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

ChanpuruSou Hostel

It’s hard to beat 1500 yen ($13) a night for a place to sleep. This dorm style hostel located near the Makishi public market in Naha has few amenities and may be a little crusty for many but if you’re … Continue reading

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Okinawa Harborview Hotel

Located in Naha, this is flagship of the ANA hotels on Okinawa. Rates range from 18,000 to 200,000 yen.http://www.anahotels.com/eng/hotels/hvh/ 

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Super Hotel

The Japanese Super Hotel chain has two hotels on Okinawa. This is a budget business hotel. Rates begin about 5000 yen ($44), includes breakfast. http://www.superhotel.co.jp/en/

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Grand Mer Hotel

Tokyo Dai-ichi Hotel Grand Mer resort is located in Okinawa City and has special rates for military families. Rooms are large with spectacular views of the Pacific ocean. http://daiichihotel-okinawa.com/english.html

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Heiwadori Public Marketplace

Welcome to the Heiwa Dori (Peace Street) Machigwa (public marketplace)! Just off of Kokusai Dori (International Street) exists a sprawling shopping extravaganza.

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Kokusai Street

Kokusai Dori (Kokusai Street, also called "International Street") on the evening of October 6, 1998. This is the first picture I took in Okinawa.

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Himeyuri Cave of the Virgins

The sign outside the Memorial and Museum devoted to the 219 High School students and 18 teachers who were ordered to join the medical unit of the Japanese Army Field Hospital.

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Beaches

Go to the beach. The best beaches are in the sparsely populated northern part of Okinawa and on the tiny islands surrounding Okinawa. The area around Naha is dominated by port facilities and seawalls. An exception is Naminoue Beach by … Continue reading

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Food

Eat something. Okinawan soba noodles with pork slices are sold everywhere. Izakaya restaurants (imagine a meal of many appetizers) are a treat not yet well-known outside of Japan. For a more western style meal try Sam’s restaurants. More information to … Continue reading

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Crafts

See the amazing crafts and craft studios of Okinawa. For centuries, Okinawa has been reknown for it’s ceramics and textiles. Walk among the shops of the Tsuboya district in Naha or go to Yomitan and view the great kiln and … Continue reading

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