Okinawa Hidden Gems

Okinawa was an independent kingdom until 1879, trading with China, Korea and Southeast Asia, and it did not become culturally Japanese in the way the main islands did — the language is a separate branch, the religion centres on sacred groves and female priestesses rather than shrines, and the architecture, food and music all show the trade routes. The Battle of Okinawa in 1945 destroyed most of the physical record, including Shurijo, which was rebuilt and then burned again in 2019 and is under reconstruction once more; what you see is a work in progress and the site says so. Around 15 per cent of the main island is still US military base, which shapes the road network and the towns beside it. Geographically this is not one island but a chain running 400 kilometres southwest, and the reefs, the water clarity and the quiet get better the further out you go.