Okinawa ♥ The landscape .....literally translates to rope in the open sea.

Upon landing on the island of Okinawa, the sight of bright blue skies and lapiz-lazuli ocean greets you. The subtropical atmosphere itself transports you out of “The” Japan you have known or heard of into another side of Japan you would never have thought.

Okinawa ♥ The landscape …..literally translates to rope in the open sea.

Okinawa Island

UPON LANDING on the island of Okinawa, the sight of bright blue skies and lapiz-lazuli ocean greets you. The subtropical atmosphere itself transports you out of “The” Japan you have known or heard of into another side of Japan you would never have thought. True, even the Okinawan as the people are called is known to be more laid back and many younger generation are able to speak a little english owing to the influence of US Military base camps on the island.

Located within the Kyushu region, Okinawa prefecture is the most southwest part of Japan. The 150 islands makes up the Ryukyu Archipelago, are scattered in a rope like formation as its namesake on the East China sea and on the other side is the Phillipine sea. Being on the southern part, the weather is generally more warmer than the other parts of Japan. They call these islands “the Japanese Hawaii” owing to its tropical temperature.

The main capital is Naha, but holidaymakers also explore the other 5 districts with it’s unique landscape,culture and dialect. Hard to resist the invitingly clear blue waters of the Yaeyama islands where you can snorkel, dive or surf. For many just to chill and get a summers tan. Many smaller villages and uninhabited islands are formed out of corals. There are 7 picturesque cape scattered around the prefecture, but the most visited is Manzano Cape made popular with the Hong Kong Drama – Fantasy Love Song 201314. Gyokusendo cave is another destination you must not miss visiting the 300,000 years limestone cave and the Valley of Ganggara where one will be transported back 4,000 years into stone age times. When in the southernmost prefecture of Japan, of course you do not want to miss opportunity to stand at the southernmost tip. Visit the observatory on Hateruma island! Declared the southernmost tip of an inhabited island.

Fauna native to Okinawa alone and not other parts of Japan is the dugong. Which is currently endangered due to over hunting. There is also humpback whales, their numbers has increased due to controlled regulations, another species is the Iriomote cat also currently in the list of the world’s most endangered cat, pit vipers, sea turtles and reef fishes. The flora on the islands are of more tropical nature, of course the basho or banana trees, sugar cane, pineapple and papaya.

As of the earlier days of the Ryukyu Kingdom, present day Okinawa still receive many tourists from China, Korea and Taiwan which are located very near the prefecture. Comes as no surprise, the chosen ideal summer getaway for many Japanese of other prefectures, especially during the Golden Week holidays. It’s akin to shedding of the corporate uniform and baggage which one encounter in the heart of Japan and coming alive on the sunny islands of Okinawa.

After all Okinawa is vetted as a UNESCO world heritage.