Naha

The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is one of the world's premier marine facilities, located in Ocean Expo Park on the Motobu Peninsula. Its centerpiece is the Kuroshio Sea tank — one of the largest aquarium tanks on Earth — where whale sharks and manta rays glide past floor-to-ceiling acrylic panels.

The Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum (沖縄県平和祈念資料館) within Peace Memorial Park provides an unflinching account of the Battle of Okinawa through survivor testimonies, photographs, and artifacts. It is one of Japan's most important war museums.

The Naha City Traditional Arts and Crafts Center (Tenbusu Naha) showcases the rich craft traditions of Okinawa — from bingata-dyed textiles and Ryukyuan lacquerware to shisa pottery and blown glass. Entry is free.

Okinawa World is a theme park in the southern part of the island that combines the spectacular Gyokusendo Cave — one of Japan's largest limestone caverns — with a reconstructed Ryukyuan village, tropical fruit orchard, and traditional craft workshops.

Shuri Castle served as the royal palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom for over 450 years, from 1429 until the kingdom's annexation by Japan in 1879. Perched atop a limestone hill overlooking Naha, the castle blends Chinese and Japanese architectural styles in a way found nowhere else. Though devastated by fire in 2019, major restoration is underway and the site remains Okinawa's most iconic landmark.

The Shuri district sits on a limestone ridge above central Naha, centered around Shuri Castle. Beyond the castle, the neighborhood retains the atmosphere of the old royal capital, with stone-walled lanes, traditional red-tiled houses, and several awamori distilleries.

DFS T Galleria Okinawa is a duty-free luxury shopping complex unique in Japan — the only place domestically where Japanese and international travelers can shop duty-free without leaving the country. Located near Omoromachi monorail station.

Tamaudun (玉陵) is the royal mausoleum of the Ryukyu Kingdom's Second Shō dynasty, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just west of Shuri Castle. The monumental stone tomb houses the remains of Ryukyuan kings and queens from 1501 onward.

The Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters is a sobering underground tunnel complex where 4,000 Japanese soldiers took their own lives in June 1945 during the final days of the Battle of Okinawa. The tunnels now serve as a war memorial museum.

The Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum (おきみゅー) is a dual-purpose cultural complex covering Okinawa's natural history, archaeology, Ryukyuan culture, and contemporary art. The striking castle-inspired concrete building opened in 2007.

Sefa Utaki (斎場御嶽) is the most sacred spiritual site in Okinawa, a UNESCO World Heritage grove of trees and rock formations on the Chinen Peninsula. It was the highest-ranking utaki (sacred place) in the Ryukyu Kingdom, where the chief priestess performed the most important state rituals.

Naminoue Beach (波の上ビーチ) is the only beach within walking distance of central Naha, nestled beneath the dramatic clifftop Naminoue Shrine. Despite its compact size, it offers white sand and swimmable turquoise water right in the city.

Naminoue Shrine (波上宮) is Okinawa's most important Shinto shrine, spectacularly perched on a coral cliff above Naminoue Beach. It is the highest-ranked shrine in the former Ryukyu Islands and a spiritual anchor for Naha.

Cape Manzamo (万座毛) is a dramatic coral limestone cliff on Okinawa's west coast, famous for its elephant-trunk-shaped rock formation and sweeping views of the East China Sea. The name means 'a grassland big enough for ten thousand people to sit.'

The Sonohyan Utaki Stone Gate (園比屋武御嶽石門) is a UNESCO World Heritage stone gate standing just outside Shuri Castle's Shureimon Gate. It served as a prayer gate where Ryukyuan kings would pray for safe journeys before leaving the castle.

Ryukyu Glass Village (琉球ガラス村) in Itoman is a working glassblowing factory and workshop where visitors can watch artisans craft colorful Ryukyu glass and try blowing their own piece. The on-site gallery sells finished pieces at factory prices.

Fukushuen (福州園) is a Chinese-style garden in central Naha, built in 1992 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Naha's sister-city relationship with Fuzhou, China. The garden features Fujian-style pavilions, waterfalls, and ornamental rockwork.

Peace Memorial Park (平和祈念公園) occupies the cliffs of Mabuni Hill where the Battle of Okinawa ended in June 1945. The park honors all who died — military and civilian, of all nationalities — through monuments, gardens, and the Cornerstone of Peace.

Route 58 near Kumoji intersection becomes the stage for the Naha Great Tug-of-War (那覇大綱挽), a Guinness World Record event where 15,000+ participants pull a 200-ton, 200-meter-long rope woven from rice straw. Outside the October festival, a segment of the rope is displayed on-site year-round.

Sueyoshi Park (末吉公園) is a forested hillside park in northern Naha, offering walking trails through subtropical vegetation and a sacred utaki worship site. It's a peaceful escape from the urban center, popular with joggers and families.