Category: Okinawa
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Tsuboya Pottery District
Tsuboya (壺屋) is an area in downtown Naha home to Tsuboya Pottery, Okinawa’s most well-known pottery kind. Tsuboya Odori Pottery Street and the Tsuboya Pottery Museum are two of the neighborhood’s many attractions. Okinawan pottery dates back to the Ryukyu Kingdom period before Okinawa was absorbed into Japan. The pottery is composed of local clay […]
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Katsuren Castle Ruins, 勝連城跡
The Katsuren Castle Ruins (勝連城跡, Katsurenj-ato) is located on a high hill near the seashore and provides beautiful countryside views below.The ancient castle’s stone walls and foundations are all that remain. The site is one of the Ryukyu Kingdom’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Castles. Katsuren Castle was known as Lord Amawari’s residence in the 15th century. […]
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Nakijin Castle Ruins, 今帰仁城跡
Are among the Ryukyu Kingdom’s UNESCO World Heritage Castles and are located on the Motobu Peninsula in northern Okinawa Honto.In contrast to other Okinawan castles, Nakijin Castle is low-density amid beautiful woodlands, giving the remains a distinct ambiance. Nakijin Castle constructed in the late 1200s.Okinawa Honto split into three kingdoms during the Sanzan Period (1322-1429). […]
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Shikinaen Garden
Shikinaen is located about 3 kilometers south of Shuri Castle. Shikinaen (識名園) was built towards the 18th century as the Ryukyu rulers’ second home. It has gorgeous, relatively basic Okinawan-style timber palace structures. With red tile roofs and a vast Japanese-style landscape park with a central pond. While the garden is created in a typical […]
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Ocean Expo Park
The Ocean Expo Park (, Kaiyhakuken) is a vast park on the tip of the Motobu Peninsula in northern Okinawa Honto. That was established in 1976 to honor the Okinawa International Ocean Expo, held there the previous year. The Churaumi Aquarium, Japan’s best aquarium, is the park’s primary feature. The park spans roughly three kilometers […]
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Sefa Utaki 斎場御嶽
The mainland Japanese language didn’t influence the name of this site. It comes from two ancient local terms, “Sefa,” meaning “highest point.” And “Utaki,” which denoted a sacred site in the Ryūkyū Islands faith. So the name of this place can be translated as “highest shrine.” Sefa-Utaki is also called “Kimi-ga-take” and “Omo-ga-take no Ibi.” […]
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War Memorials
Toward the end of World War II, Okinawa Honto became the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the war. When U.S. forces captured and occupied the island. An estimated 200,000 people, including more than 100,000 civilians and 12,500 Americans. Were killed in the battle, which lasted from April to June 1945. The devastating […]
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Churaumi Aquarium
The Churaumi Aquarium (美ら海水族館, Churaumi Suizokukan) is regarded as Japan’s most incredible aquarium. It is the primary feature of the Ocean Expo Park, located on the old grounds of the 1975 International Ocean Expo in Honto, northern Okinawa. In 2002, the aquarium was entirely rebuilt and reopened. In 2010, the aquarium welcomed its 20 millionth […]