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Osaka is a city that many travelers include in their first journey to Japan. It is the number one trending destination on tripadvisor. Trips to Osaka are often paired with visits to nearby Kyoto or Nara. But where to go next, when you still have more than just a few days to spare after exploring Osaka? Our tip: visit Okinawa — the perfect place to unwind after the hustle and bustle of Japan’s big cities. In this post I will guide you through the paths of Okinawa.
Ending your trip with some time at the beach is always a good idea. Especially if you’re traveling with kids, they will be happy about it. But Okinawa is not only about beaches, it also offers a rich and unique culture that makes it truly special.
A domestic flight from Osaka to Naha (capitol of Okinawa) costs around 80 to 100$ per person. Only 2 hours and then you are in a tropical Japanese island paradise with Hawaii flair.
Okinawa is actually where the Japanese go on their holidays. The two southern islands Ishigaki and Miyako are the most famous islands of Okinawa. There you will have the full idyllic tropical island experience. However, for those you need to take another 1h flight from Naha with a propellor machine into account. Definitely worth it, but not part of this blog post.
Okinawa paths: Chatan
It’s perfectly fine to stay on Okinawa-jima (the main island), even though it’s home to the fairly large city of Naha. From Naha airport you can go 1h by bus or taxi to the south, east or north and you will find nice places with hotels & beaches. We recommend to go to Chatan, north of the airport. This is a great destination to enjoy a vacation on Okinawa-jima and further explore the paths on Okinawa. Chatan has turquoise beaches and is centrally located on the island, so you can reach everything in a reasonable amount of time. Araha beach in Chatan is great for swimming and water activities such as kayaking, tubing or parasailing.
We had a very nice experience at Araha beach when we did the glass bottom boat tour. The tour was already almost over when it started to get more windy. Waves were getting bigger ans the boat started to shake more. They had to abort the tour then and said there will be a refund. We thought that they will refund a small part of the costs. Obviously it was not their fault that the waves started and on top of that the tour was almost over anyways. But no, we actually got the full refund. This is the Japanese spirit — if they do something, then they do it right or you get your money back.
Okinawa paths: Explore other islands
Returning to the topic, in the swimming area of the beach you don’t see a lot of fish. For beautiful snorkeling spots you can make day trips to plenty of other beaches. There you can see all kinds of colorful tropical fish à la Finding Nemo. For example you can go to the Tomari port of Naha by bus and take the high speed ferry to the Kerama islands, e.g. Zamami or Tokashiki. These are also paradise-like and awesome for snorkeling. The ferry should be booked a few days in advance at oki-islandguide.com. At Tomari port you can also buy traditional Bento boxes for your trip.
Okinawa paths: Sesoko Island and other destinations
Another great destination where the Japanese visitors like to go is Sesoko island which can be reached by bus or by car via a bridge, north of Chatan. It is also possible to stay on Sesoko island and do a more resort like vacation on Okinawa-jima. Then you have one of the most beautiful beaches of Okinawa and an amazing snorkeling spot right in front of you every day. Here we recommend the Hilton Okinawa Sesoko Resort. It is not too pricy and the location is totally worth it.
In Okinawa there really are many sights like the American Village. You can find it in Chatan and is a very colorful place — great for restaurants and shopping. Chatan in general is great for restaurants. Feel free to leave a comment for a restaurant recommendation on local food, sushi or Ramen. Another must visit pearl on Okinawa-jima definitely is the open-air museum Ryukyu Mura.
Accommodations on Okinawa-jima
Now about the accommodations in Chatan. There are some good options like The Beach Tower Okinawa. It is well located close to the Chatan Park Sunset Beach and has a very nice pool. Furthermore it is praised for its great breakfast and also offers traditional food for dinner. The rating on klook is 4.8 out of 5 and it is often booked out. The costs per night are rather on the pricey side with higher prices than the Hilton on Sesoko island.
Our recommendation by personal experience is the Oile by DSH Resorts. It is close to Araha beach and most of the rooms offer beach view. The rating on klook is a fantastic 4.5 and the prices are decent. The hotel doesn’t serve dinner, but with so many charming traditional restaurants nearby, dining out is truly a delight. Restaurant prices in Okinawa are currently very affordable, so your wallet will thank you as well. The highlight of the Oile is its rooftop pool with an amazing view.
Klook.com
Arigato gozaimasu for reading。
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