Feel the quiet strength of a proud, island-born Japan in Naha. Located over 950 miles southwest of Tokyo, on Okinawa’s southern coast, Naha is the cultural heart of the Ryukyu Islands, and once the royal seat of the Ryukyu Kingdom. A morning walk will take you to the vermilion gates of Shurijo Castle, originally built in the 14th century and recently restored, then shop for hand-dyed bingata—a textile once reserved for royalty, still used in ceremonial kimono. Traditional izakayas line the streets, so step into their shade to sip awamori, a distilled rice spirit unique to the region. Refreshed and restored, wander to the early 18th-century palace gardens of Shikinaen, where Chinese-style bridges cross koi-filled ponds, then reflect at the Okinawa Peace Memorial, which honors the 200,000 lives lost in the World War II Battle of Okinawa. You’ll taste the past, too—in bowls of Okinawa soba, rich rafute pork, and sea air laced with the sweet scent of hibiscus.
