🇧🇪 Brussels → 🇯🇵 Okinawa · Weekend

Kokusai-dori Street

Naha's famous 'International Street' is one kilometre of souvenirs, cafés, and Okinawan craft shops. The tourist strip is useful for an orientation walk, but the real gems are the side alleys — Heiwa-dori and Ichiba Honmachi — where local food vendors and cheap izakayas operate away from the crowds.

First Makishi Public Market (Daiichi Makishi Kosetsu Ichiba)

A two-storey covered market adjacent to Kokusai-dori selling live seafood, local vegetables, and Okinawan produce. Take your selected seafood upstairs to one of the restaurants and they'll cook it for you for a small preparation fee — one of Okinawa's best budget lunch experiences.

Shuri Castle at Dusk

Take the Yui Rail to Shuri Station and walk 15 minutes uphill — the castle complex is dramatically lit at dusk and the crowds are thinner after 4pm. The surrounding free park with its banyan trees and stone-paved paths is open until sunset.

Kerama Islands Ferry Day

First ferry from Tomari Port departs at 9am for Zamami Island (50 minutes). Rent a bicycle from the port (¥1,000/day) and ride to Furuzamami Beach — coral gardens begin in thigh-deep water, sea turtles are a near-certainty, and the visibility is exceptional. Last ferry back at 5pm.

Furuzamami Beach Snorkel

The best coral is directly off the south end of the beach without a boat — snorkel gear rents at the beach hut (¥1,500) and the staff will point you to the turtle feeding grounds. Stay until 2pm when afternoon light maximises water clarity.

Zamami Village Explore

The tiny port village has three or four restaurants and a small museum about the whale migration (humpbacks pass between January and March). The pace is the antithesis of mainland Japan and deserves at least an hour of slow wandering.

Shikinaen Royal Garden

The secondary palace garden of the Ryukyu Kingdom — far less visited than Shuri Castle but arguably more beautiful. The traditional Ryukyuan garden with its central pond reflects Chinese, Japanese, and island influences simultaneously. Entry ¥400.

Tsuboya Pottery District

A few streets of Naha lined with pottery workshops producing the distinctive Yachimun Okinawan ceramics — bold colours and thick glazes unlike anything from mainland Japan. Several studios let you watch or try hand-throwing (from ¥1,500).

Naminoue Beach Sunset

The only city beach in Naha, just north of the airport — small and uncrowded in the late afternoon, with a Shinto shrine perched on the white cliffs above. Watch the sun drop into the East China Sea before heading to dinner.