South Okinawa · NanjoNo.907★★Open in map →
Ou Island
— The bridge-linked fishing island of Nanjo
A working fishing island in southern Okinawa, tied to the main island by a short bridge. Tempura counters line the road behind the harbour, a market sells the morning's catch, and a Kannon hall stands at the island's centre.
- FromNaha Bus Terminal
- ~1 hr 15 minBus from Naha, then a walk
- Get off atOu-jima Iriguchi (Naha Bus route 50)
- On foot
- Ou Island
The sweet spot
Ou is not hidden. It is a short drive from Naha and it fills up at weekends. What keeps it off most itineraries is the road south itself, which runs on towards the cape and the sacred sites and passes the turning for the bridge. Arrive on a weekday morning and the island works at its own pace.
Where it is
41 more notes in Okinawa · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Ou Bridgethe short span from the main island, with clear water running underneath
- The tempura countersthe row behind the quay, frying mozuku seaweed, squid and fish to order
- Imaiyu Marketthe island's fish market, selling the catch whole and as seafood bowls
- Ou Kannon-dothe hall at the island's centre, where the rescued crew's gift is enshrined
- Ou Beach and the glass-boat pierthe shore at the far end, and the boats that read the reef through their hulls
How to actually get there
- Naha Bus Terminal → route 50, heading south along the coast.
- Get off at Ou-jima Iriguchi and walk down towards the shore.
- Cross Ou Bridge onto the island — about 18 minutes in all from the stop.
- Follow the island road: counters and market first, then the Kannon hall and the beach.
- Naha Bus Terminal, route 50 south
- Naha Bus Terminal →(route 50, about 56 minutes)→ Ou-jima Iriguchi, a stop on Route 331 above the island. The bus runs down the south-east coast, and the island lies downhill from the road.
- Back from Ou-jima Iriguchi
- The same stop serves the return to Naha. Allow time to walk back over the bridge and up to Route 331, and check the last departure before you settle in at a counter, because the island has no station and no late service.
About the place
Ou is small enough to walk around before lunch: a circumference of about 1.7 km, and a channel of roughly 100 m between it and the coast of southern Okinawa. A bridge crosses that channel, so the island is reached on foot or by car rather than by boat. Fishing is still the business here. Boats work out of the harbour, and the road behind it carries fish shops, food halls and the tempura counters the island is known for. A few streets further in, the lanes narrow and it is simply a village.
How to enjoy it
Weekends fill the tempura counters, so a weekday late morning is the easier visit. When the rainy season lifts, racks of flying squid go out to dry near the harbour, and that is the island at its most itself. Festival day is a different place altogether: the harbour belongs to the racing crews and the parking goes early.
Background & history
The island's history is kept in its rites rather than its monuments. At the centre stands the Kannon hall, built for an image given by the crew of a foreign ship whose sailors the islanders rescued and nursed. On the fourth day of the fifth lunar month the village holds its sea-god festival, and dragon boats race in the harbour to ask for a good catch. At the Kannon hall's own festival the men offer sumachi and the women ushideku, the drum dance of the Ryukyus.
Before you go
- Cash
- The bridge, the island road and the beach cost nothing, and the island car park is free with room for a few dozen cars. The tempura counters, the market and the glass boats are all settled on the spot, so carry cash once you leave Naha.
- Before you go
- Typhoons in late summer and early autumn shut the crossing and stop the boats. On festival day the harbour front is given over to the races and parking fills early. Shops keep their own hours rather than a published schedule.
- Another way
- By car it is about 40 minutes from Naha Airport, straight down the south-east coast. From Nanjo City Hall the local N-Bus (C1) reaches the Ou-jima stop in about 15 minutes, leaving roughly a four-minute walk.
- After you get off
- Ou-jima Iriguchi sits on Route 331 on the mainland side. Walk down towards the water and cross Ou Bridge; the harbour and the counters behind it begin at the far end.