal Mausoleum (玉陵)

Tsuboya Yachimun-dōri pottery street (壺屋やちむん通り)

Kokusai-dōri (国際通り)

Shuri Soba (首里そば)

Mendokoro Tiandaa (麺処てぃあんだー)

Karakara to Chibugwā (カラカラとちぶぐゎ〜)

Kozakura (小桜)

Keishoku no Mise Ruby, Tomari (軽食の店ルビー)

Fujiya Tomari Honten (富士家泊本店)

Kokusai-dōri Yatai-mura (国際通り屋台村)

Okinawa Daiichi Hotel breakfast (沖縄第一ホテル薬膳朝食)

Shuri Castle (首里城)

Makishi Public Market (第一牧志公設市場)

Kinjō-chō Ishidatami-michi stone-paved road (金城町石畳道)

Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum (沖縄県立博物館・美術館)

Jack's Steak House (ジャッキーステーキハウス)

Yūnangi (ゆうなんぎい)

Ryūkyū Cuisine Mie (琉球料理美榮)

Tamagusuku Coffee Roasters (タマグスクコーヒー)

Benriya Yulinglong, Sakaemachi (べんり屋玉玲瓏)

Tomari Iyumachi Fish Market (泊いゆまち)

Ryūkyū Ryōri Nuchigafū (琉球料理ぬちがふぅ)

Chūbu 85 places · area 2 of 7

Nanbu 52 places · area 3 of 7

Hokubu 78 places · area 4 of 7

Kerama & nearby islands 19 places · area 5 of 7

Miyako Islands 40 places · area 6 of 7

Yaeyama Islands 48 places · area 7 of 7

How we choose

Keep Okinawa offline

Filters

How this guide was made

How the cuisine filters were policed

Web-searched in Japanese and English, fact-checked