Family friendly Okinawa itinerary – Ishigaki and Okinawa – travel vlog – October 2025
Okinawa is Japan’s bestkept secret offering a little glimpse into Japanese culture in a laid-back setting. From exploring the jungle on a quad bike to taking a dip in the ocean, this is everything we did in Okinawa, Japan. We arrived in Naha at around 400 p.m., so we were able to immediately check into our accommodation for the night. After a quick refresh, we set out to walk along Kokai, Naha’s main tourist and shopping street. For our first dinner in Okinawa, we visited Coxai Dori Yatira or Cooxai Street Food Village. This is basically an open air food market with a variety of vendors to choose from. We picked a stall that featured au pork gyozas and a selection of bar bites like fried goya chips and panzoo sea grapes. I really enjoyed the vibes here and the food was quite good, but it’s definitely a touristy location, so it was quite expensive despite the small portions of food. Everything was freshly made, but I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I wasn’t so exhausted from jet lag. After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we made our way to the airport to catch our flight to Ishikaki Island. The public transport in Okinawa is not great, so we rented a car for the remainder of the trip. We made a stop at 7 by7, a resort style hotel, and our accommodation. While in Ishikaki, we were too early for check-in, so we left our bags at the luggage holding room before setting out to explore Yugina Mall. Hey, so cute. There wasn’t a lot going on, so we walked along the streets to find a place to have lunch, which was quite challenging since most places were only open from 5:00 p.m. But after some time, we found a random little hole in the wall place to have a quick lunch. The next place I really wanted to stop by was Genki Shop. We tried their Genki Shake, which was so rich and creamy and honestly perfect for the blazing hot weather. The kids were really keen to play this kuji game, so we let them each have a go at it. The good thing about these is that every ticket is a winner, so you’ll always walk away with something, though more often than not, you’ll get the smallest prize. We then drove a short 5 minutes to Torini, the oldest temple in the Yayama Islands and the southernmost temple in Japan. After stocking up on snacks and drinks for our hotel room, we found a place which was able to accommodate us for dinner despite not having a reservation. We then returned to the hotel and honestly the poolside at night was really nice and inviting. They even had a little fire pit seating area that was surprisingly not occupied, but we chose to just relax and unwind in the room with our snacks. We grabbed breakfast at the hotel, but it was pretty mediocre and could have been better. Our first stop of the day was Ishikaki Village, an open air museum where visitors can experience what a traditional Okinawan village from the Ryuku Kingdom era was like. The highlight for us was the squirrel monkey forest where we could interact with squirrel monkeys and even feed them. We spent a good 30 minutes here just interacting with the squirrel monkeys and the kids had a lot of fun getting up close with these curious creatures. We then made our way to the next stop, Kabira Bay, a scenic spot known for its clear turquoise waters and a popular area for glass bottom boat rides. The entire boat ride was about 30 minutes long and we were taken to various different areas to observe the different types of coral and sea creatures. We were very lucky to have spotted two sea turtles as well. After our glass bottom boat ride, we enjoyed some sata andagi and frozen mangoes at this popular store, followed by a quick Okinawan lunch nearby. Of course, we had to include a beach day since we were in Ishikaki Island. So, we drove over to Fusaki Beach to spend the rest of the day relaxing in the sea. There was a sign warning of jellyfish in the area, but a small portion of the sea was protected by jellyfish nets, so we could safely enjoy a dip in the water. Since it was my dad’s birthday, we wanted to have something a little more special for dinner. So, we splurged on tbanyaki. It was pricey, but the food was really good, and we all enjoyed our meal here, which consisted of multiple courses utilizing fresh ingredients from the island. Let’s go. After two nights in Ishigaki, we headed back to the main island of Okinawa. We arrived in Naha during lunchtime. So, we grabbed a quick bite at a Soba restaurant in the airport before making the long drive towards Nago. We stopped at Tada Glass Studio located in Ona to take part in a glass blowing experience. We began by deciding on the colors and shape of glassware we wanted to make, and the staff were all really nice and helpful throughout the entire process. Making my own one-of-a-kind glassear was such a fun experience, and we ended up with some unique souvenirs to bring home. This is a great activity for those traveling with seniors and little ones aged four and above who can safely participate in making their own glassear with guidance from the friendly staff. I would recommend doing this at the beginning of your trip, especially if you’re visiting from outside Japan because they are not able to ship the finished product overseas. You will however be able to collect your glasswware the very next working day. So just keep that in mind when planning for this activity. We ended up choosing very similar designs, but this is the glass made by my son and this is the one made by me. After an additional 20 minutes of driving, we finally arrived at our accommodation for the next two nights. The room was really spacious and the view was really quite breathtaking. However, the location makes it a little inaccessible for those without a car. So, if you’re planning to book a room here, definitely make sure you also rent a car. For dinner, we din at Umikazio, an izakaya style restaurant located just a 5-minute drive from the hotel. We didn’t have a reservation, but they were able to squeeze us in before the next group was scheduled to come in. And I would recommend this place if you’re in the area, but make sure you reserve a table so you can really enjoy your meal. After a satisfying breakfast, we made our way to Nago Pineapple Park, which is a colorful and educational tourist attraction with an annoyingly catchy theme song. We had to take a short ride from the parking area to the main entrance before lining up to get on a self-driving car. The whole thing was probably about 20 minutes long and we got to see the pineapple plants growing all over the park. Things got a little random when dinosaurs started appearing along the way, but my kids definitely enjoyed this part more than the pineapples. There was also a cute cafe where we could enjoy some pineapple-shaped ice. Eat the ice. Okay. Next, we headed further up north towards Shurami Aquarium. This is one of the world’s largest aquariums, famous for its Kurosio Sea tank, which is home to whale sharks and manta rays. We ended up having a late lunch right here in the aquarium for convenience, but the food could have been better for the price paid. We also wanted to see the manatees and sea turtles, so we headed over to the respective tanks located outside the main aquarium building. The highlight for me was definitely these beautiful sea turtles. After the aquarium, we headed over to Sesoko Beach. And this is my favorite beach in Okinawa. I know the beaches in Ishikaki Island are supposed to be more beautiful, but in my opinion, Sasoko Beach is much nicer than Fuzaki Beach. We didn’t swim here, but just listening to the waves crashing made me really happy. Of course, it isn’t a trip to Japan without spending some time at the game center, so we kept the kids entertained at Eon Naga until dinnertime. We really wanted to have some good old-fashioned sushi for dinner, so we drove over to this Kurazushi located just 5 minutes from Nago. As expected, everything was cheap and good. You honestly can’t go wrong with conveyor belt sushi in Japan. Day six was a very simple day of shopping at Eonom on route to the next hotel. We shopped at Pokémon Center where I got a couple of Bside label stickers for my collection. These are kind of pricey, but I love the design and quality. We had a quick lunch at the food court before continuing with more shopping in this huge mall. The kids also played some arcade games, which is basically a requirement whenever we encounter a game center in Japan. Then we had a pretty satisfying dinner here and got some takoyaki to enjoy in our hotel room. To begin the day, we made a quick stop at Namino Shrine. You can also access Namino Beach from here, which is the only public beach in Naha. But we just visited the shrine and left for the next stop. We headed over to Sun A Yasa City for a little bit of shopping, games, and lunch before making our way over to Gajimaruna for a jungle buggy tour. We booked our tour with the Ittoman branch, and it was such a fun outdoor experience, suitable for the whole family, and so affordable at just 7,000 yen per person for 60 minutes. You need to be at least 11 years old to ride solo, but kids between 4 and 10 years old can join an adult for an additional 500 yen. It was a fun and educational 60 minutes. And I highly recommend this activity. By the time we got back to Naha, it was around 5:00 p.m. So, we walked along Dori near Kaii for some shopping and got a pineapple stick to snack on. It was so sweet and my son wanted the entire thing to himself. After we got our shopping fix, we walked over to Kakiya for some seafood. This was my second time here and it’s not the cheapest place, but the food is fresh and grilling your own food is an experience in itself. For day eight, we spent the entire day within IAS Mall, which is a pretty big mall with a large supermarket, a nice variety of shops, a game center, a cat cafe, and even an aquarium. We had to stop by the cat cafe for Kenji, which is the one thing that he really wanted to do, and he was so patient waiting for this moment. I’m not a cat person, but I have to admit it was quite nice getting up close and petting all the fluffy cats. We then visited DMM Karushi Aquarium which was a very interesting experience. In addition to the usual sea creatures, this place also had other animals like owls, sloths, and even micro pigs. There was also a touch pool where we could feel some sea creatures like starfish. The penguin area was pretty extensive and they were really cute swimming around the tank. There was an area with a glass floor so you could see the fish under your feet and of course regular fish tanks as well as an area dedicated to jellyfish. Then we got some snacks at the end of the aquarium before making our way to the game center located on the third floor. The kids spent an hour playing arcade games while I was more interested in the crane games. And after many tries, I got my Curious George plush. We then found this izakaya restaurant near the mall and it was a little bit expensive, but I would still recommend this place for the good food. On our last full day in Okinawa, we visited Umikaji Terrace, which is a beautiful shopping and dining spot located near the airport. It was a really windy day with great weather for strolling along the area and there were a lot of cute little decorations scattered throughout the place like these aesthetic pair of shisa and tropical Pikachu. Being a church spot, there were lots of great photo spots as well, and we took full advantage of that. We also found this custom ring shop and got a pair of silver rings to commemorate our 7th wedding anniversary. While waiting for our rings to be made, we enjoyed some shaved ice and got lunch out of the way. We then spent the rest of the day at Ashibina outlet mall where I found some pretty great deals. For dinner, it was another random find off Google, but this place was really good and affordable. We were surprised by a random display of fireworks when we arrived back at the hotel, and it was the perfect way to end an unforgettable trip to Okinawa. Okinawa remains one of my favorite places on Earth, and I can’t wait to visit again soon.
We travelled to Okinawa in October 2025 and this is what we did in Ishigaki Island and Okinawa Main Island.
Chapters
0:00 intro + day 1
1:20 day 2 – going to Ishigaki island
3:26 day 3 – yaima island, kabira bay, fusaki beach
5:35 day 4 – returning to Okinawa main island, glass blowing
7:39 day 5 – nago pineapple park, churaumi aquarium, sesoko beach
10:06 day 6 – aeon rycom
10:46 day 7 – naminoue shrine, gajumaruncha jungle buggy tour
12:17 day 8 – iias mall
13:49 day 9 – umikaji terrace, ashibinaa outlet mall + outro
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