Category Archives: Travel

Tourism is Okinawa’s largest industry. Okinawa prefecture is host to nearly 5.5 million visitors a year who spend nearly 6 billion US dollars annually.Okinawa is the primary resort vacation destination for Japanese travelers. Tourists can enjoy an ancient culture with 9 world heritage sites, a strong crafts tradition in ceramics, textiles, and glass, a lively contemporary music scene, breathtaking empty beaches and crowded old world market places.
Travel on Okinawa and mainland Japan is extremely safe. Okinawans are known for their culture of courtesy. Food, water, and facilities are hygenic.Tipping is not a Japanese custom.
While the tourism infrastructure is extremely well developed, it is primarily targetted to the Japanese visitor.Foreign visitors should not expect English to be spoken in most establishments.Okinawans have a mixed relationship with Americans because of the large and long American military presence on the island.
Okinawa is good place to smile. A smile, a nod and a hello or “kon nichi wa” to an Okinawan invariably elicits a similiar response and changes the experience of being on the island. –editor

Okinawa Explorer, A complete guidebook to Okinawa The best English language guide book for Okinawa by Kenny Ehman ISBN 0-9768462-0-9.
Naha International Airport Primary civilian airport with monorail access to Naha. Airport code – OKA (don’t confuse Naha, Okinawa with Naha, Indonesia)
Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau
Real Time Exchange Rates – Exchange rates for Yen (and other currencies) via Yahoo! Finance.
All Nippon Airways (ANA)
Japan Airlines (JAL)
Japan Air Systems (JAS)
Japan Transocean Air (JTA)
Air Nippon (ANK)
Ryukyu Air Commuter (RAC)
Air Dolphin
Asiana Airlines
China Airlines
China Eastern Airlines
Philippine Airlines

Okinawan Jewelry Brands

Isetan Department Store is a major landmark in Shinjuku and known as one of the prime department stores in Japan (if not Asia) in high fashion. With that said, I look forward to the success of TILLA-EARTH, a jewelry brand … Continue reading

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Iejima Handuguwa (伊江島ハンドー小)

Written by Yukou Majikina (真境名由康),Iejima Handuguwa (伊江島ハンドー小)is an Okinawan play considered as one of the three tragic love stories of Okinawa along with Okuyama no Botan (奥山の牡丹) and Toumaiahkah (泊阿嘉). The story takes place 180 years ago in Iejima. A … Continue reading

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DOR39

http://dor39.jp/ Founded as a part of Discover Okinawa Promotion Project for Island Tourism, DOR39 collects and displays photos, videos, and other media from voluntary participants with the purpose of sharing their island experiences and bringing more visitors to 39 islands … Continue reading

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Okinawa Artist Bank

http://okinawa-artistbank.com/pre/index.html A website which supports young, Okinawan artists by networking with communities and companies, promoting artists’ exhibitions, e-commerce selling artists’ products, running art-related events, and helping create an art market in Okinawa. Information only available in Japanese (for now…?)

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Tonaki Island footlights win Public Design Award

The Japan Urban Design Institute recognized the Village Road Route 1 footlights of Tonaki Island with the Block Division Prize of the 1st Public Design Award. According to an article in Okinawa Times, the village first started to set footlights … Continue reading

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News in Uchinaaguchi

From Okinawa BBTV, listen to news in Uchinaaguchi, the Okinawan tongue (some call it dialect of Japanese, but UNESCO recognizes it as a language). http://www.okinawabbtv.com/news/h_news.htm

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Tea at Shurijo Castle

Okinawan Tea and sweets for just 300 yen in the “Sasuno-ma” (a room used by princes to host meetings with government officials) at Shurijo Castle. The participants are first escorted into the room with the view of a beautiful garden … Continue reading

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Ishigaki Island web site

I’m a British guy who has moved to the island of Ishigaki with my Japanese wife. I’m currently building a website about the island. I’ve only been doing it for a couple of months so far, but so far it’s … Continue reading

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Nansei Kanko Hotel

Located on Kokusai street by the Makishi monorail station. Rates start at 10,500 yen. ($95).

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Okinawa Rainbow Hotel

Naha hotel Rates start at 7350 yen for single.

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