Naha, Okinawa
Down the Royal Road
The Ryukyu court sat on a ridge and its road ran down to the harbour; the day goes the same way — castle gates at eight, soba above the market, kilns in the afternoon, a slope facing the sunset.
5 stops · one day
The route
- 01
Naha · Shuri · From Naha Airport · ~45 min
Shurijo Castle Park
A World Heritage castle rebuilt in public view — a sight that ends when the hall opens.
What to look for
- Shureimon — the vermilion gate on the approach, untouched by the fire and free to pass
- Sonohyan-utaki stone gate — a small stone gate to a sacred grove, itself one of the nine World Heritage properties
- Kankaimon — the first true castle gate, flanked by stone lions and still inside the free zone
- 02
Okinawa · Naha Shuri · From Naha Airport Station · ~45 min
Kinjocho Stone-Paved Road
A working residential street that is also the last stone of a royal road.
What to look for
- Shuri Castle Park — the royal castle grounds, a short walk uphill from the top of the lane
- The upper entrance — the Shuri end of the lane, where asphalt gives way to laid limestone
- Uchi-Kanagusuku-utaki — a sacred grove a step off the lane, holding giant akagi trees that came through the battle
- 03
Okinawa · Naha Makishi · From Naha Airport Station · ~25 min
Okinawa Soba
The island's daily bowl, eaten one floor above the stalls that supply it.
What to look for
- Kokusai-dori — Naha's main shopping street, running southwest from Makishi Station toward the prefectural office
- Ichiba-hondori and Heiwa-dori arcades — roofed pedestrian shopping lanes behind Kokusai-dori, entered at the Mutsumibashi crossing
- Market ground floor — stalls of pork, reef fish and island vegetables, with a service that cooks your purchase upstairs
- 04
Okinawa · Naha Tsuboya · From Naha Airport Station · ~30 min
Tsuboya Yachimun Street
A pottery quarter the war spared — still firing, still selling from its own kilns.
What to look for
- Naha City Tsuboya Pottery Museum — the city museum at the western end of the lane, covering the quarter's history and its wares
- The old climbing kiln — a stepped kiln of the traditional type, of the kind used for firing unglazed arayachi, standing beside the museum
- The stone-paved lane — Ryukyuan limestone underfoot, coral-block walls and red-tiled roof lines running the length of the street
- 05
South Okinawa · Tomigusuku · From Naha Airport · ~30 min
Senagajima Umikaji Terrace
White stepped shopfronts over the sea, jets low overhead, and a west-facing sunset.
What to look for
- Umikaji Terrace — white-walled units stepped down the slope, linked by open outdoor stairways
- Sunset Park — an open shoreline space on the west side, facing the evening sun
- The plane-watching plaza — a viewing area directly under the approach path to the airport runway