Okinawa: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Okinawa was for four and a half centuries, from 1429, the independent Ryukyu kingdom, a trading nation between China, Japan and South-East Asia with its own language, music and cooking. Japan annexed it in 1879. Its people are among the longest-lived in the world. A day in Naha and Shuri by monorail and on foot.
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A short history of Okinawa
In 1429 Shō Hashi united the Ryukyu Islands into a single kingdom, which grew rich on trade between China, Japan and Southeast Asia; its capital was Shuri. In 1609 the Japanese domain of Satsuma invaded the kingdom and made it a vassal state, and in 1879 Japan annexed it and abolished the monarchy. Between April and June 1945 the Battle of Okinawa, one of the hardest of the Second World War, was fought here, and roughly a quarter of the civilian population was killed. After the war the islands remained under United States control until 1972, and there are still large American bases there today.
The ten best sights in Okinawa
1Okinawa Prefectural MuseumThe story of the Ryukyu kingdom
2Naminoue ShrineA shrine on a cliff above a beach
3FukushuenA Chinese garden in the old Chinese quarter
4Shuri CastleThe royal palace, rebuilding after the 2019 fire
5ShureimonThe gate on the two-thousand-yen note
6TamaudunThe royal mausoleum of 1501
7Kinjo-cho Stone PathA cobbled lane down from the castle
8Navy Underground HQTunnels of the last days of 1945
9Himeyuri Peace MuseumThe story of the student nurses
10Peace Memorial ParkThe names of all who died in the battle
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Okinawa →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Okinawa:
Free walking tours in Okinawa
The Ryukyu kingdom
Okinawa was for four and a half centuries, from 1429, the independent Ryukyu kingdom, a trading nation between China, Japan and South-East Asia with its own language, music and cooking. Japan annexed it in 1879. Its people are among the longest-lived in the world. A day in Naha and Shuri by monorail and on foot.
- Shuri Castle · The palace of the Ryukyu kings, painted red in a style closer to China than Japan. Destroyed in the battle of 1945, it was rebuilt in 1992, then burned again in October 2019; its main hall is being rebuilt, and the work can be watched.
- Shureimon · The ceremonial gate of the castle, whose tablet reads land of propriety, the gate through which Chinese envoys were received. It appears on the two-thousand-yen note, issued for the G8 summit held on Okinawa in 2000.
- Tamaudun · The royal mausoleum built in 1501, a stone house of three chambers: one where the bodies of the kings were left until only bones remained, which were then washed and placed in urns in the others.
- Kinjo-cho Stone Path · A lane of limestone cobbles laid in the sixteenth century down the hill from the castle, one of the few stretches of old Shuri to survive the battle, past walls of coral stone and a giant akagi tree said to house a spirit.
- Tsuboya Pottery Street · In 1682 the kingdom gathered its potters here, and the quarter still makes yachimun, the thick glazed pottery of Okinawa, and the shisa, the lion-dog pairs that guard every roof and gate on the island — one with mouth open, one closed.
- Makishi Public Market · Naha’s kitchen since the end of the war, rebuilt in 2023, with tropical fish in impossible colours, pig’s face and trotters — Okinawans say they eat every part of the pig but the oink — and restaurants upstairs that cook what you buy below.
The battle of Okinawa
From April to June 1945 the island was the scene of the bloodiest battle of the Pacific war, in which some two hundred thousand people died, about half of them Okinawan civilians — roughly a quarter of the island’s population. The south holds its memorials. Half a day by car.
- Navy Underground HQ · Tunnels dug by hand where the Japanese naval command held out in June 1945; the walls are still marked by the grenades with which officers killed themselves. Before his death, Admiral Ota sent a telegram praising the sacrifice of the Okinawans and asking that they be given special consideration in the future.
- Himeyuri Peace Museum · Beside a cave used as a field hospital, the museum of the Himeyuri students, schoolgirls mobilised as nurses in the battle; more than half of them and their teachers died. Survivors told their story here for decades.
- Peace Memorial Park · On the cliffs where the battle ended stands the Cornerstone of Peace, walls engraved with the names of everyone who died, of every nation and side, soldiers and civilians, Japanese, Okinawan, Korean and American — some two hundred and forty thousand names.
- Gyokusendo · A limestone cave about five kilometres long, of which nearly a kilometre is open, with streams and forests of stalactites; above it, a craft village and a habu-snake show.
- Sefa-utaki · The holiest site of the Ryukyu kingdom, a sacred grove where the high priestess was installed. Its inner shrine is a triangular passage between two leaning rocks, framing Kudaka island, where the gods of Ryukyu first came down. Until the kingdom’s end, men were not allowed beyond a certain point.
- Nakagusuku Castle · The best-preserved castle of the island, of the fifteenth century, with curving walls of fitted limestone. When Commodore Perry’s expedition came in 1853, his officers admired its masonry.
The north: coast and castles
North of Naha the island narrows into a coast of coral reefs, capes and quiet villages. A full day by car; the US bases are everywhere along the way, a reminder that the island was under American rule until 1972.
- Michi-no-Eki Kadena · A roadside station with a deck overlooking Kadena, the largest US air base in the Pacific. Okinawa holds about seventy per cent of the land used by US bases in Japan, a constant source of local protest.
- Zakimi Castle · A castle built in the early fifteenth century by the general Gosamaru, with arched gates of interlocking stone, among the oldest stone arches in Okinawa. Its walls became part of a World Heritage site in 2000.
- Cape Maeda · A rocky cape where snorkellers swim into the Blue Cave, a sea grotto lit from below by sunlight through the water. Go only when the sea is calm.
- Cape Manzamo · A grassy cliff ending in a rock shaped like an elephant’s trunk. Its name is said to come from a Ryukyu king who declared the meadow on top big enough for ten thousand people to sit.
- Churaumi Aquarium · An aquarium whose main tank, the Kuroshio Sea, holds about seven and a half million litres behind one of the largest acrylic panels in the world, with whale sharks and manta rays swimming past.
- Nakijin Castle · The ruined seat of the northern kingdom, before the island was united, with walls snaking along a ridge. Its cherry trees blossom in late January, the earliest in Japan.
Getting to Okinawa and getting around
- Naha Airport · The monorail runs into Naha
- Tomari Port · Ferries to the Kerama islands
Cheap eats in Okinawa
Okinawa cooks its own way: goya champuru, bitter melon stir-fried with tofu, egg and pork or Spam; Okinawa soba, thick wheat noodles in pork broth with soft-stewed pork rib; taco rice, taco filling on rice, born beside a US base; and sata andagi, fried doughnut balls. Wash it down with Orion beer or awamori, the island’s rice spirit. A bowl of soba costs about six or seven dollars.
- Makishi Public Market · Market stalls and upstairs kitchens
- Kokusai-dori · Sata andagi and awamori
- American Village · Taco rice and burgers
Museums in Okinawa
Okinawa’s museums tell of a lost kingdom and a terrible battle.
- Okinawa Prefectural Museum · The Ryukyu kingdom
- Himeyuri Peace Museum · The student nurses
- Navy Underground HQ · The tunnels
Nature and day trips near Okinawa
Coral reefs, limestone caves, capes and subtropical forest in the north.
- Cape Manzamo · The elephant cliff
- Kouri Bridge · Turquoise water
- Bise · The tree lanes
Things to do in Okinawa with kids
With children: whale sharks, a cave of stalactites, snorkelling and beaches.
- Churaumi Aquarium · The whale sharks
- Gyokusendo · The cave
- American Village · The Ferris wheel
Holy places in Okinawa
The native faith of Okinawa is led by priestesses and worshipped in sacred groves called utaki.
- Sefa-utaki · The holiest grove
- Naminoue Shrine · The cliff shrine
- Peace Memorial Park · The Cornerstone of Peace
Nightlife in Okinawa
Okinawa’s nights are live folk music with the three-stringed sanshin in the min’yo bars of Naha, and awamori.
- Kokusai-dori · Min’yo bars with sanshin
- American Village · Sunset bars by the sea
Frequently asked questions about Okinawa
What is there to see in Okinawa?
The top sights in Okinawa are Okinawa Prefectural Museum, Naminoue Shrine and Fukushuen. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Okinawa?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Okinawa without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Okinawa?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Okinawa, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The Ryukyu kingdom.
How do you get to Okinawa and get around?
The main ways are Naha Airport and Tomari Port. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Okinawa, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Okinawa that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Okinawa for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.