Location: Naha
Top Things to do in Naha
10 Sights & Landmarks in Naha That You Shouldn't Miss
Go from the 13th century to the 21st in one day in Naha. Its ancient Ryukyu Kingdom centerpiece, Shuri Castle, has been restored and is the city's top tourist attraction. Meanwhile, on Kokusai-dori (International Boulevard), the pace never lets up as locals and tourists hop from restaurants to bars to nightclubs.
Restaurants in Naha
1. Makishi Public Market
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 2,306 reviews
Closed due to renovation. Public Market plans to open for business at a temporary building, from July 1, 2019 to March 31, 2022.
Reviewed By calittski - Singapore, Singapore
We had the best sashimi EVER! Super fresh, cut in front of your eyes, for a mere 1,000¥ The sellers are adorable, they will have you taste preserves and smile, even if you don’t speak English. If you’re famished, go upstairs for the Japanese food court.
2. Kokusaidori
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 2,719 reviews
Reviewed By hweeying - Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Easily to come here by Yui rail. We came here several time for shopping and food. It is a famous attraction in Naha city. So packed and crowded during night time. Visited on June 2019.
3. Ishiganto Stone
4. Heiwadori
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 305 reviews
Reviewed By ak1668
This is a treasure trove. We managed to find and do our shoppings here. Within here is the Makashi public market where there are some eateries.
5. Naminoue-gu Shrine
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 774 reviews
Reviewed By CaptainJWCourtney - Severn, United States
I first visited the Shrine back in 1966 and was taken by the simple, honesty in the Shinto religion practiced at this shrine. I had a favorite place nearby that I would go to watch the Okinawan dancers and listen to the native music. I returned in 1983 and saw how many improvements that had been made to the Shrine and It showed me the pride in the people that worshiped here. It was better painted, much wood work had been done and it was a secial place for me to visit when I was in the area and had time to stop and visit. I returned to Okinawa in 2001 and visited it only twice before I left with my wife in 2003. Once again it has changed a lot more but is still a beautiful, insprational place to visit. (The shrine is located at the top of a steep hill so please keep this in mind if visiting with elderly people or anyone with physical challenges like my wife and her breathing problems.) The shrine is has become a very beautiful shrine after all those years and continues to offer the usual charms to protect you and your driving and talismans for health, love, wealth harmony etc. I usually spend about 20 to 50 minutes here to walk around, let the memories come back, reabsorb the Okinawan culture and uniquely Okinawan architecture. I studied the Okinawan culture under Dr. Barbra Golden at the Maryland University in the mid 1980's and lived in Kosa (Okinawa City) at the time, shopped locally and went to all the old places that I used to go to back in the 1960's. Oh, and one more thing, this place has gotten much busier than it used to be, so go early to avoid the huge crowds of tourists from Mainland Japan and from China!!
6. Shuri Kannondo
7. Shurijo Castle
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 5,164 reviews
Reviewed By BYamamoto - Kapaa, United States
It is well worth your time to visit Shuri castle again even if you have visited before on previous trips. I travel to Okinawa annually and fins something new at the castle complex each year. This year a new pathway through the Japanese portion of the casle takes you outside onto the castle wall back of the main building for a large panoramic view of the city. There is also new history an area will be planted in chrysanthemums as was in the past. There are new exhibits and performances and you should check on the events calendar because there are night visitation of the area lite in candle light.
8. Tamaudun
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 413 reviews
Reviewed By PeterthePauper - Ulsan, South Korea
Nearly gave the Tam-u-dun Mausoleum a miss after seeing the number of 'negative' reviews on Trip Advisor (most commenting on the lack of access to the tombs or complaining that there was "nothing much to see" at the Site). On the contrary, I found the Tam-u-dun Mausoleum to be the most interesting and informative exhibit I encountered on the island of Okinawa. The three compartments that comprise the Mausoleum face northwards and is built up against a natural rock outcrop to the south. The Central compartment is where remains were kept for a limited time before the bones were washed and interred in burial urns; Kings, Queens and Crown Princes were then interred in the East Room with remaining members of the royal family in the West Room. Built in 1501 to house the re-interred remains of Shō En (1415 ~ 1476), 17 of the 19 kings of the Second Shō Dynasty who ruled between 1470 and 1879 are entombed here. The last internee was former Prince of Nakagusuku, Shō Ten (1864 ~ 1920), the son of the Ryukyu Kingdom's last king, and interred as recently as 1920. The structure suffered extensive damage in the 1945 battle of Okinawa, but the tombs and royal remains themselves remained intact. Although much of the structure has since been restored, unsurprisingly the tombs themselves are off-limits to the general public. It is essential therefore to visit the Museum (located downstairs from the Ticket Office) before proceeding to the Site itself, in order to put the whole exhibit into context. The Museum contains many contemporary photographs from before WWII; that show the devastation wreaked on the Site as a result of the 1945 battle of Okinawa and others that show the extensive restoration carried out between 1975 and 1984. Most interesting are the contemporary photographs that show the actual contents of the tombs; some 37 urns in East Room, a single urn in the Central compartment and a further 32 urns in West Room. Plan layouts and scale models have the individual urns numbered and cross-referenced to the particular king/queen they contain, although I had to look up Wikipedia on my return to get an English version. All-in-all I found the whole exhibit fascinating and sufficiently intriguing to further research this peculiarly Okinawan ritual of "senkotsu"; i.e. 3 & 7-years following death, family members wash the bones of their deceased ancestors after the flesh has disappeared as a mark of respect. The bones are then placed in these small earthenware containers and interred in a Mausoleum.
9. Shrikinjocho Stone-Path Road
10. Yachimun Street
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 822 reviews
Reviewed By BZimm08 - Iwakuni, Japan
My wife and I have wanted to buy a pair of Shisha's since moving to Okinawa and by doing our research we wanted to buy them here on Yachimun Street. We browsed every shop and they were all kind of the same. Although we found a nice pair at a shop which I can't recall the name. Expect most shops to sell similar items with the same price tags. The street was cute though, it was a cobblestone road lined with cute shops and beautiful plants! There is a free museum here where you can see a kiln and other structures from one of the families that resided here. I guarantee after strolling around this street that you will buy something. It is a lovely and quiet street that is well worth visiting.
