Okinawa, worth knowing.

Fun facts about Okinawa

1. 1Okinawa's cherry blossoms come in winter. Deep-pink kanhizakura bloom earlier than on mainland Japan, peaking around late January at castle ruins like Nakijin.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; japan-guide.com
2. 2Kaiji Beach on Taketomi Island has sand shaped like tiny stars. Each star is the skeleton of a tiny sea creature, so look closely and leave it on the beach.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; japan-guide.com
3. 3Iriomote Island has its own wildcat, the Iriomote cat, and only around 100 are thought to live in the wild, deep in the island's jungle.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; japan-guide.com
4. 4Stand at Cape Irizaki on Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, and on a clear day you can see Taiwan across the sea.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; japan-guide.com
5. 5Off Yonaguni, divers explore giant stone terraces on the seabed so geometric that people still debate whether nature or humans made them.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; japan-guide.com
6. 6Look up at Okinawa's rooftops and you'll spot shisa, lion-like guardians said to keep bad luck away. You can even paint one of your own to take home.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; japan-guide.com

Things to do in Okinawa

• ◦At Churaumi Aquarium, whale sharks and manta rays glide through the Kuroshio Sea, a tank holding 7.5 million litres. The aquarium has even bred manta rays, a world first.Source: Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium; Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium
• ◦Naha's Tsuboya district has been Okinawa's pottery quarter since the 1600s. Stroll its stone-paved pottery street, lined with workshops and shops selling yachimun ware.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; japan-guide.com
• ◦Wander Makishi Public Market in Naha: fishmongers and butchers downstairs, little restaurants upstairs where you can sit down to local dishes.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; japan-guide.com
• ◦Shuri Castle's red main hall burned down in 2019. Craftspeople have been rebuilding it ever since, and it's scheduled to reopen in late 2026.Source: Shurijo Castle Park; japan-guide.com
• ◦On Taketomi Island, ride a water buffalo cart through lanes of red-tiled houses while your guide sings and plays the sanshin.Source: japan-guide.com; Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau
• ◦Every winter, humpback whales come to the Kerama Islands to breed. Take a whale-watching boat from Zamami, a short hop from Naha.Source: Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau; Wikipedia

Questions to bring to Okinawa

From Sojourn's journeys. Ask one over a long dinner or on a slow walk, and let the place do some of the work.

Going together

• When do you feel most like yourself?
• What does rest actually look like for you?
• What is one thing you wish we did more of?

Going solo

• What is the first thing this place is showing you that you didn't expect?
• What does this version of you know that the home version tends to forget?

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