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The cliffs of Cape Manzamo above the sea
Large and small fish in a tank at the Churaumi Aquarium
The king's throne in Shuri Castle's Seiden before the 2019 fire
The Cornerstone of Peace, rows of stone walls with the names of the dead
The curving stone walls of Nakijin Castle

Things to do on Okinawa Island: 8 experiences

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Photo: そらみみ, CC BY-SA 4.0

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Ocean Expo Park, Motobu

Watch whale sharks in the Kuroshio Tank at the Churaumi Aquarium

Check dates and prices

Photo: Pauloleong2002, CC BY-SA 4.0

Shuri Castle, Shuri, Naha

See Shuri Castle's rebuilt main hall, seat of the Ryukyu kings

Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0

Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park, Itoman

Read the names on Okinawa's Cornerstone of Peace

Photo: Balon Greyjoy, CC0

Nakijin Castle Ruins, Nakijin, Motobu Peninsula

Walk the stone walls of Nakijin, castle of the northern kingdom

Photo: Suicasmo, CC BY-SA 4.0

Okinawa Island, Okinawa Honto, was the heart of the Ryukyu Kingdom until it became a Japanese prefecture in 1879, and the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. Naha, its capital, has Shuri Castle and the market streets; the south holds the war memorials and a long cave; the north has the Churaumi Aquarium and the castle ruins of Nakijin.

8 things to do in Okinawa Island

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Large and small fish in a tank at the Churaumi Aquarium

Watch whale sharks in the Kuroshio Tank at the Churaumi Aquarium

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Ocean Expo Park, Motobu

2 hours, plus 2 hours each way from NahaGo alone or with a tour

Widely called Japan's best aquarium, built around one of the world's largest tanks, where whale sharks and manta rays swim.

Check dates and pricesNorth Okinawa tour with Churaumi Aquarium
Been there?
The king's throne in Shuri Castle's Seiden before the 2019 fire

See Shuri Castle's rebuilt main hall, seat of the Ryukyu kings

Shuri Castle, Shuri, Naha

1.5 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

The palace of the Ryukyu kings, burned in 2019; its vermilion main hall is due to reopen on 23 November 2026.

Been there?
A bowl of Okinawa soba

Eat upstairs at the Makishi Public Market off Kokusaidori

Daiichi Makishi Public Market, Kokusaidori, Naha

2 hoursGo alone or with a tour

Naha's main street leads to a rebuilt market where you buy fish downstairs and eat at the restaurants upstairs.

Check dates and pricesKokusai-dori to Makishi izakaya night
Been there?
The Cornerstone of Peace, rows of stone walls with the names of the dead

Read the names on Okinawa's Cornerstone of Peace

Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Park, Itoman

2 to 3 hoursNo booking needed

The memorial to the Battle of Okinawa, where about 200,000 people died, more than half of them civilians, between April and June 1945.

Been there?
The curving stone walls of Nakijin Castle

Walk the stone walls of Nakijin, castle of the northern kingdom

Nakijin Castle Ruins, Nakijin, Motobu Peninsula

45 minutes to 1 hourNo booking needed

A 13th-century castle of the Hokuzan kings, now World Heritage ruins in a quiet forested corner of northern Okinawa.

Been there?
Shikinaen garden in Naha

Stroll Shikinaen, the Ryukyu kings' second residence

Shikinaen, Naha

45 minutesNo booking needed

A royal villa from the late 1700s with red-tiled wooden halls and a pond garden, rebuilt after 1945 and listed by UNESCO.

Been there?
Stone walls of Nakagusuku Castle

Climb through the citadels of Nakagusuku Castle

Nakagusuku Castle Ruins, Kitanakagusuku

45 minutes, more with NakamurakeNo booking needed

Well-kept Ryukyu-era ruins 15 kilometres from Naha, where the castle's separate citadels can still be read in the stone.

Been there?
Stalactites inside Gyokusendo Cave

Walk 850 metres of Gyokusendo, Japan's second longest cave

Gyokusendo Cave, Okinawa World, Nanjo

2 to 3 hoursNo booking needed

A five-kilometre limestone cave in southern Okinawa, 850 metres of it lit and open, inside the Okinawa World park.

Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Okinawa Island yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting around

    The Okinawa Monorail serves central Naha, including Makishi Station at the end of Kokusaidori. Beyond the city, buses run from Naha Bus Terminal, but the north is two hours away; in must30's view, a rental car or a day tour is the practical way to reach the aquarium and Nakijin.

  • How to split the days

    One day for Naha (Shuri Castle, Shikinaen and the market), one for the south (Peace Memorial Park and Gyokusendo) and one for the north (Churaumi and Nakijin). Nakagusuku fits between Naha and the north.

  • When to go

    Shuri Castle's rebuilt main hall is due to reopen on 23 November 2026, when its entry fee rises to ¥1,000. The aquarium closes only on the first Wednesday of December and the day after.

Questions travellers ask

Is Shuri Castle open after the fire?

Yes. The grounds and paid area are open, and the rebuilt Seiden, the main hall that burned in October 2019, is scheduled to reopen on 23 November 2026. Entry then rises from ¥400 to ¥1,000.

How far is the Churaumi Aquarium from Naha?

About 90 kilometres, roughly two hours by car. By bus, you change at Nago for lines 65 or 66 to the Kinen Koen-mae stop.

Which Ryukyu castles can I visit?

Shuri in Naha, and the ruins of Nakijin in the north and Nakagusuku in the centre. All three are part of the World Heritage listing of Ryukyu sites, as is the Shikinaen garden villa.

Things to do in Japan

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