Okinawa沖縄県

Okinawa Prefecture (Japanese: 沖縄県, Hepburn: Okinawa-ken, Okinawan: ウチナーチン Uchinaa-chin) is the southernmost prefecture of Japan. It comprises hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long. The Ryukyus extend southwest from Kyūshū (the southwesternmost of Japan's main four islands) to Taiwan. The Okinawa Prefecture encompasses the southern two thirds of that chain. Naha, Okinawa's capital is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island.

from Okinawa_Prefecture (Wikipedia) CC BY SA 3.0

Advice about Okinawa

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Go see the sea paradise in Miyako Island (Miyako-Jima) in Okinawa! images

Go see the sea paradise in Miyako Island (Miyako-Jima) in Okinawa!

My wife and I make it a rule to visit Okinawa every summer, as it's a marriage promise that I made to her. She was living there for 4 years in her university days and enjoyed skin diving and snorkeling in the sea, so she wants to go back there every year.We think the best attraction in Okinawa…(417 words)

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maxnino

One Day Itinerary in Honto Island, Okinawa images

One Day Itinerary in Honto Island, Okinawa

For those of us who live in Japan, Okinawa is no secret. Its year-round warm climate, emerald green waters and sandy shorelines have been attracting visitors from the mainland for years. But most first-time visitors to Japan haven’t any idea of this mini paradise in the south - a string of pictures…(612 words)

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DeepJapan Editor

Escape to Hotel Moon Beach in Okinawa images

Escape to Hotel Moon Beach in Okinawa

Beach resorts aren't usually the first thing tourists associate with Japan, but this country has many beautiful beaches with resorts to match. One such resort is Hotel Moon Beach, located on the west coast of Okinawa.This expansive resort seems to go on forever, with multiple shops, a swimming …(398 words)

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Petra

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium images

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

If you ever visit Okinawa, make it a point to spend a day at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (沖縄美ら海水族館), located in Motobu. The largest aquarium in the world until 2005, it houses over 26,000 animals with as many as 740 different species.The aquarium consists of four floors, with tanks ho…(149 words)

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Former Deep Japan Writer

Southern Japan travel: Okinawa & Kyushu images

Southern Japan travel: Okinawa & Kyushu

One-day itinerary for Okinawa’s main island Honto“Most people head to Okinawa to enjoy the beautiful beaches and rugged coastlines, which are considered among the world's most beautiful with large coral reefs and an abundance of marine wildlife. For travelers who are in Okinawa for the first ti…(511 words)

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DeepJapan

How to Get to Okinawa, Japan? images

How to Get to Okinawa, Japan?

Tokyo’s outer islands are good alternatives to flying far to Okinawa for nice beaches. A hydrofoil will carry you quickly to different islands. My favorite is Niijima island, about 1.5 hrs from Tokyo on hydrofoil. The island is small but the beaches are beautiful. They reminded me of Hawaii. Gett…(108 words)

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GenS

Tatami smells good !!! images

Tatami smells good !!!

Tatami is a very traditional floor mat, which is a symbolic item indispensable for a Japanese style room; so called "Wa-shitsu", and is also considered as an official cultural gadget necessarily used in such Japanese architectures as temples, and tea rooms besides "Wa-shitsu". For example, when yo…(606 words)

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Masa

"Little Forest" Shows you the Japan Heartland images

"Little Forest" Shows you the Japan Heartland

Thats right! I am not 12 years old. I actually have lived half a century as of this year.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_CUp9suEeoMaybe that is exactly why I love Pixar films that show the funny side of nature and also carry a deeper meaning.I am a huge movie fan and I try to see a fi…(659 words)

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Tokyo's Tropical islands images

Tokyo's Tropical islands

Tokyo's outer islands are very diverse. Most of them are volcanic and some of them are quite far from the main part of Tokyo. Most of the main islands are accessible from Takeshiba Pier, where you can find Tokyo's main ferry terminal. Many of the main islands are also accessible by plane, from C…(302 words)

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mikekato

How to Survive the Rainy Season in Japan images

How to Survive the Rainy Season in Japan

The rainy season in Japan is not very long. It is basically the month of June, beginning in early June and ending usually by July. The coming of the rainy season marks the end of Spring and its end marks the beginning of summer. In comparison to Spring, not only does it rain much more frequently du…(100 words)

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GenS

Typhoons - wind, rain and lot more! images

Typhoons - wind, rain and lot more!

It would be fair to call Japan at once a country blessed by natural beauty and cursed by natural disasters. Sitting on the famed “Ring of Fire”, the country hosts some spectacular and dangerous volcanoes, as well as the all-too-infamous and frequent earthquakes, some of which can wreak unimaginabl…(1210 words)

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jdlawrence

Under the Sea at Tokyo Skytree images

Under the Sea at Tokyo Skytree

I wrote about my incredible time at the Tokyo Skytree in my last article:http://www.deepjapan.org/a/4072There are many other things you can do there besides going up. Going down underwater, in a matter of speaking, is one of them! The Sumida Aquarium, which is located just around the entr…(206 words)

Former Deep Japan Writer image

Former Deep Japan Writer

Experience Japan’s beautiful mountains and coastline images

Experience Japan’s beautiful mountains and coastline

Hiking with views of Mt. Fuji in Hakone“Hakone is an area protected as a quasi-national park and has many trails of differing challenge. The number and variety of trails located throughout the area make it a popular place to experience the outdoors while in Japan. Hakone has trails with views o…(498 words)

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DeepJapan

Shochu and Awamori images

Shochu and Awamori

Shochu - which is typically distilled from either rice, sweet potatoes, brown sugar or barley.Awamori - distilled from Thai rice, from Okinawa.(23 words)

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Steve