a region of japan
Okinawa
Okinawa is Japan's southernmost prefecture, a chain of subtropical islands between Kyushu and Taiwan: Okinawa Island and its capital Naha, the Kerama Islands, Miyakojima, and Ishigaki, Taketomi and Iriomote in the far south.
Imgya Marine Garden, Miyakojima
- Prefecture
- Okinawa
- Places
- Nine places
- Journeys
- The Custom Tour of Japan
overview
Okinawa, at a glance
Okinawa was the Ryukyu Kingdom for four and a half centuries, a seafaring realm that traded with China, Korea and South-East Asia and kept a court culture of its own until Japan annexed it in 1879. Its castles, its music, its textiles and its food are unlike anything on the main islands, and the kingdom's sites on Okinawa Island, Shuri Castle among them, are a World Heritage Site.
The sea is the other reason to come. The waters around the Kerama Islands, Miyakojima and the Yaeyama Islands are among the clearest in the world, over coral sand the colour of milk, and the resorts of Japan's far south stand on these shores. Taketomi keeps a village of red-tiled houses and coral walls; Iriomote is almost entirely forest.
Naha is two and a half hours by air from Tokyo, and Miyakojima and Ishigaki each have direct flights from Tokyo and Osaka as well as from Naha.
places
Where to go in Okinawa
Our tours stay overnightOur tours visit for the dayOn a Custom Tour of Japan
- IriomoteAn island of forest and slow green rivers, at the far south-western edge of Japan.
- IshigakijimaJade bays, forested hills and the outer islands of Japan a short crossing away.
- Kerama IslandsSmall green islands set in water so clear that its colour has a name of its own.
- KumejimaAn island of sugar cane and silk, with a ribbon of white sand lying out on the reef.
- MiyakojimaA flat coral island where the sea is the whole of the view.
- NahaA harbour city below the hill of the Ryukyu kings, their stone lanes still winding down to the sea.
- Okinawa IslandThe island of the Ryukyu kings: castles of coral stone on the hills, and a warm sea below them.
- TaketomiRed roofs, coral walls and white sand lanes, swept smooth each morning.
- YonaguniThe last island of Japan, where the sun sets after it has set everywhere else in the country.
journeys
Okinawa on a private journey
We bring guests to Okinawa on the Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director.
questions
Okinawa: questions answered
Is Okinawa part of Kyushu?
Okinawa is a prefecture and is often counted as a region on its own. In the eight-region division taught in Japanese schools it is grouped with Kyushu; in travel it is almost always treated separately.
Which Okinawa island is best for a luxury stay?
Okinawa Island for its range of resorts and its Ryukyu history, Miyakojima for the clearest water and its beaches, and Ishigaki for the Yaeyama Islands, with Taketomi and Iriomote a short boat ride away.
How do you get to Okinawa?
By air from Tokyo to Naha in about two and a half hours, or direct to Miyakojima or Ishigaki. Flights between the islands leave from Naha.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Okinawa?
We bring guests to Okinawa on the Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director.
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Okinawa, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and which places in Okinawa draw you, and we will answer with a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone, or, if you would rather travel independently, an Expert Japan Itinerary that plans every day for you.