We Landed in Okinawa, Japan

We Landed in Okinawa, Japan

We landed in 𝙊𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙬𝙖…
A small island located in the southwest of mainland Japan. The warm weather, along with palm trees scattered all around, gives it a tropical island vibe. Perfect destination for beach and surf activities.

Okinawa was once governed by the Ryukyu Kingdom. After its unification with Japan and the events of WWII, the island became a long-standing base for the U.S. military. This history explains why Okinawa feels quite different from mainland Japan. It carries strong American influence, blended with distinct Ryukyuan culture and Japanese traditions.

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𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙅𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙉𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨
On our way to the city, we stopped by this historic site. It is a headquarters where Japan organised its defence against the U.S. during WWII. It contains underground tunnels, operation rooms, and air-raid shelters.
Unfortunately, admission closed at 4:30 pm. As we arrived around 4:20 pm, we decided not to enter and instead took a short walk around the area while enjoying the views.

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𝙉𝙖𝙝𝙖 𝙆𝙤𝙠𝙪𝙨𝙖𝙞 𝘿𝙤𝙧𝙞 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩
The main shopping street in the heart of Naha, Okinawa’s capital city, bustling with shops and restaurants.

Some iconic souvenirs and symbols of Okinawa include:
• Shisa – guardian lion-dogs from Okinawan folklore
• Spam – a legacy of U.S. influence after WWII
• Orion – Okinawan beer brand
• Blue Seal Ice Cream – a local classic
• Purple sweet potato foods – one of Okinawa’s staple ingredients

The city itself emits tropical and American vibes. With many palm-tree motifs and colourful resort-style clothing, Okinawa gave us the impression of being the Hawaii of Japan.

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𝙋𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙏𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙤 𝙊𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙞 @ 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩
Shortened to Pōtama, this shop specialises in onigiri sandwiches featuring Spam (pork) and tamagoyaki (egg).
The shop is widely praised on Instagram for its large portions and flavour. However, the onigiri sandwiches we tried were smaller than expected. They were good and neatly packaged, but not quite as extraordinary as the online reviews suggested. Still, worth trying.

🍙 Shrimp tartar onigiri sandwich
🧆 Sata andagi (Okinawan doughnuts) — salt flavour