147 POIs pinned from OpenStreetMap · Tabelog, Okinawa CLIP and official sources · no Eater coverage
Tap a route and it gets drawn on the map, stop by stop.
Tap a pin to see photos, rating and how to get there by monorail, bus or car. Turn on a route to follow the numbered path.
This interactive map of Okinawa (Japan) brings together 147 hand-picked places: 58 attractions, 40 restaurants, 25 cafés and 24 shops. It also includes 5 walking routes with their stops in order. For every place you get what it is, a practical tip and how to get there by public transport. It is free, works on your phone and needs no sign-up.
· Curated by the HOLASIM team · How we make the maps
Tap a route to see it drawn on the map, stop by stop.
2.4 km · ~3 h · 7 stops · monorail to Shuri · the new Seiden opens 23 Nov 2026; until 21 Nov it is 400 yen and seen from outside · 7 stops
3.1 km · ~4 h · 7 stops · all along the monorail line · the market closes the 4th Sunday of the month · 7 stops
58 km by car · ~7 h · 7 stops · no direct public transport · Zakimi is free and always open · 7 stops
Naha-Motobu 2 h by car or bus 117 · ~9 h · 7 stops · on Wednesdays the Tropical Dream Center and the Oceanic Culture Museum close · 7 stops
62 km by car · ~7 h · 7 stops · Sefa-utaki is under works and free until 5 Jan 2027, only as far as the first gate · 7 stops
首里城 · Shuri, Naha
The heart of the Ryukyu Kingdom, burnt down in 2019 and rebuilt from the ground up. The new Seiden opens to the public on 23 November 2026.
Tip: Until 21 Nov you get in for 400 yen and see the Seiden only from outside. From 23 Nov the ticket goes up to 1,000 yen, and to go INSIDE the Seiden you need a timed reservation, sold on 1 Sep and 1 Oct. Without one you still enter the paid area and see it from outside. Note: the park closes all day on 22 Nov and the morning of the 23rd.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Shuri, 9-min walk
Featured in: Shuri-jo Park (oki-park.jp) · Nanjo/Okinawa Prefecture
Show on map守礼門 · Shuri, Naha
The two-storey gate with the red roof that appears on the 2,000-yen note. It stands in the free area, before the ticket gate.
Tip: Don't buy a ticket just for the photo: Shureimon, Sonohyan-utaki and the stone path are all on the free side. The free area opens 8:00-19:30 and the paid area 8:30-19:00.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Gibo, 10-min walk
Featured in: Shuri-jo Park (oki-park.jp)
Show on map園比屋武御嶽石門 · Shuri, Naha
The stone portal of 1519 where the king prayed before setting out on a journey. A World Heritage site, and it is not walked through: it is looked at.
Tip: It is steps from Shureimon and plenty of people walk straight past it. This is an active place of worship: look from the front and don't climb the steps.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Gibo, 10-min walk
Featured in: UNESCO · Shuri-jo Park
Show on map玉陵 · Shuri, Naha
The royal mausoleum of the Sho dynasty, carved in coral in 1501. Three stone chambers in a silent courtyard, five minutes from Shuri-jo.
Tip: It is a separate ticket from Shuri-jo and few people make the walk: it is the quietest corner of the neighbourhood. Open 9:00-18:00 all year, except on storm warnings.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Gibo, 11-min walk
Featured in: UNESCO · City of Naha
Show on map識名園 · Shikina, Naha
The kings' retreat villa, with a pond, a Chinese stone bridge and a red-tiled pavilion. A World Heritage site.
Tip: It closes on WEDNESDAYS: the classic mistake of anyone planning the Shuri day in a rush. From October to March it opens 9:00-17:30 and costs 400 yen.
🚇 by car or local bus to Naha; ~6 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: UNESCO · City of Naha
Show on map金城町石畳道 · Shuri Kinjo, Naha
An original stretch of the 16th-century royal road that ran down from Shuri to the port. Worn stone, coral walls and houses with shisa on the roof.
Tip: Walk it downhill, not up: start at Shuri-jo and finish at the bottom. The stone turns slippery in the rain, so wear shoes with grip.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Gibo, 14-min walk
Featured in: City of Naha
Show on map西のアザナ · Shuri, Naha
The western balcony of the Shuri walls: all of Naha on one side, the East China Sea on the other and, on a clear day, the Kerama Islands on the horizon.
Tip: It is inside the paid area. Leave it for the end of the visit and stay for sunset: the sun drops right over the port.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Gibo, 11-min walk
Featured in: Shuri-jo Park (oki-park.jp)
Show on map沖縄県立博物館・美術館 · Omoromachi, Naha
The door into everything else: Ryukyu history, island nature and contemporary Okinawan art in a building shaped like a gusuku.
Tip: Do it on day one: you understand the kingdom, the battle and the post-war years in two hours, and the rest of the map makes sense afterwards.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Omoromachi, 9-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa Prefecture
Show on map対馬丸記念館 · Wakasa, Naha
The evacuation ship sunk in 1944 with hundreds of schoolchildren aboard. A small museum, told through the families' objects and letters.
Tip: It sits next to Naminoue and almost nobody includes it. Closed on Thursdays. It is hard going: if you travel with children, see it yourself first.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Kencho-mae, 12-min walk
Featured in: Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum
Show on map壺屋焼物博物館 · Tsuboya, Naha
Four centuries of yachimun explained around kilns excavated beneath the building itself. The best primer before you buy a piece.
Tip: Come HERE before walking the street: afterwards you can tell a workshop plate from an industrial copy without having to ask.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Makishi, 5-min walk
Featured in: City of Naha · METI (certified craft)
Show on map壺屋やちむん通り · Tsuboya, Naha
Four blocks of cobblestone with workshops, old kilns and ceramics galleries, one block from the noise of Kokusai-dori and on another planet.
Tip: Many workshops close on Wednesday or Thursday and almost all pull the shutters down at 18:00. Go in the morning and step into the courtyards: most of them let you in.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Makishi, 6-min walk
Featured in: City of Naha · METI
Show on map国際通り · Makishi, Naha
The kilometre and a half of Naha where everyone ends up one night: souvenirs, izakayas, live music and shisa of every size.
Tip: On Sundays from 12:00 to 18:00 it closes to traffic and goes pedestrian. The good stuff is in the side streets, not on the avenue.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Makishi, 2-min walk
Featured in: City of Naha
Show on map第一牧志公設市場 · Makishi, Naha
Okinawa's stomach: blue parrotfish, pork trotters, umibudo and seaweed on the ground floor; upstairs they cook whatever you buy below.
Tip: Buy the fish downstairs, ask for 'mochiagi' and they take it up to the first floor and cook it for a few hundred yen a dish. Closed the 4th Sunday of the month.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Makishi, 7-min walk
Featured in: Makishi Public Market
Show on map栄町市場 · Asato, Naha
By day a half-asleep neighbourhood market; by night, the most loved izakaya maze in Naha, with tables out in the alleys.
Tip: Don't come before 19:00 and don't expect an English menu: you order by pointing. It is two blocks from Asato station.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Asato, 2-min walk
Featured in: City of Naha
Show on map泊いゆまち · Tomari, Naha
The fish market at Tomari port: tuna straight off the boat, sashimi by the tray and port prices, not tourist prices.
Tip: Open 6:00-18:00, but the good stuff is gone before midday. You buy and eat right there at the outside tables.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Miebashi, 17-min walk
Featured in: Tomari port market
Show on map波上宮 · Wakasa, Naha
Okinawa's most important shrine, standing on a coral cliff with the expressway and the sea below. A very strange, perfect postcard.
Tip: The good photo is not from the top but from the beach below, looking up at the cliff. Free entry.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Asahibashi, 14-min walk
Featured in: Naminoue Shrine
Show on map福州園 · Kume, Naha
A classical Chinese garden gifted by Fuzhou, with a waterfall, pavilions and a carp pond, in the quarter where the kingdom's Chinese scholars lived.
Tip: It sits in Kume, the quarter of the 36 Chinese families who brought bureaucracy and cooking to the kingdom. Cheap entry and almost always empty.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Kencho-mae, 7-min walk
Featured in: City of Naha
Show on map那覇市伝統工芸館 · Makishi, Naha
The five nationally certified crafts under one roof: bingata, Shuri-ori, lacquer, glass and ceramics, with hands-on workshops.
Tip: Book the workshop ahead: the bingata and glass ones fill up. It is on Kokusai-dori, on the first floor.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Makishi, 5-min walk
Featured in: METI 伝統的工芸品 · City of Naha
Show on map旧海軍司令部壕 · Tomigusuku
Galleries dug by hand with pick and shovel beneath the hill, where the Japanese naval command ended in June 1945. You go down a staircase and walk through them.
Tip: Hundreds of people died here: this is not an attraction, it is a grave. Enter in silence and do not photograph the marks on the walls. 600 yen, 9:00-17:00, open every day.
🚇 by car or local bus to Tomigusuku; ~3 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: City of Tomigusuku · OCVB
Show on map平和祈念公園 · Mabuni, Itoman
The cliff at the southern tip where the Battle of Okinawa ended, today a vast park facing the sea, with the Cornerstone of Peace.
Tip: The walls carry more than 240,000 names, from every side and every nationality. The park is free and open; the museum charges separately.
🚇 by car or local bus to Itoman; ~14 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa Peace Memorial Foundation
Show on map沖縄県平和祈念資料館 · Mabuni, Itoman
The battle from April to June 1945, told above all by the civilians who survived it, in first-person testimony.
Tip: Allow two hours and read the testimonies, which are what makes this museum different. It sits inside the Peace Park but charges its own admission.
🚇 by car or local bus to Itoman; ~14 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa Prefecture
Show on mapひめゆり平和祈念資料館 · Ihara, Itoman
The monument and museum to the students and teachers mobilised as nurses in 1945. Told by the survivors themselves.
Tip: Inside the halls there is no photography, no filming and no phone calls, and rightly so: this is a memorial, not a viewpoint. 9:00-17:25, last entry 17:00.
🚇 by car or local bus to Itoman; ~13 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Himeyuri Peace Museum
Show on map佐喜真美術館 · Ueharaa, Ginowan
A private museum built on land recovered at the edge of Futenma air base, around the Marukis' mural 'The Battle of Okinawa'.
Tip: Go up to the roof: the staircases have 6 and 23 steps, for 23 June, the day the battle ended, and from the top you can see the Futenma runway.
🚇 by car or local bus to Ginowan; ~15 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Sakima Art Museum
Show on map中城城跡 · Kitanakagusuku
The best-preserved gusuku on the island: curved walls of interlocking stone that survived earthquakes and bombardment, looking out over both seas.
Tip: From the high wall you see the Pacific and the East China Sea at the same time. A free shuttle runs from the ticket office up to the top gate.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakagusuku; ~17 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: UNESCO · Town of Kitanakagusuku
Show on map中村家住宅 · Kitanakagusuku
An 18th-century landowners' house, complete and original: red-tiled roof, stable, raised granary and a stone windbreak wall.
Tip: It is the only rural house of its period left standing after 1945. It is a five-minute walk from Nakagusuku: do the two together.
🚇 by car or local bus to Kitanakagusuku; ~17 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: National Cultural Property · Kitanakagusuku
Show on map勝連城跡 · Katsuren, Uruma
Lord Amawari's gusuku, perched on a coral ridge above the isthmus, with a 360-degree view of the sea and of the Kaichu Doro road.
Tip: The ticket includes the Amawari Park exhibition below, where the 4th-century Roman coin found in the dig is displayed. Open all year 9:00-18:00.
🚇 by car or local bus to Uruma; ~26 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: UNESCO · City of Uruma
Show on map座喜味城跡 · Yomitan
The walls built by Bunkei Gosamaru, with the oldest stone arch in Okinawa. Free, always open and almost always empty.
Tip: You can walk along the top of the wall here, which the other gusuku don't allow. At sunset it is one of the loveliest places on the island, and it costs nothing.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: UNESCO · Town of Yomitan
Show on mapやちむんの里 · Zakimi, Yomitan
The potters' village founded by Jiro Kinjo when he left Tsuboya: stepped wood-fired kilns, open workshops and galleries among the trees.
Tip: The big communal kiln is fired only a few times a year; when it is lit you can see the smoke from the road. Several workshops close on Wednesdays.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: METI 伝統的工芸品 · Town of Yomitan
Show on map今帰仁城跡 · Nakijin
The fortress of the northern kingdom, with 1.5 km of wavy wall running down the slope and the sea behind it. The most dramatic of the four.
Tip: Admission has gone up to 1,000 yen and covers little more than the grounds: worth it anyway for that wall. From September to December it opens 8:00-18:00.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~61 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: UNESCO · Town of Nakijin
Show on map斎場御嶽 · Chinen, Nanjo
The most important sacred site of the Ryukyu Kingdom, where the high priestess was consecrated. It is under works now and you can only go as far as the first gate.
Tip: From 2 Nov 2026 to 5 Jan 2027 entry is FREE but you only reach the Ujoguchi: Sangui, the famous triangular cleft, is closed. If you were coming for that photo, leave it for another trip. It is still a place of worship: people pray from the gate.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nanjo; ~18 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Nanjo (official notice)
Show on map知念岬公園 · Chinen, Nanjo
A tongue of grass on the clifftop with the open Pacific and the sacred island of Kudaka in front. Free, open, with parking.
Tip: It is two minutes from Sefa-utaki and the best sunrise on the island. Bring a jacket: the November north-easterly bites.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nanjo; ~18 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Nanjo
Show on mapニライカナイ橋 · Chinen, Nanjo
The concrete curve that drops from the plateau down to the sea like a slide. The lookout above it is one of the most repeated photos in Okinawa.
Tip: The lookout is ABOVE the tunnel, on Route 86, and you reach it driving south to north: come down the bridge and you will sail straight past. Stopping on the bridge is not allowed.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nanjo; ~17 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Nanjo
Show on mapおきなわワールド · Tamagusuku, Nanjo
The Gyokusendo cave, with almost a kilometre of lit stalactites, plus a village of relocated houses, an awamori distillery and an eisa show.
Tip: The cave sits at 21 °C with very high humidity all year: it is the best plan if it rains. The Super Eisa show runs to fixed times, so check them before you start walking.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nanjo; ~12 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa World · Town of Nanjo
Show on map万座毛 · Onna
The cliff shaped like an elephant's trunk over turquoise water. The best-known view on the west coast.
Tip: Since 2020 there is a visitor centre and the walkway charges a token fee. Go early or at sunset: between 11:00 and 15:00 it fills with coaches.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~39 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Onna
Show on map真栄田岬 · Onna
The staircase down to the clearest water on the island and the way into the Blue Cave, Okinawa's most famous snorkelling and diving spot.
Tip: The Blue Cave runs in November too: the water is still 24-25 °C and there are fewer people than in summer. The car park opens 7:00-19:00 and the stairs close when the swell is up. For snorkelling a buoyancy vest is compulsory.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~29 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Cape Maeda (maedamisaki.jp)
Show on map海中道路 · Yonashiro, Uruma
Five kilometres of road laid across the sea linking the main island to Henza, Miyagi, Ikei and Hamahiga. You drive with water on both sides.
Tip: At low tide the water pulls back and sandbanks appear on either side: check the tide table before you set out. There is a rest area halfway along.
🚇 by car or local bus to Uruma; ~30 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: City of Uruma
Show on map果報バンタ · Miyagijima, Uruma
A coral balcony over an unreal blue, at the end of the Kaichu Doro. 'Kafu' means good news.
Tip: It is inside the grounds of Nuchima-su, the salt factory, and the lookout is free. Combine it with Hamahiga on the same trip.
🚇 by car or local bus to Uruma; ~38 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: City of Uruma
Show on map古宇利大橋 · Yagaji (Nago) – Kouri (Nakijin)
Almost two kilometres of straight bridge over turquoise water out to Kouri island. It is the finest drive in Okinawa.
Tip: You can't stop on it: park in the square at the southern end, in Yagaji, and walk a stretch. The good light is in the morning.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nago; ~65 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Nakijin
Show on map古宇利島 · Kouri, Nakijin
The island of the Okinawan Adam and Eve myth: eight kilometres of coastline, white-sand beaches, shrimp trucks and lookouts.
Tip: You can drive the whole loop in 20 minutes, but the point is getting out: the north beach, the lighthouse and the shrimp stands at the pier.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~66 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Nakijin
Show on mapティーヌ浜 · Kouri, Nakijin
Two eroded rocks that together draw a heart, on a coral beach in northern Kouri. It became famous through a Japanese TV ad.
Tip: The heart only lines up from one very precise angle and at low tide: arrive at high tide and you will see two rocks and nothing else. The car park is private and charges.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~67 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Nakijin
Show on map沖縄美ら海水族館 · Ishikawa, Motobu
One of the largest aquariums in the world: the Kuroshio tank, with whale sharks and giant manta rays behind 60 cm of acrylic.
Tip: The 16:00 discount no longer exists: it stopped being sold in March 2023. By car it is about 2 h from Naha, and by bus 117 it is 2 h 15 to 2 h 30 plus a 10-min walk from the stop. Leave early.
🚇 bus 117 from Naha airport to 'Kinen Koen-mae', 2 h 15 to 2 h 30 + 10-min walk
Featured in: Ocean Expo Park (oki-park.jp)
Show on map海洋博公園 · Ishikawa, Motobu
The free public park that wraps around the aquarium: gardens, a beach, a dolphin theatre, an Okinawan village and museums. Getting in costs nothing.
Tip: Watch out for Wednesdays: until March 2027, Wednesdays are 'partial opening days' and the Tropical Dream Center, the Oceanic Culture Museum and the village close. The aquarium and the beach do open.
🚇 bus 117 from Naha airport to 'Kinen Koen-mae', 2 h 15 to 2 h 30 + 10-min walk
Featured in: Ocean Expo Park (oki-park.jp)
Show on map海洋文化館 · Ishikawa, Motobu
Real Polynesian canoes, navigation by the stars and a planetarium, telling how the Pacific islands were settled. 190 yen.
Tip: It is the best value for money in the whole park and almost nobody goes in. CLOSED on Wednesdays because of the partial opening.
🚇 bus 117 from Naha airport to 'Kinen Koen-mae', 2 h 15 to 2 h 30 + 10-min walk
Featured in: Ocean Expo Park (oki-park.jp)
Show on map熱帯ドリームセンター · Ishikawa, Motobu
Two thousand orchids in bloom all year, tropical fruit glasshouses and a lookout tower over the park. 760 yen.
Tip: It also CLOSES on Wednesdays until March 2027. There is an autumn orchid festival running to the end of November.
🚇 bus 117 from Naha airport to 'Kinen Koen-mae', 2 h 15 to 2 h 30 + 10-min walk
Featured in: Ocean Expo Park (oki-park.jp)
Show on mapエメラルドビーチ · Ishikawa, Motobu
The clover-shaped beach inside Ocean Expo Park, with blinding white coral sand and a view of Ie island. Out of season in November.
Tip: The swimming season ran from 1 Jul to 31 Oct: there are no lifeguards and no jellyfish net now, and swimming is out. For walking and photographs it is still one of the prettiest places in the north.
🚇 bus 117 from Naha airport to 'Kinen Koen-mae', 2 h 15 to 2 h 30 + 10-min walk
Featured in: Ocean Expo Park (oki-park.jp)
Show on map備瀬のフクギ並木 · Bise, Motobu
Two thousand fukugi trees planted as a screen against typhoons, forming shaded tunnels between red-roofed houses. You walk it, or ride a water-buffalo cart.
Tip: It is a lived-in village, not a park: don't walk into the yards or photograph doorways. The car park at the far end charges; the one at the entrance is free.
🚇 by car or local bus to Motobu; ~60 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Motobu
Show on map備瀬崎 · Bise, Motobu
The coral point at the end of the fukugi forest, with tide pools full of fish and Ie island in front.
Tip: At low tide you can walk among the rocks and find colourful fish without going in past your waist. The stones cut: water shoes are a must.
🚇 by car or local bus to Motobu; ~60 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Motobu
Show on mapジャングリア沖縄 · Nakijin
The theme park that opened in July 2025 in the Yanbaru jungle: dinosaurs, a hot-air balloon, zip lines and a spa looking over the valley.
Tip: A day ticket runs around 6,930 yen for adults; if you are going for one attraction only, there is a short ticket at about 2,970 yen that covers 3 hours. Buy online.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~58 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Junglia Okinawa
Show on mapオリオンハッピーパーク · Nago
The factory of the Okinawan beer, in Nago: you walk the production line and finish with two freshly pulled glasses.
Tip: You have to BOOK and it closes on Mondays. Hours 9:30-17:00. If you are driving they give you a soft drink, so agree who drives before you go.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nago; ~54 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Orion Beer
Show on map美浜アメリカンビレッジ · Mihama, Chatan
The open-air mall with a Ferris wheel, murals and neon lights that invented the 'American Okinawa' look for Instagram.
Tip: The good hour is from 17:00: the lights come on and the sun sets right over Sunset Beach, which is next door. Free parking.
🚇 by car or local bus to Chatan; ~16 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Chatan
Show on mapサンセットビーチ · Mihama, Chatan
The urban beach of American Village, facing due west: in November the sun drops into the sea and people gather to watch it.
Tip: The swimming season runs to the end of October: there are no lifeguards and no jellyfish net now. Come anyway at sunset, which is the whole point. Free parking for 2,000 cars.
🚇 by car or local bus to Chatan; ~16 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Chatan
Show on map北谷町立博物館 · Chatan
The town's own museum: archaeology, the post-war occupation and how Chatan went from requisitioned land to American Village. Free entry.
Tip: It is free and it explains, without preaching, why this stretch of coast has the shape it has. Open 9:00-17:00, Tuesday to Sunday.
🚇 by car or local bus to Chatan; ~17 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Chatan
Show on map道の駅かでな · Kadena
The roadside station with a viewing terrace built precisely to look out over Kadena air base and its runways. There is an exhibition room upstairs.
Tip: You cannot enter the base and this is not a tourist attraction: it is a public viewpoint. Upstairs, panels explain the history of the land and of the town.
🚇 by car or local bus to Kadena; ~22 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Kadena
Show on map安保の見える丘 · Kadena
The high point beside the Michi-no-Eki from which you can see the real extent of the base. The name means 'the hill where you can see the treaty'.
Tip: It is an informative place and local residents are sometimes there: treat it with respect and don't fly drones, which are banned over the whole area.
🚇 by car or local bus to Kadena; ~22 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Kadena
Show on mapヒストリート · Chuo, Okinawa City
Two small rooms that tell post-war Koza: the occupation, the music, the dollar as currency and the 1970 uprising. Free entry.
Tip: It is the best half-hour in Koza and it costs nothing. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00, which is late for a Japanese museum.
🚇 by car or local bus to Okinawa City; ~20 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa City
Show on mapプラザハウスショッピングセンター · Kubota, Okinawa City
The first American-style shopping centre in all of Asia, opened in 1954 for the base families and still standing, with an art gallery upstairs.
Tip: This is not just any mall: it is a historic post-war building. Upstairs there is an art gallery and an original A&W.
🚇 by car or local bus to Okinawa City; ~19 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Plaza House · Okinawa City
Show on mapウミカジテラス · Senagajima, Tomigusuku
Forty white units stepping down the hillside of Senaga island, facing the sea, with the Naha planes passing overhead.
Tip: It sits right under the end of the runway: planes come over very low every few minutes. There is a saltwater onsen at the top. 15 min by car from the airport.
🚇 by car or local bus to Tomigusuku; ~3 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: City of Tomigusuku
Show on mapあざまサンサンビーチ · Azama, Nanjo
Nanjo's managed beach, with white sand and the harbour the boats leave from for the sacred island of Kudaka.
Tip: It is the last beach on the island still in season: it closes on 7 November 2026. After that you still have the landscape and the barbecue, which runs all year with a booking.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nanjo; ~18 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Azama Sunsun Beach (official notice)
Show on map首里そば · Shuri, Naha
The most respected Okinawa soba house in Shuri: clear pork and bonito broth, hand-kneaded noodles and a three-line menu.
Tip: It closes when the broth runs out, often before 14:00, and it closes on Sundays. Get there as it opens or you will be left outside.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Shuri, 4-min walk
Featured in: Tabelog · Okinawa CLIP
Show on map我部祖河そば · Asato, Naha
The house that invented soki soba, the braised pork rib bowl eaten all over the island today. It began in Nago in 1968.
Tip: Order the soki soba and not the sanmai-niku: it is the house dish. Open 11:00-21:00 every day, which for an Okinawa soba shop is very unusual.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Miebashi, 5-min walk
Featured in: Tabelog · Okinawa CLIP
Show on map大東そば · Makishi, Naha
The curly, springy noodle of the Daito islands, quite different from the classic Okinawan one, served a block from Kokusai-dori.
Tip: The noodle is kneaded with seawater from Minami Daito: that is where the texture comes from. It is tucked inside an arcade, look for the small sign.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Miebashi, 4-min walk
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map浜屋そば · Miyagi, Chatan
A timber house facing the Chatan sea where soki soba has been served for decades, to locals and surfers alike.
Tip: It is two blocks from the sea and you eat at shared tables. The large portion is enormous: order the small one unless you have come straight from surfing.
🚇 by car or local bus to Chatan; ~16 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog · Okinawa CLIP
Show on map金月そば読谷本店 · Yomitan
Chef-driven Okinawa soba: house-made noodles, a cleaner broth than the traditional one and a meat ajipai that became famous.
Tip: Open 11:00-16:00 every day. It is in Yomitan, so combine it with Zakimi and Yachimun no Sato in the same half day.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map本部そば · Motobu
The soba of Motobu town, on the road to Churaumi: pork and katsuo broth and thick noodles, in an unpretentious house.
Tip: It is the logical stop between the aquarium and the fukugi forest, and much cheaper than eating inside the park.
🚇 by car or local bus to Motobu; ~53 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map座喜味そば · Yomitan
A small house next to Zakimi castle, with thin-noodle soba and pork rice. Closed Thursdays and Fridays.
Tip: Open 11:00-16:00 Saturday to Wednesday; closed Thursday and Friday. It is the best food within walking distance of the gusuku.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~23 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map東江そば · Ginowan
A real neighbourhood soba in Ginowan, with cloudy pork broth and an office-worker crowd at midday.
Tip: Closed on Sundays and it shuts early. It is the kind of place that turns up in no foreign-language guidebook.
🚇 by car or local bus to Ginowan; ~14 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map沖縄そば にぃぶんじゃ〜 · Uruma
A recent house in Uruma that built a reputation fast on its broth and its agu: house-made noodles and generous bowls.
Tip: 11:00-15:00, closed Wednesdays. It sells out: get there before 13:00. It is close to the Kaichu Doro turn-off.
🚇 by car or local bus to Okinawa City; ~25 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map古民家そば屋 ふくぎ · Onna
Soba served in an old red-tiled Okinawan house in Onna, with a garden and a shisa at the door.
Tip: It opens only 11:30-14:00: this is a lunch, not a flexible plan. It is one of the few places where the setting matches the bowl.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~38 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog · Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapひめゆりそば · Ihara, Itoman
The soba house across from the Himeyuri memorial, one of the few hot meals at the southern tip.
Tip: If you do the memorial circuit in the south, this is where you have lunch: there is not much else anywhere nearby.
🚇 by car or local bus to Itoman; ~13 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on mapキングタコス · Ginowan
The home of taco rice: rice, seasoned mince, cheese, lettuce and tomato on a tray that weighs. It was born in Kin in the 80s.
Tip: Order the taco rice with cheese and lettuce: that is the canonical version. The portions are brutal, one feeds two.
🚇 by car or local bus to Ginowan; ~14 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · King Tacos
Show on mapRuler's TACORICE · Chatan
The modern take on taco rice in Chatan: house sauces, agu meat and careful plating, heavily photographed.
Tip: This is the option if King Tacos feels too rough. It is steps from American Village.
🚇 by car or local bus to Chatan; ~17 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Tabelog
Show on mapA&W · Makiminato, Urasoe
The burger chain that arrived with the Americans in 1963 and never left. Root beer with free refills and drive-in service.
Tip: Order the root beer even if it sounds odd: it is the taste of post-war Okinawa and the refill is free. Some branches keep the original drive-in.
🚇 by car or local bus to Urasoe; ~10 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: A&W Okinawa
Show on map金武アグーと山城牛のしゃぶしゃぶ琉球 · Kume, Naha
Shabu-shabu of agu buta from Kin and Yamashiro wagyu, the two meats that define the Okinawan table at its most lavish.
Tip: Agu is a small native breed of pig: the fat melts differently. Order the set that mixes the two meats, and book ahead.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Miebashi, 6-min walk
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map福州園-GARDEN · Kume, Naha
Ryukyuan and Chinese cooking served beside the Fuzhou garden, in the quarter of the Chinese families who staffed the kingdom's bureaucracy.
Tip: Order the rafute, pork belly braised in awamori and black sugar: it is the dish that best represents the palace kitchen.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Kencho-mae, 8-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map支那そば かでかる · Nishihara
Old-school ramen in Nishihara, with a clear broth and fine noodles. The opposite pole to Okinawa soba.
Tip: Open 11:00-21:00 every day, which for the area is a luxury. This is classic Japanese ramen: don't look for Okinawan flavour here.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nishihara; ~12 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map八重山そば ジュネ · Matsuyama, Naha
Soba from the Yaeyama islands: round, fine noodles, a gentler broth and meat cut in strips. Another school within the same family.
Tip: Have it with pippatsu pepper, the way it is eaten in Ishigaki. It is a good contrast if you have already tried the northern soba.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Miebashi, 6-min walk
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on mapステーキと沖縄そばの店 かみや · Ikei, Uruma
Steak and soba on the same menu, on Ikei island at the end of the Kaichu Doro. Very Okinawan: steak is what you eat at the end of the night.
Tip: Open 11:00-14:00 only. In Okinawa steak is the late-night closer, an American legacy: here you eat it by day and with a view.
🚇 by car or local bus to Uruma; ~29 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on mapちゃんぷるーと沖縄そばの店 くすくす · Nago
Goya champuru, fu champuru and soba in a Nago house that only opens at night.
Tip: Open 18:00-22:00, closed Tuesdays. A properly made goya champuru is bitter: if they serve it sweet, it wasn't one.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nago; ~57 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on mapもすぐそば くんなどぅ · Nanjo
Soba and home-style dishes in Nanjo, with long hours and a good stop on the southern circuit.
Tip: Open 11:00-19:00 every day, unusual for the area. Handy for breaking up the Sefa-utaki / Okinawa World circuit.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nanjo; ~14 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on mapコウリシュリンプ · Kouri, Nakijin
The garlic shrimp truck on Kouri island, with tables facing the harbour. A direct descendant of the Hawaiian shrimp trucks.
Tip: Order the garlic shrimp and eat it at the tables on the pier. They close early, and on very windy days they simply don't open.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~66 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapソイソイ本部 · Motobu
Okinawan tofu cooking: shima-dofu is made with seawater and comes out firmer and tastier than the mainland kind.
Tip: Order jimami-dofu for dessert: it is not soy tofu but peanut, and it is the Okinawan dessert par excellence. Closed Sunday and Monday.
🚇 by car or local bus to Motobu; ~56 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Tabelog · Okinawa CLIP
Show on map南谷茶房 · Shuri, Naha
A tea house with light dishes in Shuri, serving sanpin-cha and Okinawan sweets, halfway between the castle and the station.
Tip: Sanpin-cha is jasmine tea and it is THE everyday drink in Okinawa, not green tea. Closed on Wednesdays.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Shuri, 2-min walk
Featured in: Tabelog
Show on map糸満市場いとま～る · Itoman
The market of Okinawa's most important fishing town, rebuilt, with sashimi stalls and fish tempura.
Tip: Itoman is the island's historic fishing port. Order the tempura of the day's catch and the mozuku, the seaweed eaten with vinegar.
🚇 by car or local bus to Itoman; ~9 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: City of Itoman
Show on map道の駅許田やんばる物産 · Nago
The busiest roadside station in the north: Yanbaru produce, fish tempura, shikuwasa ice cream and discounted tickets.
Tip: This is where you buy discounted tickets for several northern attractions, Churaumi included. Open 8:30-19:00 every day.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nago; ~50 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Michi-no-Eki Kyoda
Show on map今帰仁の駅そーれ · Nakijin
A canteen of Okinawan home cooking run by the women of Nakijin village, with vegetables from the plots next door.
Tip: This is home food, not restaurant food: whatever there is that day. It is the best way to try the diet that made Okinawan longevity famous.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~62 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Town of Nakijin
Show on mapわんさか大浦パーク · Nago
A canteen and market in the north, on the edge of Oura bay, with dishes of the day and produce from the Yanbaru plots.
Tip: Open 10:00-17:00 on weekdays and from 9:00 at weekends. It is on the northern east coast, which almost nobody drives.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nago; ~55 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map恩納の駅 · Onna
Onna's market: local fruit, mozuku, umibudo and a canteen of simple dishes, on Route 58.
Tip: Umibudo, the 'green caviar', is eaten only dipped in ponzu and never chilled: the fridge ruins it. Buy it and eat it the same day.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~29 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Town of Onna
Show on mapゆんた市場 · Yomitan
Yomitan's growers' market: beni-imo sweet potato, shikuwasa, goya and vegetables you won't see in the rest of Japan.
Tip: It is where the cooks of the area shop. November shikuwasa is at peak harvest: it is Okinawa's citrus and it is fiercely bitter raw.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~23 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: JA Okinawa · Town of Yomitan
Show on mapファーマーズマーケットいとまん うまんちゅ市場 · Itoman
The largest growers' market in the south, with island vegetables, agu pork and a prepared-food section.
Tip: It is right next to Michi-no-Eki Itoman. Excellent for unusual fruit and freshly made sata andagi.
🚇 by car or local bus to Itoman; ~8 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: JA Okinawa · City of Itoman
Show on mapJAファーマーズマーケット ちゃんぷるー市場 · Chibana, Okinawa City
The JA market in Chibana, Okinawa City, with vegetables from the centre of the island and home-cooking stalls to take away.
Tip: Open 9:00-18:00. A good stop before taking the Kaichu Doro, to carry something to nibble out to the islands.
🚇 by car or local bus to Okinawa City; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: JA Okinawa · City of Uruma
Show on map名護市営市場 · Nago
Nago's old market, with fish, meat and vegetable stalls and a couple of lifelong canteens.
Tip: Best early. It is steps from Nago's old centre, which almost nobody walks because everyone drives straight past on the way to Churaumi.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nago; ~54 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: City of Nago
Show on map比嘉酒造 · Yomitan
The Zanpa awamori distillery, in Yomitan, one of the best-selling brands on the island. Shop, and visits by reservation.
Tip: Awamori is distilled from Thai indica rice and black koji, which is why it tastes nothing like sake. Kusu is the one aged three years or more: ask to try one.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~25 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Higa Shuzo
Show on mapヘリオス酒造 · Nago
An awamori distillery and craft brewery in Nago, with a museum and a guided tour of the plant.
Tip: They make Kurajima awamori and Okinawan craft beer as well. It is on the way to Churaumi: pair it with Orion if the subject interests you.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nago; ~48 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Helios Shuzo
Show on map今帰仁酒造 · Nakijin
The awamori distillery of Nakijin village, small and family-run, selling direct.
Tip: It is one of the small ones, so there is never a queue. Ask about the house kusu: awamori improves with the years, unlike sake.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~62 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map忠孝酒造 · Tomigusuku
An awamori distillery in Tomigusuku that makes its own clay jars for ageing kusu, which almost nobody does.
Tip: They are the only ones who fire the pottery their own awamori ages in. It is 15 minutes from the airport: a good last stop.
🚇 by car or local bus to Tomigusuku; ~4 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Chuko Shuzo
Show on map神村酒造 · Ishikawa, Uruma
A historic awamori distillery moved to Uruma, known for ageing in oak barrels.
Tip: They age in oak, which gives a colour and a profile that are unusual for awamori. Call ahead to confirm there are visits the day you go.
🚇 by car or local bus to Uruma; ~29 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map泡盛古酒専門店 佳風 · Shuri, Naha
A shop-bar in Shuri devoted to aged awamori alone, with bottles from different decades open for tasting.
Tip: Here you do taste real kusu, 10 and 20 years old, by the glass. Ask them to explain the difference from young awamori: it is another product altogether.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Ishimine, 5-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapハレクラニ沖縄 · Nakama, Onna
A hotel with two MICHELIN Keys on the Onna coast. Its restaurants are open to the public, which is the only way in if you are not staying.
Tip: The MICHELIN Keys are the hotel selection, not the restaurant one: Okinawa does NOT have a MICHELIN restaurant guide. Book a table several days ahead.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~45 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: MICHELIN Keys Japan 2026
Show on mapブルーシールアイスクリーム 牧港本店 · Makiminato, Urasoe
The flagship of the ice cream that arrived in 1948 for the bases and turned Okinawan: beni-imo, Okinawa salt and shikuwasa.
Tip: Order beni-imo, the purple sweet potato one: it is the flavour that doesn't exist outside here. This branch has the ice cream museum next door.
🚇 by car or local bus to Urasoe; ~10 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Blue Seal Okinawa
Show on mapブルーシール古宇利島パーラー · Kouri, Nakijin
The Blue Seal parlour at the foot of the Kouri bridge, with the ice cream and the view of the bridge in the same photo.
Tip: It is in the square at the northern end of the bridge. The natural stop once you have crossed.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~66 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Blue Seal Okinawa
Show on mappotohoto · Asato, Naha
The oldest specialty roastery in Naha, with single-origin beans and a wooden counter. Small, serious and without a pose.
Tip: They roast on site: ask them to recommend the bean of the day as filter. Open Monday to Saturday 10:00-18:00.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Asato, 2-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Tabelog
Show on map豆ポレポレ · Awase, Okinawa City
A cult roastery in Okinawa City, one of those that set the course of specialty coffee on the island.
Tip: It is a small place with few tables and the focus is the bean. Buy a bag to take away: they roast right there.
🚇 by car or local bus to Okinawa City; ~21 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Tabelog
Show on maprokkan COFFEE SHURI · Shuri, Naha
Specialty coffee in Shuri, minutes from the castle, with a counter and its own roasting.
Tip: It is the best coffee stop in the castle neighbourhood, which is otherwise a desert of vending machines.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Gibo, 6-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapTincaga · Makishi, Naha
A small café in the middle of Naha, with its own beans and counter service, open Wednesday to Sunday.
Tip: Open 10:00-18:00, Wednesday to Sunday. It sits between Kokusai-dori and Tsuboya: a good break halfway through the walk.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Makishi, 6-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapカフェ 土花土花 · Onna
A potter's café on the Onna cliff, with a terrace over the East China Sea and pizza from a wood-fired oven.
Tip: The potter makes the cups they serve you in. The terrace faces west: in the afternoon the sea turns gold. Open 8:00-18:00.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~31 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Tabelog
Show on map藍風 · Izumi, Motobu
A café hidden on the Izumi hillside in Motobu, with a garden, a view of the northern sea and indigo dyeing on the same grounds.
Tip: The access road is narrow and mountainous: take it slowly. The Ryukyuan indigo is grown right there.
🚇 by car or local bus to Motobu; ~59 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapCafé Tancha · Onna
The café on the OIST institute campus, open to the public, with its own bakery and one of the best views of the Onna coast.
Tip: The campus is open to visitors and almost no tourist knows it. Open Monday to Friday 8:00-18:00. The view from the campus lookout is free.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~34 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: OIST
Show on mapClay Coffe & Gallery · Yomitan
A café and ceramics gallery inside Yachimun no Sato: you drink your coffee from the cup you can then buy.
Tip: It is inside Yachimun no Sato. Closed Thursday and Sunday. The best pause halfway round the workshops.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapやちむんカフェ ぐんじょう · Yomitan
A potters' café in Yomitan, with house pieces and Okinawan zenzai on the menu.
Tip: Order the zenzai: it is shaved ice with sweet beans, and in Okinawa it is eaten all year round, November included.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~25 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map読谷山窯 金城公房 森の茶屋 · Yomitan
The tea house of the Kinjo family workshop, in the woods of Yachimun no Sato, with the Kinjos' ceramics on the table.
Tip: The Kinjo family founded the potters' village: Jiro Kinjo was a Living National Treasure. Open 12:00-18:00.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~25 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · METI
Show on mapTwo Dots Cafe · Yomitan
A breakfast café in Yomitan, open from 7:30, with its own bread and tables in the sun.
Tip: One of the few places that opens early in Yomitan. Ideal if you start the day at Zakimi before the crowd arrives.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapBloom coffee okinawa · Yomitan
Specialty at the counter in Yomitan, small and carefully run, open 8:00 to 17:00 and closed on Thursdays.
Tip: It opens at 8:00 and closes on Thursdays. A good pairing with the Yunta Ichiba market, which is close by.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on maptrip cafe okinawa · Onna
A brunch café on the Onna coast, open 8:00 to 19:30 every day, with pancakes and filter coffee.
Tip: It opens every day with long hours, which in Onna is very rare. It is the logical stop between Maeda and Manzamo.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~31 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Tabelog
Show on mapアイエン コーヒー＆ホステル · Chatan
A café and hostel in Chatan, roasting its own beans, with a mixed crowd of locals, surfers and people from the bases.
Tip: It is one of the few places in American Village that isn't a chain. Good coffee before sunset at Sunset Beach.
🚇 by car or local bus to Chatan; ~16 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapFLAP COFFEE 普天間店 · Ginowan
Specialty in Ginowan, open from 8:00, with single-origin beans and a light roast.
Tip: Open 8:00-17:00 and closed on Thursdays. It is close to the Sakima Museum: combine the two.
🚇 by car or local bus to Ginowan; ~16 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on maphali hali · Chatan
A breakfast café in Chatan that opens at 7:00, with toast and coffee, looking out at the sea.
Tip: The earliest opener in the area. Closed on Thursdays. Perfect before driving north.
🚇 by car or local bus to Chatan; ~16 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapアセローラフレッシュ · Motobu
The home of Motobu acerola: juices, ice creams and jams from the fruit grown in the town since the 50s.
Tip: Motobu is the acerola town of Japan. Order the pure juice, which is properly sharp. Open 9:00-17:00 every day.
🚇 by car or local bus to Motobu; ~57 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Town of Motobu
Show on map波風コーヒー · Uruma
A small café on Hamahiga island, roasting its own beans, with tables facing the sea. Weekends only.
Tip: Open Saturday and Sunday only, 11:00 to 17:00. It is at the end of the Kaichu Doro: check the day before driving out there.
🚇 by car or local bus to Uruma; ~33 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapcafe KUKURUGAMA · Kouri, Nakijin
A potter's café on Kouri island, with its own kiln and a sea view from the terrace.
Tip: It is on the high part of the island, far from the crush at the bridge. A good refuge if Kouri is packed.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~66 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map海の家ピース浜 · Kouri, Nakijin
A beach shack in northern Kouri, with coffee, Orion beer and tables on the sand.
Tip: It is on Kouri's north beach, far quieter than the one by the bridge. In strong wind it may not open.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nakijin; ~67 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map万丸 · Kumoji, Naha
A breakfast café in Naha that opens at 7:00 Monday to Friday, with toast and filter coffee.
Tip: Opens at 7:00 on weekdays and 9:00 on Saturdays. The option if you have to leave early for the north.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Kencho-mae, 3-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP · Tabelog
Show on map新垣ちんすこう本舗 牧志店 · Makishi, Naha
The historic house of chinsuko, the biscuit of flour, lard and sugar that comes from the palace confectionery.
Tip: The original chinsuko is only flour, sugar and lard: the coloured ones are a modern invention. Buy the plain one.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Miebashi, 6-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map器人 · Yomitan
A ceramics gallery-café in Yomitan: you have a drink surrounded by pieces from potters of the area, all for sale.
Tip: Open Tuesday to Friday 11:30-17:00 and from 12:00 at weekends. This is where you find pieces from the small workshops.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~22 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapパレットくもじ · Kumoji, Naha
The commercial building in central Naha, with the Ryubo store inside: Okinawa's historic department store.
Tip: Ryubo's basement is a proper depachika: Okinawan sweets, bento boxes and awamori from every distillery. Open 10:00-21:00.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Kencho-mae, 2-min walk
Featured in: Ryubo · City of Naha
Show on map沖縄アウトレットモールあしびなー · Toyosaki, Tomigusuku
The island's outlet, ten minutes from the airport, with international and Japanese brands at a discount.
Tip: Open 10:00-20:00. It is the late-afternoon plan before a night flight: there is a direct bus to and from the airport.
🚇 by car or local bus to Tomigusuku; ~5 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Ashibinaa
Show on mapサンエー具志川メインシティ · Uruma
The mall of the Okinawan chain San-A in Uruma: a huge supermarket, shops and a local food court.
Tip: San-A is the Okinawan chain: the supermarket has the best aisle of island products at local prices, not souvenir prices.
🚇 by car or local bus to Uruma; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: San-A
Show on mapMEGAドン・キホーテ名護店 · Nago
The giant Don Quijote in Nago, open until 3 in the morning, with aisles of Okinawan souvenirs and of everything else.
Tip: Open 9:00-3:00: it is the only place in the north where you can buy something at midnight. A whole aisle of Okinawa products.
🚇 by car or local bus to Nago; ~55 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Don Quijote
Show on map壺屋焼 陶眞窯 · Yomitan
A large workshop in Yachimun no Sato making Tsuboya-school ceramics, with wheel-throwing experiences.
Tip: Tsuboya-yaki has been designated 伝統的工芸品 by the state since 2 June 1976: ask about the seal if you want a certified piece. Closed Sundays.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~25 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: METI 伝統的工芸品 · Okinawa CLIP
Show on map金城次郎・敏男・吉彦 金城陶器所 · Yomitan
The workshop of the family of Jiro Kinjo, the first Okinawan potter named a Living National Treasure, famous for his engraved fish.
Tip: The engraved fish and prawns are the house signature. These are signed pieces and the price shows it: if you are after something cheap, this isn't the place.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: METI 伝統的工芸品 · Okinawa CLIP
Show on map常秀陶器工房 · Yomitan
A yachimun workshop and shop inside the potters' village, with everyday pieces at reasonable prices.
Tip: This is the workshop where you buy the plates you will actually use at home. Open every day.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: METI 伝統的工芸品 · Okinawa CLIP
Show on map陶芸工房ふじ · Yomitan
A ceramics workshop in Yachimun no Sato with its own shop and tableware in a modern line.
Tip: Open every day 9:00-18:00. A good stop if you want yachimun that will survive the suitcase.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: METI 伝統的工芸品
Show on map宙吹ガラス房虹 · Yomitan
A Ryukyu glass blowing workshop in Yomitan, with the furnace in full view and pieces in deep colours.
Tip: Ryukyu glass has NO national seal, only a prefectural designation, in place since 1998. Ask whether the glass is recycled and whether the piece was blown there: that is what separates the craft from an imported souvenir.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa Prefecture (県指定, 1998)
Show on map源河源吉琉球ガラス工房 · Yomitan
A Ryukyu glass workshop with a big shop, pieces at every price and a blowing demonstration.
Tip: Ryukyu glass was born recycling the bottles the bases left behind after the war: that is where the colour comes from. Open 9:00-18:00 every day.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~24 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa Prefecture (県指定, 1998)
Show on map恩納ガラス工場 · Onna
A Ryukyu glass factory-workshop in Onna, with a blowing experience for beginners.
Tip: The blowing experience is booked in advance and the piece is collected or shipped days later, because it has to cool slowly: allow for that in your itinerary.
🚇 by car or local bus to Onna; ~32 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa Prefecture
Show on map大城画廊 · Omoromachi, Naha
A gallery of Okinawan art and craft in Omoromachi, with bingata, ceramics and work by island artists.
Tip: Bingata has been a nationally certified craft since 1984. Here you see signed work, not industrial reproduction. Open 10:00-19:00, closed Sundays.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Omoromachi, 6-min walk
Featured in: METI 伝統的工芸品 · Okinawa CLIP
Show on mapデポアイランドC · Mihama, Chatan
The block of American Village with the Okinawan brand shops, American vintage clothing and surf.
Tip: Look for the vintage military clothing shops: it is the one category where Okinawa has stock that exists nowhere else in Japan.
🚇 by car or local bus to Chatan; ~16 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Town of Chatan
Show on mapExchange · Okinawa City
A shop on the Koza circuit, in the area where the second-hand American clothing and object shops are concentrated.
Tip: Koza is where you find genuine used military and American clothing. Walk the Gate 2 area: it is a whole trade.
🚇 by car or local bus to Okinawa City; ~20 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa City
Show on mapカルチャーショップ EAST · Okinawa City
A pop culture and toy shop in Okinawa City, a direct descendant of the trade that served the bases.
Tip: It is the kind of business that only exists in Koza. A good place for odd presents that aren't airport souvenirs.
🚇 by car or local bus to Okinawa City; ~22 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa City
Show on map瀬長島47STORE · Senagajima, Tomigusuku
A design and regional products shop at Umikaji Terrace, with a selection from the 47 prefectures and a focus on Okinawa.
Tip: It is at Umikaji Terrace, 15 minutes from the airport: the last decent purchase before you head home.
🚇 by car or local bus to Tomigusuku; ~4 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Umikaji Terrace
Show on mapOKILIFE · Yomitan
A shop of contemporary Okinawan products in Yomitan: ceramics, textiles and food from small producers.
Tip: Open 10:00-16:00, closed Sundays. A small but very well chosen selection of island producers.
🚇 by car or local bus to Yomitan; ~25 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map壺屋酒店 · Makishi, Naha
An awamori shop in Naha, with bottles from the prefecture's 40-odd distilleries and aged kusu.
Tip: Ask for kusu of three years or more, which is another category altogether. They can explain which distillery goes with which kind of food.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Makishi, 3-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map泡盛蔵 · Makishi, Naha
A shop specialising in awamori on Kokusai-dori, with tastings before you buy.
Tip: Almost all these shops let you taste. Awamori is drunk with water and ice, or with hot water, never neat: ask about the ratio.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Kencho-mae, 3-min walk
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map琉装スタジオ ちゅら美人 · Makishi, Naha
A rental studio for ryuso, the traditional Ryukyuan dress with bingata, to walk Kokusai-dori or Shuri in costume.
Tip: Ryuso is not a kimono: the sleeve is wide and the bingata print is Okinawan. Book ahead if you want to go to Shuri-jo dressed.
🚇 Yui Rail monorail to Makishi, 6-min walk
Featured in: City of Naha
Show on mapシークヮーサーパーク · Ogimi
The shikuwasa juice factory — shikuwasa is Okinawa's citrus — with a tour of the line, a tasting and a shop.
Tip: November is peak shikuwasa harvest. The green variety is for squeezing over food; the ripe one is for juice. Open 10:00-18:00.
🚇 by car or local bus to Ogimi; ~66 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Shikuwasa Park · Village of Ogimi
Show on mapファッションキャンディ · Ginowan
A factory and shop of Okinawan sweets in Ginowan: chinsuko, beni-imo tarts and the classic gifts.
Tip: This is where a good part of the omiyage you later buy at airport prices is made. Buy it here.
🚇 by car or local bus to Ginowan; ~12 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map道の駅 豊崎 · Tomigusuku
A roadside station and market near the airport, with island products and food to take away.
Tip: Ten minutes from the airport and next door to the outlet: the last buy of fruit, mozuku and awamori before you return the car.
🚇 by car or local bus to Tomigusuku; ~5 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Michi-no-Eki Toyosaki
Show on mapハッピーモア市場 · Ginowan
A growers' market in Ginowan open until 20:00, with island vegetables and tropical fruit.
Tip: Open every day from 9:00 to 20:00. It has a section of unusual tropical fruit you won't see anywhere else.
🚇 by car or local bus to Ginowan; ~13 km in a straight line from Naha airport
Featured in: Okinawa CLIP
Show on map