Kokusai Dori

The English translation for Kokusai is “International” and Kokusai Dori is Okinawa’s most famous shopping street. It runs for many blocks between Route 29 at one end and the Ryubo Department store at the other end. It is lined with restaurants and shops and is almost always busy. Most of the stores stay open very late and the street has an exciting energy. As in any international city there are the usual souvenir and T Shirt shops but there are many stores selling goods unique to Okinawa.

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10 years ago there was virtually nothing in the Shintoshin area. The land having been home to U.S. military housing that was razed and left vacant. When the land was returned to the original owners a stylish modern shopping district blossomed. There are two enclosed malls in this area, the upscale DFS mall (duty free shopping) and the two level Naha Main Place Mall. Bookshops, hotels and restaurants of all sorts are plentiful in this district. The monorail connects Shintoshin to other parts of the city via the sleek Omoromachi station just beside the entrance to the DFS mall.
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Go shopping. Kokusai Street and Heiwa Dori are the heart of shopping in Naha. Kokusai (which means international) Street is the main retail street in Naha. Heiwa Dori branches off from Kokusai St. and is one of the entrances to the Ichiba or the old market. It’s easy and fun to get lost among the tiny shops and stalls of a time before Walmart and Ikea. Whether it’s a $10,000 kimono or a pig’s ear, you can get it here.