This castle is located on the top of a hill in the Shuri area (Naha, Okinawa Honto), 120 meters above sea level .
This is the largest castle ever built in Okinawa with 350 meters long and and 200 meters large.
The castle is circled with inner and outer walls which have a defensive function and are used to separate the King family from the rest of the population.
It also has several gates in each of the walls including the main outside wall gate, Kankaimon, which was destroy in 1945 and restored in 1974.
It also features the stone gate of Sonohyan-utaki, erected in 1519 by King Sho Shin and registered as National and UNESCO heritage.
Historians found out that a former castle was built during the 14th century at the same place.
It seems that Shuri Castle was built by Sho Hashi, the founder of the Sho dinasty, who had control over the newly created Ryukyu Kingdom. The building was used as the King main residence.
The castle was destroyed and rebuilt many times since its first appearance. At the end of World War II, the Castle was almost completely burned down. It was rebuilt in 1992 based on photographs, historical records, and memory.
About Okinawa
One of the favorite activities in Okinawa is to party on the beach.
It’s very usual for colleagues or friends to meet up during the week-end on a beach to relax, make a barbecue as well as have a few drinks.
When you are not eating you can go swimming, snorkeling, playing football or simply have a nap.
In some places you can rent a table with sun umbrella and even a barbecue!
The beach located next to the American Village is very popular and very convenient.
Beach party is a really important cultural element of new generation in Okinawa.
Whenever you are living on the Islands or just visiting, try a barbecue on the beach and enjoy a nice and relaxing day!
About Okinawa
Maeda Point is probably the most popular place in Okinawa Honto for diving and snorkeling.
Located on the East coast near Uruma and not far from the Ryukyu Village (a tourist attraction featuring Okinawa culture), this spot is popular for its numerous and colorful fish as well as for its corals. Some corals are reintroduced on the area.
Famous for its Blue Cave, the place features beautiful landscape and crystal clear waters. The sunset there is simply unforgettable.
This is a very convenient place where you can find a restaurant, seating area, toilets and showers, a parking lot…
You can reach the waters thanks to steep concrete stairs. Once near the water, it’s recommended to have shoes as many sea urchins are present along the shore.
In case of wind or waves it’s not recommended to swim in the area as it can be dangerous.
About Okinawa
Kokusai Dori or Kokusai Street (means International Street) is a 1.6 km long street located in the center of Naha. It goes from the Asato area to the Prefectural area which include Palette Kumoji and the City Hall.
It is served by monorail at both it’s extremities and by bus all the way.
It is a very straight street with a lot of souvenirs shops, restaurants, bars, clothes shops and more !
What use to be a simple road between swamps became one of the biggest attraction and the heart of Naha, especially in the evening when the lights are on and street merchants and musicians fill the sidewalks.
It gets its name from the former Kokusai Theater which was located nearby.
On Sunday from noon to 6pm the street is car free and invaded by various artists.
About half way, Heiwa Dori and Ichiba-hon Dori come across. They are long pedestrian streets covered by a roof all the way. You will find a lot of shops there as well.
At the end of Heiwa Dori is the Tsuboya area with many traditional ceramic shops.
About Okinawa
Food in Okinawa is different from the other prefectures ones in Japan, because of the difference in culture and climate between Okinawa and mainland Japan.
Some of Japanese ingredients don’t grow in Okinawa. Food was influenced by Taiwan and Kagoshima which are closer.
Surprisingly, local people don’t eat a lot of fish despite the fact that Okinawa is surrounded by sea.
After Ryukyu was taken part in Kagoshima, some Japanese cuisines were introduced and Okinawa soba (a very popular and well known dish) was created . Also, dishes from Brazil, Hawaii and the Philippines were introduced and took root here thanks to people who emigrated from Okinawa to there.
After world war II, US armies brought processed food that made up original Okinawa food, such as canned pork based recipes and taco rice.
Pork is one of the most favorite ingredients in local food.
The use of pork started because of historical reasons. The Ryukyu Dynasty tried to build favorable relations with China and whenever they hosted banquet for the trade group they cooked a lot of pork.
Since then pig farming spread all over Okinawa.
About Okinawa
Okinawa, the Japanese name of the islands was first seen in the biography of Jianzhen, written in 779. The chinese name was Ryukyu.
During the 8th century, agricultural societies slowly developed until the 12th century. Later the Ryukyu Kingdom became a prosperous trading nation thanks to its location near China, Japan and Taiwan.
In the 15th century, the Ryukyu Kingdom became subordinate to the Chinese Empire and had to regularly pay a tribute.
In 1609 the Satsuma clan from what is now the Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan, took control of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
The Kingdom was forced to start a tributary relationship with them in addition to the one with China.
Whereas the Satsuma clan controlled a major part of the trades of the islands the political power was still under the Ryukyus Kingdom. By not invading the Kingdom, the Satsuma clan avoid any conflict with the Chinese Empire.
In 1872, four years after the Meiji Restoration, Japan annexed the kingdom and renamed it Ryukyu han. Ryukyu han became the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan in 1879.
Okinawa was a strategic place during the World War II.
After the war, the prefecture became under the United States administration for 27 years. During this years numerous US army bases were created.The islands were returned to Japan in 1972 but many army bases are still maintained.
About Okinawa
Okinawa (沖縄県 ,Okinawa-ken in Japanese, Uchinā in Okinawan) is the most southern prefecture of Japan. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyus Islands, a 1000 km long islands chain, which is divided between the Okinawa prefecture in South and the Kyushu prefecture in North.
The main island, Okinawa-honto is located half-way between the Kyūshū island (in Japan) and Taiwan.
The prefecture’s capital, Naha, is located in the south part of Okinawa Island.
Other main cities of the main island are Ginowan, Itoman, Nago, Okinawa City, Urasoe…
The main islands are the following (from North to South):
* Okinawa Islands group:
- Ie-jima
- Kume-Jima
- Okinawa-honto
- Kerama Islands
* Miyako Islands
- Miyako-jima
- Irabu-jima
* Yaeyama Islands
- Iriomote-jima
- Ishigaki-jima
- Yonaguni-jima
The prefecture is the host of 14 US army bases include Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Kadena Air Base.
About Okinawa
